On Tuesday, Dynamo midfielder Timofey Marinkin, who burst onto the team's scene this spring, celebrated his 18th birthday. We decided to remember which Dynamo players excelled at such a young age.
10. Aleksandr Kokorin – 7 matches
The young 17-year-old forward joined Dynamo from Lokomotiv in 2008 and almost immediately became a regular starter for the blue-and-whites under Andrei Kobelev. In his first match against Saturn, he came on after halftime and scored the equalizer, after which Aleksandr Kerzhakov secured a crucial victory. A month later, Aleksandr was in the starting lineup against Lokomotiv and "said hello" to his former team by scoring the only goal of the game. He played in seven matches for the rest of the season and celebrated the bronze medal with the team in their final home match against Tom.
In just eight years with Dynamo, Kokorin played 203 matches and scored 50 goals, including his only goal in the Champions League qualifying round and two in the memorable 2014/15 European Cup campaign. The forward spent the last 5.5 years abroad, playing for Fiorentina and Aris, but recently there has been talk of his possible return to the RPL.
9. Viktor Okishor – 7 matches
One of the most talented graduates of the Lev Yashin Dynamo Academy in recent years, he attracted the attention of specialists from an early age with his unconventional thinking and mature decisions on the field. He made his debut for the White-Blues' second team at the age of 15 and was named the Academy's best player that same year.
Okishor began training with the main team during the 2024 winter training camp and was named to the roster for the first time in April for a cup match against SKA-Khabarovsk. He made his debut in the main team in July against Fakel, and on August 28, in a cup match against Krylia Sovetov, he scored the youngest brace in the club's history, adding an assist. Last season, Viktor didn't get much playing time, but the victorious cup match in St. Petersburg immediately comes to mind, where he played the full 90 minutes and it was with the follow-up to Ivan Sergeev's shot that he opened the scoring.
8. Sergei Kiriakov – 10 matches
A product of the Orel football academy, he received an invitation to Dynamo in 1986 and made his debut for the main team the following year against his Minsk counterparts. The flamboyant forward scored his first goal in just his third match against Metalist Kharkiv, earning him minutes in the USSR Cup semifinal and even half an hour in the home match against Barcelona in the UEFA Cup.
Kiriakov played for Dynamo until 1992 and even managed to witness the first Russian championship. He scored 12 goals in 109 matches for our team, after which he went on to conquer the Bundesliga as a two-time European champion (with the USSR youth and under-21 national teams). After a successful career in Germany, he went to China and, upon returning home, became a coach. Worked with the Russian youth teams, Tula Arsenal and Leningradets.
7. Vladimir Gabulov – 11 matches
The Mozdok native joined Dynamo at the invitation of Valery Gazzaev and, at 17, established himself as the team's number one goalkeeper, playing 11 matches in the first half of the 2001 season, two of which were clean sheets. However, Gazzaev soon left for CSKA, and Gabulov moved to Alania in the summer. His return to Dynamo came seven years later as bronze medalists in the European Championship – conceding just seven goals in 12 matches in the 2008 season added a bronze medal in the Russian Premier League to his collection. He remained the team's starting goalkeeper until October 2010, when he ceded his place to Anton Shunin and eventually moved to Anzhi Makhachkala.
Gabulov's third spell with Dynamo came in the fall of 2013, cementing his place in goal for three years until the end of the disappointing 2015/16 season. He played 155 games for Dynamo, keeping 49 clean sheets. After retiring from the game two years later, Vladimir became a sports official: he served as the Minister of Physical Culture and Sports of North Ossetia, president of Alania, chairman of Olimp-Dolgoprudny, and general director of Khimki.
6. Alexey Savchenko – 12 matches
Another young player spotted by Gazzaev was central midfielder Alexey Savchenko. A product of the Dynamo school, he made 12 substitute appearances at the age of 17, including two matches in the UEFA Cup Round of 16 against Benfica. But he failed to establish himself in the main squad. After playing 20 matches, he moved to Dynamo-Gazovik Tyumen, before ending his career with Khimki at the age of 25.
He later transitioned to beach soccer and began working at the Strogino school in 2007. Since 2019, he has been the head coach of the beach club of the same name.
5. Arsen Zakharyan – 13 matches
Born in Samara, Arsen joined Dynamo after a stellar performance for the Konoplyov Academy in the 2017 Russian Championship. In the winter of 2020, he trained with the youth team and helped them win gold in the championship, and in October, Sandro Schwartz named him a starter for the first time. After playing less than a full season, Arsen scored three goals and four assists, finishing third on the team in goals and assists.
In the 2021/22 season, he helped the team win bronze in the championship and was named the best young player in the Russian Premier League. At the European Under-21 Championship, he became the youngest goalscorer in the final tournament. He was named the team's top assist provider for two consecutive seasons, and in August 2023, he moved to Real Sociedad, with whom he won the Spanish Cup last season.
4. Timofey Marinkin – 14 matches
Timofey was enrolled in the Lev Yashin Academy at the age of 5 and captained the 2008 team, with which he won the Russian Championship. Five days after his 17th birthday, he made his debut for Dynamo-2, played 15 matches by the end of the year, and then went to training camp with the main team in the winter.
Timofey's first match at the highest level was spectacular: coming onto the field in the second half of the cup derby against Spartak, he launched an attack less than two minutes later, which he completed with an assist for Nicolas Ngamaleu, who made the score 2-1. We all remember how that match ended well, and Marinkin cemented his place in the team, starting five times and playing full matches against Zenit, Krasnodar, and Baltika.
3. Petr Nemov – 15 matches
The third Gazzaev alumnus on our list. A native of Orel, he moved to Moscow at age 13 and trained at the FShM, before joining Dynamo Moscow in 2000. He made his debut for the main team at 16, and 11 days after his 17th birthday, he scored his first goal in a cup match against Torpedo Moscow. He made his 15th appearance for our ranking on his next birthday, which coincided with his European debut – against Glasgow Rangers at the legendary Ibrox stadium.
Petr played just five minutes of the return match in Moscow, as Dynamo Moscow was eliminated from the UEFA Cup. The young midfielder soon transferred to Spartak Moscow, where he made just two appearances. Nemov spent most of his career with Saturn and Krylia Sovetov, and even won the Russian Cup with Rubin in 2012, though he didn't play in the final against Dynamo. Several years ago, he began his coaching career and is currently in charge of Orel, which is mid-table in its group in Second League B.
2. Andrey Timoshenko – 18 matches
Timoshenko was considered one of the most gifted Russian footballers and, along with Kiriakov, won the European U-18 Championship, scoring against Portugal in the final. By this point, he had already played 37 matches for Dynamo's senior team. He then played for Dynamo Minsk, Spartak, and Swiss club Malle, before a brief return to the Blue and Whites. Having reached 50 matches for them, he returned to Rostov-on-Don and decided to retire at the age of 23, tired of football.
He attempted a comeback a couple of years later, but the big teams were no longer waiting for him. Having finally retired from playing, he went into business, and then worked for five years as a football referee. In 2010, he died suddenly of cardiac arrest at the age of 41.
1. Andrei Kobelev – 33 matches
Andrei Nikolaevich was involved in the debut of number 10 in our ranking and is the top scorer himself, by a wide margin. In May 1985, he scored in the victorious final of the European U-16 Championship. In June, he became the youngest debutant in Dynamo history, taking to the field at the age of 16 years, 7 months, and 25 days. Six days later, he scored the youngest goal in the history of the white-blues, securing a victory over Metalist Kharkiv.
Unlike Timoshenko, Kobelev was able to realize his talent. During three spells with his native club, he played 311 matches (9th place all-time) and scored 58 goals (16th place), winning silver and three bronze medals in the national championship, as well as the 1995 Russian Cup. He still holds the record for the most European appearances by a Dynamo player.
He also made his mark as a coach, leading his hometown club to bronze medals in the 2008 Russian Championship. In terms of number of matches as a head coach, he is second only to Mikhail Yakushin, Konstantin Beskov, and Alexander Sevidov.
