Aleksandr Mostovoi

This name uses Eastern Slavic naming customs; the patronymic is Vladimirovich and the family name is Mostovoi.

Aleksandr Mostovoi

File:Aleksandr Mostovoy.jpg Mostovoi in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi
Date of birth	(1968-08-22) 22 August 1968
Place of birth	Lomonosov, Soviet Union
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Youth career
	Krasnaya Presnya
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1985–1986	Krasnaya Presnya	19	(7)
1986–1991	Spartak Moscow	106	(34)
1992–1994	Benfica	9	(0)
1993–1994	→ Caen (loan)	15	(3)
1994–1996	Strasbourg	61	(15)
1996–2004	Celta	235	(56)
2005	Alavés	1	(1)
Total		446	(115)
International career
1990–1991	USSR	15	(3)
1992	CIS	2	(0)
1992–2004	Russia	50	(10)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi (Russian: Алекса́ндр Влади́мирович Мостово́й [ɐlʲɪˈksandr vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvʲɪtɕ məstɐˈvoj]; born 22 August 1968) is a Russian retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.

Known as El Zar from his lengthy spell at Celta, he was often referred to as a 'genius playmaker' during his time there, in addition to a volatile temperament.

Club career

Spartak / First abroad spell

Born in Lomonosov, Russia, Soviet Union, Mostovoi signed for country giants FC Spartak Moscow from second division club FC Presnya Moscow, quickly making an impression. In January 1992, he joined compatriots Vasili Kulkov and Sergei Yuran at S.L. Benfica; months before arriving, he was controversially awarded Portuguese citizenship through marriage, but never imposed himself in the first team.

Midway through 1993–94 Mostovoi joined Ligue 1 side SM Caen, then left after the sole season to fellow French side RC Strasbourg, rejoining coach Daniel Jeandupeux. With the latter, he first displayed glimpses of an emerging talent.

Celta

Mostovoi's big break came when he signed for Celta de Vigo in 1996, for 325 million pesetas (about €1,950,000). He made his debut for the Galicians in a 2–0 home defeat against Real Betis, and his creative play and key goals made him a cult figure at Balaídos as the club rose to near the top of La Liga standings year after year.

Affectionately nicknamed 'The Tsar of Balaídos' by the fans, Mostovoi formed an impressive midfield society with, amongst others, compatriot Valery Karpin, and helped Celta win the 2000 UEFA Intertoto Cup. However, he couldn't help the freefall that hit the team in the 2003–04 season, relegating it to the second division after the player appeared in a career-worst (in his Celta career) 24 matches.

Alavés

Having not played for over eight months, and at the age of 36, Mostovoi signed a contract with Dmitry Pietrman's Deportivo Alavés in early March 2005, initially until the end of the second level campaign. His first and only game came in a league game against Cádiz CF in which he came on as a substitute, in the 78th minute – he scored the Basques' only goal (and nearly added a second) in an eventual 1–3 defeat.

Having been with the club for only 30 days, Mostovoi told the club directors of his intention to retire claiming he was suffering from back problems.

International career

Mostovoi played for the Soviet national team, the CIS and Russia internationally. In another temper tantrum, he was sent home by team manager Georgi Yartsev during the latter's trip to UEFA Euro 2004, after questioning his methods. He played in the Euro 96 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup and was also picked for the 2002 World Cup, but did not play in the latter tournament due to injury.

Mostovoi's exclusion from Euro 2004's national squad happened after the 0–1 group stage loss to Spain. Supposedly, the player talked with the media after the match and gave an interview saying that Yartsev was not a good coach and did not understand anything. This was later proven false, after Mostovoi gave another interview and explained he merely said that Yartsev overworked the players during practice, so they didn't have the necessary energy to play well in matches. All in all, group morale dropped after the incident, and Russia lost the second game to hosts Portugal.

In 2009, Mostovoi was part of the Russia squad that won the Legends Cup.

Alexander Mostovoi: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	30 November 1990	Estadio Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala	Guatemala	0–1	0–3	Friendly
2	30 May 1991	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union	Cyprus	1–0	4–0	Euro 1992 qualifying
3	28 August 1991	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	0–1	0–1	Euro 1992 qualifying
1	6 October 1993	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia		2–4	Friendly
2	6 October 1993	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia		2–4	Friendly
3	6 September 1995	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands		2–5	Euro 1996 qualifying
4	9 February 1996	Lansdowne Road, Dublin, Ireland	Republic of Ireland	0–1	0–2	Friendly
5	25 May 1996	Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar	Qatar		2–5	Friendly
6	19 June 1996	Anfield, Liverpool, England	Czech Republic	2–1	3–3	UEFA Euro 1996
7	10 October 1998	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia	France		2–3	Euro 2000 qualifying
8	19 May 1999	Arsenal Stadium (Tula), Tula, Russia	Belarus		1–1	Friendly
9	28 March 2001	Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia	Faroe Islands	1–0	1–0	2002 World Cup qualification
10	10 September 2003	Lokomotiv Stadium (Moscow), Moscow, Russia	Switzerland		4–1	Euro 2004 qualifying

Personal life

Mostovoi graduated from college as an electrician, and later joined a sports academy in Moscow, which provided coaching to young players with a university education.

Married to French Stefani, with whom he later had two children.

Statistics

Club

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Soviet Union			League		Soviet Cup		Europe		Total
1986	Krasnaya Presnya	Soviet Second League	19	7	1	0	-	-	20	7
1987	Spartak Moscow	Soviet Top League	18	6	4	0	4	3	26	9
1988			27	3	4	2	4	0	35	5
1989			11	3	2	0	2	0	15	3
1990			23	9	3	5	4	0	30	14
1991			27	13	2	1	7	3	36	17
Portugal			League		Taça de Portugal		Europe		Total
1992–93	Benfica	Primeira Liga	9	0	-	-	3	0	12	0
1993–94			0	0	-	-	0	0	0	0
France			League		Coupe de France		Europe		Total
1993–94	Caen	Ligue 1	15	3	-	-	-	-	15	3
1994–95	Strasbourg	Ligue 1	29	6	4	1	-	-	33	7
1995–96			32	9	3	1	6	2	41	12
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Total
1996–97	Celta	La Liga	31	5	6	1	-	-	37	6
1997–98			34	8	3	1	-	-	37	9
1998–99			33	6	1	0	7	2	41	8
1999–00			26	6	1	0	7	2	34	8
2000–01			30	9	6	2	7	2	43	13
2001–02			30	10	0	0	1	3	31	13
2002–03			27	6	0	0	4	1	31	7
2003–04			24	6	2	0	8	2	34	8
2004–05	Alavés	Segunda División	1	1	0	0	-	-	1	1
Total	Russia		88	28	-	-	13	3	101	31
	Portugal		9	0	-	-	3	0	12	0
	France		76	18	7	2	6	2	89	22
	Spain		236	57	19	4	34	12	289	73
Career total			m	n	m	n	m	n	m	n

Honours

Club

Spartak Moscow

• Soviet Top League: 1987, 1989

Benfica

• Primeira Liga: 1993–94
• Taça de Portugal: 1991–92

Celta

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2000
• Copa del Rey: Runner-up 2000–01

Country

Soviet Union

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship: 1990

Russia

• Legends Cup: 2009

External links

• Izvestia profile (Russian)
• RussiaTeam biography and profile (Russian)
• Stats at LegionerKulichki (Russian)
• Aleksandr Mostovoi profile at BDFutbol
• Aleksandr Mostovoi at National-Football-Teams.com
• Aleksandr Mostovoi – FIFA competition record