The next destination of our alphabetical world tour is Russia. In footballing terms, Russia is the direct successor of the USSR national team and inherited its records following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Eight players have represented Russia in the Premier League, including one on the Premier League’s very first weekend back in 1992.
First Player – Andrei Kanchelskis (Manchester United, Everton, Man City, Southampton; 1992-97, 2001-03)
One of a handful of non-British or Irish players to feature in the Premier League’s opening weekend, Kanchelskis was a key part of the Manchester United side that won two of the first three Premier League titles.
Also turning out for Everton, Manchester City and Southampton over a fine club career, Kanchelskis is widely respected in England and Scotland, having also played for Rangers between 1998 and 2002.
Kanchelskis made 59 appearances for the Soviet Union, CIS (the team of Soviet players allowed to compete in Euro 1992 while the Soviet Union was in transition) and Russia. He scored the final goal ever scored by the Soviet Union, in 1991.
Records
- Most Appearances – Andrei Kanchelskis (151)
- First appearance – Andrei Kanchelskis (Sheffield United 2-1 MAN UNITED, August 5th 1992)
- Most goals – Andrei Kanchelskis (42)
- First goal – Andrei Kanchelskis (MAN UNITED 2-0 Leeds, September 6th 1992)
Current/Most Recent Players
No Russians currently play in the Premier League. The last season to feature a Russian was 2012/13 when Andrey Arshavin left Arsenal and Pavel Pogrebnyak was relegated with Reading. Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Yuri Zhirkov also featured earlier in the 2010s.
Trivia
- Russia are one of 48 current UEFA nations to have appeared in the Premier League.
- Andrei Kanchelskis and Dmitri Kharin won international caps for Russia under three incarnations of the Russian national team (USSR: …-1991, CIS: 1992, Russia: 1992-…).
- Before 2013, only two seasons in Premier League history had eclipsed without a Russian making an appearance (1999/2000 and 2001/02). Including 2019/20, there have now been seven consecutive Premier League seasons without a Russian appearance.
