Born on the 29th May 1981, Russian maestro Andrei Arshavin is one of Europe’s most frustrating footballers. Dazzlingly brilliant with a cheeky charm one day, virtually anonymous the next, Arshavin’s career has lurched from almighty high to humbling low and back again on numerous occasions. But with national newspapers this week reporting that he is set to hang up his boots at the end of the season, aged just 32, where did it all go wrong for a man who was once the hottest prospect in European football?
Arshavin grew up in Zenit, sleeping on the floor of the cramped flat which he shared with his mother, who had been divorced by Arshavin’s father, an amateur footballer, when Andrei was 12. A hard childhood almost ended prematurely with a horrific car accident but Andrei survived and would go on to gain a degree as a fashion student despite being kicked out of high school.
Having joined the youth academy of hometown club Zenit St Petersburg at the age of 7, Andrei worked his way up through the ranks to make his debut in the summer of 2000 against English club Bradford City. His Zenit career only really took off during the 2007 season when 11 goals and 11 assists saw him play an influential part in delivering Zenit’s first title since the breakup of the Soviet Union.
However, it would be the season of 2008 which forced the world to sit up and take notice of Russian football’s superstar. A man of the match award in Zenit’s UEFA Cup Final victory over Rangers saw him cement his place in Guus Hiddink’s national squad despite the fact that he would be suspended for the first two group games.
He began to repay his manager’s faith with a goal and an assist in the final group game against Sweden to send Russia through to the quarter finals where they faced Holland and with the scores level at 1-1 after 90 minutes, extra time began.
It was arguably in the 30 minutes of extra time that would follow that Arshavin finally lifted himself above the mediocrity of Eastern European football and established himself as one of Europe’s elite. He was unplayable, displaying a verve, fitness and enthusiasm that would seemingly desert him later in his career.
An assist to put his side ahead was followed by a goal of his own, a crowning glory on what remains the finest of his 75 appearances international football. Russia would exit the competition a few days later, defeated by eventual winners Spain.
The semi-final exit marked the start of a difficult period for Arshavin. In the summer that followed the Euro’s Zenit turned down bids in the region of £15million from a number of Europe’s top clubs including Barcelona, instead holding out for a £22million offer which never arrived. Andrei became disillusioned with life in Russia having already told supporters that the 2008 season would be his last at the club.