Aleksandr Mostovoi

Aleksandr Mostovoi
	Mostovoi in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Aleksandr Vladimirovich Mostovoi
Date of birth	22 August 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth	Lomonosov, Soviet Union
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
	Krasnaya Presnya
Senior career*
Years	Team
1985–1986	Krasnaya Presnya
1986–1991	Spartak Moscow
1992–1994	Benfica
1993–1994	→ Caen (loan)
1994–1996	Strasbourg
1996–2004	Celta
2005	Alavés
Total
International career
1990–1991	USSR
1992	CIS
1992–2004	Russia
Medal record
Men's football
Representing Soviet Union
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

Known as O Zar de Balaídos ("The Tsar of Balaídos") from his lengthy spell at Celta de Vigo, he was often referred to as a 'genius playmaker' during his time there, in addition to a volatile temperament.^[1]^[2] He also played professionally in his own country, Portugal and France.

Mostovoi earned 50 caps for Russia in a 12-year international career, being chosen for two World Cups and as many European Championships. He previously represented the Soviet Union and the CIS.

Club career

Spartak and first abroad spell

Born in Lomonosov, Russia, Soviet Union, Mostovoi signed for national 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.^[2]

Midway through 1993–94 Mostovoi joined Ligue 1 side Stade Malherbe 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 €1.95 million). 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; the final was a 4–3 aggregate win over his hometown club FC Zenit Saint Petersburg.^[3] However, he could not 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.^[4] His top-flight tally of 235 games for Celta was a club record until Hugo Mallo broke it in 2021.^[5]

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.^[6] 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.^[2]

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.^[6] He played in the Euro 1996 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.^[7]

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.^[8] 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.

Style of play

A talented attacking midfielder, Mostovoi was known for his technical ability as well as his temperamental character. A quick, agile, creative, and mobile advanced playmaker, Mostovoi was also tactically versatile, and capable of playing in several midfield and offensive positions. His preferred position was in a free role as a classic number 10, but he was also used in central midfield and as a winger on occasion. Mostovoi was renowned in particular for his first touch and speed on the ball, as well as his timing, interpretation of space and dribbling skills, which enabled him to get past defenders; he was also highly regarded for his vision and precise passing. Capable of both scoring and assisting goals, he had a penchant for scoring goals from distance.^[9]

Retirement

After retiring as a player, in 2005 Mostovoi was persuaded by the current at that time Russian Tennis Federation's president Shamil Tarpishchev to play Beach soccer for the Russian national beach soccer team.^[10]

Mostovoi has repeatedly stated his desire and willingness to lead a football club as a manager. However, Mostovoi does not have the necessary UEFA coaching licences, which he does not want to obtain. Since 2011, he has expressed various versions of this decision: from doubts about obtaining new knowledge in coaching courses to corrupt schemes to obtain this licence by other specialists.^[11]^[12]

Personal life

Mostovoi (right) and musician Igor Butman at a celebrity ice hockey match in 2017

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.^{[citation needed]}

After losing the 2001 Copa del Rey Final, a group of Celta supporters raised four million pesetas to commission a statue of Mostovoi. The player approved and Maxín Picallo was chosen as the sculptor, but the project was never finished; he believed that his dip in form in 2003 affected enthusiasm in the endeavour.^[13]

He married Stéphanie in Strasbourg during his time playing in the city.^[14] His son of the same name, known by the hypocorism Sacha, trialled with S.L. Benfica B in 2016.^[15]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition^{[citation needed]}
Club	Season	League			National cup^[a]		Continental		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Krasnaya Presnya	1986	Soviet Second League	19	7	1	0	–		20	7
Spartak Moscow	1987	Soviet Top League	18	6	4	0	4^[b]	3	26	9
	1988		27	3	4	2	4^[c]	0	35	5
	1989		11	3	2	0	2^[b]	0	15	3
	1990		23	9	3	5	4^[b]	0	30	14
	1991		27	13	2	1	7^[d]	3	36	17
	Total		106	34	15	8	21	6	142	48
Benfica	1992–93	Primeira Liga	9	0	3	2	3^[c]	0	15	2
	1993–94	Primeira Liga	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		9	0	4	2	3	0	16	2
Caen (loan)	1993–94	Division 1	15	3	0	0	–		15	3
Strasbourg	1994–95	Division 1	29	6	4	1	–		33	7
	1995–96	Division 1	32	9	3	1	6^[c]	2	41	12
	Total		61	15	7	2	6	2	74	19
Celta	1996–97	La Liga	31	5	6	1	–		37	6
	1997–98		34	8	3	1	–		37	9
	1998–99		33	6	1	0	7^[c]	3	41	9
	1999–2000		26	6	1	0	7^[c]	2	34	8
	2000–01		30	9	6	2	9^[c]	2	45	13
	2001–02		30	10	0	0	1^[c]1	3	31	13
	2002–03		27	5	0	0	4^[c]	1	31	6
	2003–04		24	6	2	0	8^[e]	2	34	8
	Total		235	55	19	4	36	13	290	72
Alavés	2004–05	Segunda División	1	1	0	0	–		1	1
Career total			446	116	42	14	64	20	552	150

^ Includes Soviet Cup, Taça de Portugal, Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira, Coupe de France, Copa del Rey
^ ^a ^b ^c Appearances in European Cup
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Appearances in UEFA Cup
^ Appearances in European Cup Winners' Cup
^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

**Alexander Mostovoi: International goals**
No.	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	0–1	4–2	Friendly
2	6 October 1993	King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia	Saudi Arabia	3–2	4–2	Friendly
3	6 September 1995	Svangaskarð, Toftir, Faroe Islands	Faroe Islands	0–1	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	2–2	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	4–1	Euro 2004 qualifying