Yuri Zhevnov and Yulia Mankovskaya. Yuri Zhevnov: talented Belarusian goalkeeper. National team career
Every football player needs match practice to keep himself in good shape. Vegetating on the bench leads to the fact that the greatest talent will gradually begin to degrade and lose his professional suitability. A sad example of this is Yuri Zhevnov, a football player who in the second half of the 2000s was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the Russian Premier League. However, after a long vegetation as a reserve goalkeeper, everyone gradually began to forget about him.
Goalkeeper
Yuri Zhevnov was born in 1981 in the small Belarusian town of Dobrush, in the Gomel region. From the age of six, the boy studied diligently at the local youth sports school, after which he moved to Minsk. From the age of 14, he polished his goalkeeping talents already in the main factory of stars of Belarusian athletes - the Minsk School of Olympic Reserve.
The main club of the country, which was Bate Borisov, could not miss the promising goalkeeper, and at the age of seventeen Yuri joined the flagship of local football. After just a couple of years, the recent junior becomes the main goalkeeper of the club.
He also holds the Belarusian record for the longest dry streak. For 763 minutes, the native of Dobrush kept his goal intact.
He has another interesting achievement to his name, which he achieved in a UEFA Cup match in 2004. Putting the ball into play, Yuri Zhevnov sent it into the field with such force that it landed right into the opponent’s goal. Thus, Yuri Zhevnov joined the ranks of goalkeepers and goal scorers and joined Chilavert, Butu and other scorers.
Moving to Russia
In 2005, the Belarusian goalkeeper accepted an offer from the Moscow football club. From the first matches he showed that he is a real find for the Moscow team. In March, Yuri Zhevnov managed to save a penalty in a match with Spartak and helped achieve the final victory, keeping the goal open.
Being relatively short for a goalkeeper, he had excellent reflexes and worked well on the goal line. At the same time, he skillfully read the game and chose his position wisely, always working prudently and prudently on his exits. Always collected, Yuri Zhevnov kept his cool in every match and made virtually no mistakes.
FC Moscow was not the strongest club in Russia; opposing attackers often threatened the goal, however, largely thanks to the Belarusian, they scored against the “citizens” infrequently.
In 118 Premier League matches, the player from Dobrush conceded only 105 goals, which is an excellent indicator for any goalkeeper, especially those playing in an average team.
Yuri Zhevnov. "Zenith"
In 2010, FC Moscow went bankrupt and ceased to exist. The club's players received the status of free agents and scattered to different teams. Yuri Zhevnov accepted the invitation of St. Petersburg Zenit, where Vyacheslav Malafeev played as a goalkeeper.
He acted inconsistently: being a high-quality player, he nevertheless made ridiculous mistakes in some matches. Many experts assumed that the reliable Zhevnov would be able to win the dispute for a place in the lineup against the Zenit graduate. However, feeling the breath of a competitor behind his back, Malafeev came to his senses and concentrated extremely on the game.
Zhevnov himself, finding himself in the unusual role of a reserve goalkeeper, lost confidence in his abilities. The main thing is that he began to make mistakes in the most important games, as was the case with CSKA and Lokomotiv.
He also made a mistake in the most decisive match of the 2011/2012 season for Zenit. In the 1/8 finals match, the St. Petersburg club met with Benfica. Zhevnov unsuccessfully kicked the ball, which led to a goal against him and Zenit's relegation.
Adding to all the troubles is the restriction on foreign players in Russian football. Having played for the Belarusian national team, Zhevnov was considered a foreigner and fell under the quota for participation in matches. Therefore, the coaches of all Russian clubs preferred to use domestic goalkeepers.
Having played only 15 matches over 4 years, Yuri Zhevnov finally left St. Petersburg. Then in his career there were “Torpedo”, “Ural”. Now the fate of the talented but unhappy goalkeeper is not completely clear.
Personal life
For some time, Yuri Zhevnov met with Anna Glazkova. This was followed by an acquaintance with Yulia Mankovskaya, who was the lead singer of the Las Vegas group. In 2011 they got married.
Zhevnov was one of the most talented goalkeepers of the mid-2000s, but an unsuccessful choice to continue his career caused the loss of playing experience and high qualifications.
He started playing football at the age of 7 at the youth sports school in the city of Dobrush. From the age of 14 he studied at the Republican School of Olympic Reserve (Minsk).
In 1998, he signed a professional contract with the BATE club. He played for "MPKTS-96", "RUOR", "Smena-BATE", "RSHVSM-Olympia" (all - Minsk). As part of BATE he became the champion of Belarus. In the 2004/05 UEFA Cup match against Dynamo Tbilisi, he scored a goal with a kick from his own goal.
From 2005 to 2010 he played for the Moscow club, where he made his debut on March 12, 2005 in a match with Spartak Moscow, in which his club won 2:0. Yuri saved a penalty in this match. Only in his 3rd match for Moscow, against Rubin, did Zhevnov miss the goal: his goal was hit by Tomas Cizek in the 1st added minute of the 2nd half. The following year, Zhevnov dropped out of the team, losing to Sergei Kozko. Since 2007, Zhevnov has been a player in the main team of the club, in several games of which he led Moscow as team captain.
On February 23, 2010, he signed a four-year contract with Zenit. He made his debut for the club on April 7, 2010 in the Russian Cup match against Volga Tver, keeping his goal intact. He played his first game for Zenit in the Russian Championship on July 24, 2010 in the 14th round against Rostov; the match ended in a victory for Zenit with a score of 3:1. Zhevnov missed a goal from the penalty spot in the 88th minute. On the night of August 25-26, 2010, he made his debut for Zenit in European competition in the Champions League playoff match against Auxerre, replacing Malafeev, who received a red card. On February 15, 2012, he played the full home match of the 1/8 finals of the Champions League against Benfica.
National team career
Participant of the 2004 European Youth Championship in Germany.
In 2002, he made his debut in the national team of Belarus in a match with Uzbekistan. On March 2, 2010, he was elected captain of the Belarusian national team.
Achievements
Team
Best of the day
Belarusian Championship:
Champion: 2002
Silver medalist: 2003
Bronze medalist: 2001
"Moscow"
Russian Cup finalist: 2006/07
Champion of Russia: 2010, 2011/2012
Russian Cup winner: 2009/10
Winner of the Russian Super Cup: 2011
Personal
Best Goalkeeper of Belarus (2003)
Holder of the record “dry streak” of the Belarusian championships - 763 minutes
Best football player of Belarus 2010
Yuri Zhevnov is an active Belarusian football player, goalkeeper of the Russian team “Ural” and the Belarusian national team. He played many good matches and was a Zenit player. At the initial stage of his career, he spent five years at BATE, playing in European competitions. True, only in the UEFA Cup: the goalkeeper left the team long before the Belarusian giants began to regularly compete in the Champions League - the most prestigious European football competition today. Now Yuri Zhevnov plays in Russia.
Dossier
Yuri Vladimirovich Zhevnov was born on April 17, 1981 in the city of Dobrush, Gomel region (Belarus). Citizen of Belarus and Russia. The position on the football field is goalkeeper. Height - 180 cm, weight - 79 kg. Married. Has the title
Footballer's career
Goalkeeper Yuri Zhevnov began his football career in the youth team of the Belarusian clubs MPKTS-96, Ruor, RSHVSM-Olympia, Smena-BATE. He has been playing in big-time football since 2000. He played 80 matches for the Belarusian BATE and conceded 68 goals. He played 186 games in Russian clubs and missed 179 goals.
- 2000-2004 - BATE (Minsk).
- 2005-2009 - FC Moscow.
- 2010-2013 - Zenit (St. Petersburg).
- 2014-2015 - Torpedo (Moscow).
- 2015-present - Ural (Ekaterinburg).
From 2002 to the present, Yuri Zhevnov (photo in the article) has played 58 matches as part of the Belarusian national team. In the period from 2000 to 2004, he was a member of the country's youth team, in which he played 38 matches. Participant of the 2004 European Championship (U-21).
Stages of the football journey
Yuri Zhevnov is a graduate of Belarusian football. After graduating from the children's and youth sports school, he studied at the Minsk Olympic Reserve School. He played in a number of Belarusian teams. At the age of 17, he signed his first professional contract with the BATE team. Yuri began his performances in the main team of Belarus in the 2000 season. Over five years, he played 80 matches with BATE. He participated in UEFA Cup matches (scored 1 goal), became a champion (2002), silver (2000, 2003, 2004) and bronze (2001) medalist of the Belarusian championship, participant in the 2004 European Championship among youth teams, best goalkeeper (2003, 2004) and the best football player in Belarus (2010).
In 2005 he joined FC Moscow. He played his debut match in the Russian Championship in a duel against Spartak Moscow. In this match, Yuri Zhevnov saved his first penalty.
The next season was unsuccessful for the goalkeeper. Yuri spent it as an understudy, losing post No. 1 to Sergei Kozko. And only since the 2007 championship, Yuri Zhevnov has become the main gatekeeper of the Moscow club and its captain. In the same year he was recognized as the best football player of the team. He is awarded the title of Master of Sports of Russia.
The next four years of his football career were spent in the Zenit team. On August 5, 2010, Yuri made his debut in the Champions League in a match with the French Auxerre. He played his second and so far last match in the main European club tournament in the match with Benfica. Together with the team, he wins gold (2011, 2012) and silver (2013) medals in the Russian championship, and becomes the winner of the country's Cup (2010) and Super Cup (2011).
Although, by and large, the goalkeeper’s career at Zenit did not work out. A series of injuries, often ridiculous, almost out of the blue, did not allow Zhevnov to play consistently in the main team. Six rounds before the end of the championship, after another injury, already in the eighth minute of the match in a match with the Mordovia club, he actually ended his relationship with the Leningrad team. Zenit coach Luciano Spalletti relied on other goalkeepers.
In 2013, having failed to create competition for Vyacheslav Malafeev and Yuri Zhevnov, he moved to the Torpedo club as a free agent. After playing a season for the Moscow team (29 meetings), in June 2015 he signed a contract with the Ural club. Yuri considers the main reason why the football player moved to the Yekaterinburg team to be his long-standing friendship with the head coach of the club. He once studied with him at the Olympic Reserve School in Minsk. Currently, Yuri Zhevnov has played 11 matches for the Ural team, in which he conceded 15 goals.
Family
Yuri Zhevnov and Yulia Mankovskaya legalized their relationship in Minsk in 2011. The footballer's wife is a master of sports in rhythmic gymnastics, a former soloist of the Las Vegas musical group. She is also an actress (graduated from VTU named after Shchukin), who has played leading roles in several television series, and is also a participant in the project “Dancing with the Stars” (Belarusian version). The family has two daughters: Masha and Eva.
On the one hand, the Belarusian goalkeeper of St. Petersburg “Zenith” is a lucky man, but on the other hand, he seems not to be completely fulfilled. In any other club, with the possible exception of CSKA, he would have been the number one goalkeeper, but at one time he chose to move from the now deceased Moscow to Zenit, where the main goalkeeper position was firmly occupied by Vyacheslav Malafeev.
Did Zhevnov hope to “sit on” Vyacheslav in an amicable way and compete with him for post number one? Undoubtedly. However, it hasn’t worked out yet.
The Zenit goalkeeper started playing football as a seven-year-old boy in the small Belarusian town of Drobush, but at the age of 14 he ended up in the forge of football personnel in his country - at the Minsk Olympic Reserve School. At the age of 17, he became a professional, signing a contract with the now widely known and most popular club in Belarus, BATE. He quickly became the main goalkeeper here and his name is still listed in the records column of his country's championships: 763 minutes on the field without missing a single goal.
Yuri Zhevnov also has another record for BATE: in a match of such a serious tournament as the UEFA Cup with Dynamo Tbilisi in 2004, he scored a goal against the Georgians. And not from the penalty spot, and not even when the whole team is trying to score a goal in the last minutes of the match, which is why the goalkeeper is sent into someone else’s penalty area. Everything turned out to be simpler - and these shots are still popular on the Internet - Zhevnov knocked the ball into the field from his own penalty area so hard that, having reached the Tbilisi Dynamo penalty area, it hit the field and, rounding the stunned goalkeeper of the Georgian club, ended up in the goal net .
And Yuri Zhevnov already met the 2005 season in Russia; he was invited by the Moscow club. Already in March of this season, Zhevnov, having entered the field in a match against the formidable Moscow Spartak, accomplished his first small feat: not only did the “citizens” then win - 2:0, but Yuri at the decisive moment saved a penalty awarded to him gates.
Is it any wonder that after some time the goalkeeper was entrusted with the captain's armband in the club, and Moscow, also not without the help of Zhevnov, became one of the leading Russian clubs. But then a financial crisis struck the “townspeople”, and wealthier teams began to take the players apart “piece by piece.” There were many contenders for Zhevnov, including Zenit from St. Petersburg. The Belarusian chose the Russian champion in 2010. He was confident in his abilities and even in various interviews he said more than once that he was ready to seriously compete with Vyacheslav Malafeev, who sometimes made serious mistakes in matches for the St. Petersburg team.
Yuri Zhevnov had no idea, of course, that it was his move to Zenit that would become a kind of doping for Malafeev, who relaxed slightly, not feeling the breath of a competitor behind his back. And after Zhevnov’s transfer, Vyacheslav played in such a way that every now and then he left the goalkeeper of the Belarusian national team on the bench.
Of course, during this peculiar competition between two talents, Yuri Zhevnov had chances - Malafeev had injuries, he also made mistakes in important meetings, but his competitor, being in the starting lineup, was also not without sin. Why did he sit down on the “bench” again?
The latest example at the moment is the home match with Benfica in the 2011/2012 Champions League. Then Zenit won 3:2, but the two goals missed by Zhevnov, if not considered goalkeeper blunders, were from the category when the goalkeeper was obliged to play more clearly and responsibly. And this allows us to say that a goalkeeper deprived of playing practice, even one as talented as Yuri, loses something in his arsenal. And here the football player is faced with a choice: change the club to a less prestigious one or prepare to end his career in an elite one. It is difficult to predict what choice Zhevnov will make - he is a secretive person.
This is evidenced by the fact that in December 2011, Yuri finally got married. He does not reveal the name of his wife to the press; the wedding took place in Belarus, and none of the Zenit players were present. Zhevnov himself sparingly mentioned that only family and friends were present at the wedding. It turns out that Yuri still has not made friends and family in St. Petersburg.
Alexey Morgun
