Yuriy Nikiforov

Yuriy Nikiforov

Personal information
Full name	Yuriy Valeryevich Nikiforov
Date of birth	16 September 1970
Place of birth	Odessa, Soviet Union
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Centre back
Youth career
	Chornomorets Odesa
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1987	SK Odesa	5	(0)
1988	Chornomorets Odesa	1	(0)
1988–1989	Dynamo Kyiv	2	(0)
1989–1993	Chornomorets Odesa	89	(7)
1993–1996	Spartak Moscow	85	(15)
1996–1998	Sporting Gijón	65	(3)
1998–2002	PSV	99	(5)
2002–2003	RKC	29	(1)
2003–2004	Urawa Reds	12	(0)
Total		387	(31)
National team
1990-1991	Soviet Union U-21	5	(0)
1992	CIS	4	(0)
1992	Ukraine	3	(0)
1993–2002	Russia	55	(6)
Teams managed
2015	Kuban Krasnodar (assistant)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Yuri Valeryevich Nikiforov (alternate spelling Valeriovych; Russian: Юрий Валерьевич Никифоров, Ukrainian: Юрій Валерійович Никифоров; born 16 September 1970) is a retired footballer who played mainly as a central defender.

Club career

Born in Odessa, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Nikiforov started playing professionally with hometown's FC Chornomorets. After one year with FC Dynamo Kyiv in which he appeared solely for the reserves he returned to his first club, playing in the inaugural edition of the Ukrainian Premier League.

In early 1993, Nikiforov moved to Russia with FC Spartak Moscow, being an instrumental defensive unit as the capital side won three out of four Premier League titles, with the player also netting regularly. His first abroad experience came with Sporting de Gijón, to where he arrived at the same time as former compatriot Dmitri Cheryshev (he would also share team with another Russian while in Asturias, Igor Lediakhov).^[1]

After Gijón's relegation from La Liga, Nikiforov played five years in the Netherlands, starting with PSV Eindhoven which he helped to consecutive Eredivisie accolades. For 2002–03, the 32-year-old signed with lowly RKC Waalwijk also in the Dutch top level, with the club finishing in a comfortable ninth place. He finished his career in Japan, after one year with Urawa Red Diamonds.

International career

Nikiforov played four times for the Commonwealth of Independent States in 1992, as the national team that rose from the ashes of the Soviet Union took part in that year's UEFA European Championship – he did not make the squad for the finals. His debut came on 25 January in a 1–0 friendly with the United States, in Miami.

After briefly representing Ukraine, also in that year, Nikiforov switched to Russia, with which he would participate in two FIFA World Cups – 1994 and 2002 – as well as UEFA Euro 1996 (eight matches in total, but with the national side always exiting in the group stage).^[2]

In 2009, Nikiforov was part of the Russian squad that won the Legends Cup.

Personal life

Nikiforov's older brother, Oleksandr, was also a footballer. He too represented Chornomorets (four different spells), and coincided with Yuri from 1989–90.

Statistics

Club

^[3]

Club performance			League		Cup		League Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Soviet Union			League		Soviet Cup		Federation Cup		Europe		Total
1987	Odessa		5	0							5	0
1988	Chernomorets Odessa	Top League	1	0							1	0
1989	Dynamo Kyiv	Top League	2	0							2	0
1990	Chernomorets Odessa	Top League	17	0							17	0
1991			30	2							30	2
Ukraine			League		Ukrainian Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1992	Chernomorets Odessa	Ukrainian Premier League	18	2							18	2
1992/93			24	3							24	3
Russia			League		Russian Cup		Premier League Cup		Europe		Total
1993	Spartak Moscow	Russian Premier League	23	0							23	0
1994			26	2					9	0	35	2
1995			22	8					5	0	27	8
1996			14	5					8	5	22	10
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Copa de la Liga		Europe		Total
1996/97	Sporting Gijón	La Liga	38	2	3	1					41	3
1997/98			27	1							27	1
Netherlands			League		KNVB Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
1998/99	PSV	Eredivisie	25	1	3	1			5	0	33	2
1999/00			29	3	1	0			5	0	35	3
2000/01			26	1	4	0			12	0	42	1
2001/02			19	0	2	0			6	0	27	0
2002/03	RKC	Eredivisie	29	1							29	1
Japan			League		Emperor's Cup		J.League Cup		Asia		Total
2003	Urawa Reds	J1 League	12	0	0	0	4	0	-		16	0
2004			0	0	0	0	0	0	-		0	0
Country	Soviet Union		55	2							55	2
	Ukraine		42	5							42	5
	Russia		85	15					22	5	97	20
	Spain		65	3							65	3
	Netherlands		128	6							128	6
	Japan		12	0	0	0	4	0	-		16	0
Total			387	31	0	0	4	0	22	5	413	36

National team

^[4]

CIS
Year	Apps	Goals
1992	4	0
Total	4	0
Ukraine
Year	Apps	Goals
1992	3	0
Total	3	0
Russia
Year	Apps	Goals
1993	2	0
1994	9	2
1995	8	1
1996	13	3
1997	4	0
1998	4	0
1999	0	0
2000	0	0
2001	7	0
2002	8	0
Total	55	6

Honours

Club

Chornomorets Odesa

• Ukrainian Cup: 1992

Spartak Moscow

• Russian Football Premier League: 1993, 1994, 1996
• Russian Cup: 1994

PSV Eindhoven

• Eredivisie: 1999–2000, 2000–01

Country

Soviet Union

• FIFA U-16 World Cup: 1987
• UEFA European Under-18 Championship: 1988

Russia

• Legends Cup: 2009, 2010

References

1. "Desde Rusia con amor" [From Russia with love] (in Spanish). Fútbol de Primera. 16 December 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
2. "Yury Nikiforov – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 18 July 2006.
3. "Yuriy Nikiforov". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
4. "Yuriy Nikiforov". European Football. Retrieved 4 July 2016.

External links

• RussiaTeam biography and profile (Russian)
• KLISF statistics
• Beijen profile (Dutch)
• Yuriy Nikiforov profile at BDFutbol
• Yuriy Nikiforov at National-Football-Teams.com
• Yuriy Nikiforov – FIFA competition record