“I had to understand why I need to do this”
Former Russian national team player and alumnus of Moscow “Spartak” Alexander Samedov announced his retirement. This 35-year-old athlete said on his official page on the social network Instagram.
“My dear friends, relatives, fans. The moment came when I finish my sports career. For many years I lived, worked and played, dreamed and made plans, knowing that you were near. All this time I tried to achieve victories and results so that you could be proud of me and Russian football. I wanted to grow as an athlete, as a football player, as an individual. My dream came true. I have achieved this. I am happy that you always believed in me, supported, worried, gave strength to go forward and achieve more, ”wrote Samedov.
The former football player of Dynamo and Lokomotiv thanked for their support their loved ones and friends, as well as coaches, former partners and fans.
“Each of you is forever in my heart!” The midfielder concluded.
The last stage of the playing career Samedov spent in the “Wings of the Soviets”. After breaking the contract with Spartak, the midfielder went to Samara, where he entered the field nine times and was noted for three assists. The athlete demonstrated a high level and benefited the team, but he failed to fully complete the final segment of the season. First, Alexander was injured in the game of the 23rd round with “Ruby”, due to which he missed the match with “Dynamo”, and then remained out of the application in the three final meetings of the championship with “Akhmat”, “Spartak” and CSKA.
At the end of the season, the club and the football player did not renew the contract, and Samedov became a free agent. At the same time, several RPL clubs showed interest in the athlete at once. According to media reports, the debutant of the Sochi league, as well as Ufa, were interested in the services of an experienced midfielder. At the same time, he himself did not rule out possible departure abroad and performances in Azerbaijan.
"Quite possible. It is difficult for me to talk about it now, much will depend on the situation ... Why not, ”Azerisport confessed to Azerisport at the end of May.
However, even the interest of a number of clubs did not convince Alexander to continue performing. According to him, the reason was the lack of truly interesting career options.
“A lot of factors. There were proposals, but they did not quite suit. I had to understand why I need to do this. In 35 years, you need to suit the financial component. A family in Moscow, transporting it to another city is not an option at the moment. We need good reasons to continue a career. And I did not find them, ”said Alexander.
At the same time, he added that he did not intend to completely quit football and wanted to try himself as a sports director.
“I want to work in football. It’s hardly possible to train, although much can change, ”concluded Samedov.
Champion of Russia and four-time winner of the country cup
During his career, Samedov managed to play for a number of giants of Russian football. The first professional club of Alexander was Spartak Moscow, for which he played for three years. Debut match came to the derby with Torpedo, which ended in defeat of red and white with a minimum score. Sam midfielder came out in the starting lineup, and in the 73rd minute was replaced by Andrei Streltsov.
As a result, the athlete helped the team win the Russian Cup, but was never able to become a solid player of the base. The most successful season for him was the 2004 season, during which he appeared 29 times on the field and upset the opponent's goalkeepers six times. But after joining the coaching bridge, Alexander Starkova, midfielder, lost his place at the start. In 2005, Vladimir Bystrov, who played in the position of the right midfielder, joined the red-and-whites' ranks, and Samedov was sold to Lokomotiv.
Until 2017, the performance in red-green was considered the most successful in Alexander's career. In total, he spent seven years at Lokomotiv and during that time managed to become one of the symbols of the team. Together with him, he won bronze medals at the Russian Championship three times and won the national cup the same number of times.
As in the case of Spartak, which Samedov left in a not very friendly atmosphere, the parting with Lokomotiv turned out to be scandalous. In the final year of performance for the railroad, Alexander expressed a desire to go back to the camp of the red-and-whites, which logically caused outrage from the head coach Yuri Semin. First, the mentor reduced the playing time of a football player, and then completely transferred him to a double.
As it turned out later, Samedov’s decision was correct. He joined the Spartak squad in the winter of 2017, and less than six months later, for the first time in his career, he became the champion of Russia in football. At the same time, Alexander himself played a huge role in the triumph of the red-and-whites, becoming the author of three winning goals in the RPL matches. So, thanks to his accurate strikes, the most important points were gained in games with Zenit, Anji and Amkar.
In addition, the victory in the RPL coincided with the start of the most successful stage in the career of Samedov in the performance for the national team. Starting in 2013, the midfielder was actively involved in the national team, but he became a solid player of the base under Stanislav Cherchesov. Under his leadership, he took part in 23 of the 25 official meetings, missing only the test matches with Argentina and Spain. At that time, the midfielder recovered after breaking the thigh muscles.
At the same time, his assets include three matches in the Confederations Cup, as well as entering the field in all five meetings of the home world football championship. Samedov was unable to score effective actions, but each time he entered the field at the start. At the end of the world championship, Alexander made a company to Igor Akinfeev, Sergey Ignashevich and Yuri Zhirkov, announcing the cessation of performances for the national team.