For the fans of the Zenit team, the player of this club, Alexander Kerzhakov, is well known. His career did not develop without obstacles, but overcoming them, he became the unsurpassed scorer of Zenit, the real idol of the fans, the coach of the youth team and the Master of Sports (2007).
Childhood
Kerzhakov is a native of the Leningrad Region, born at the end of November 1982 in the town of Kingisepp. We can say that Alexander Anatolyevich Kerzhakov began his football career in early childhood, like many successful athletes. Introduced to football by his father, an active amateur, he did not even suspect about his bright future in this sport.
His dad Anatoly Rafailovich, who at one time devoted a short segment of his life to the football team of the 2nd league "Chemist", actively coached his son on his own almost from the day little Sasha began to walk.
Already at the age of 11, Alexander was gladly admitted to the Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of the Olympic Reserve at the Zenit club and was placed in a sports boarding school at the club. His coach Sergei Romanov had no doubt that a bright future awaits the gifted boy. Having successfully graduated from a sports school, Alexander joined the Svyatorets team and played in it for several years. This club gave the young footballer the opportunity to become the best striker of the 2000 preseason tournament.
Career
The year 2000 became significant in the life of a still very young and little-known football player Kerzhakov. Kerzhakov began the new millennium, already playing for the Zenit club, a team beloved from childhood, where the club's coach invited the talented guy. However, it so happened that Alexander spent most of the matches in reserve. After changing the coach to Valery Gazzaev, the young striker got a little more freedom, immediately delighting the fans and the coach with the first goals.
Being a very assertive and characteristic young man, by 2001 he became one of the thirty-three best Russian footballers and was included in the main team. In the same year, Alexander wins back bronze in the national championship. Three years later, Zenit is already a silver medalist, thanks to Kerzhakov.
In 2004, Kerzhakov more than once became the most productive scorer in the Euro cups. With the arrival of a new coach, Dick Advocaat, to the team, Alexander again began to play more and more matches in reserve. Perhaps even then he was considering moving to the Spanish club Sevilla.
In the new team, Kerzhakov again showed himself excellently, bringing victories and scoring goals, winning bronze in the Spanish Championship. 2006 for Alexander brought not only a medal, but also the title of ZMS of Russia.
In 2008, the footballer returns to his homeland, joining the Moscow team "Dynamo" and in 2009 demonstrates his skill, scoring in every second game. By the beginning of 2010, the scorer victoriously returned to his home club Zenit and brought his team the title of Champions. By 2013, he has become the top scorer in the history of Russian football, with 208 successfully scored goals behind him.
Kerzhakov ends his career in 2017 with a large number of titles won and brilliantly played games. At the moment Kerzhakov is an expert on the Match TV channel.
Personal life
The family life of the famous scorer is reminiscent of a serial drama. In 2005, Alexander married a student from St. Petersburg, Maria Golova, and they had a girl, Daria. Unfortunately, the family soon broke up, but Kerzhakov stubbornly refuses to discuss the reasons for this, although his daughter remained with him.
Then there was a rather serious relationship with Ekaterina, the former wife of hockey player Safronov, who already has a daughter from her first marriage. Katya gave birth to Alexander's son Igor, and then, in 2014, a scandal erupted - a football player deprived his common-law wife of parental rights.
In 2015, Kerzhakov officially married Tulip Milan. Kerzhakov's children live with him and a new wife, who is already called a mother, and Milana gave birth to a son to her husband. Recently, rumors have persisted about problems in the personal relationships of the spouses. The couple pays great attention to charity and social activities.
