Pavel Pogrebnyak

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Pavel Pogrebnyak
Pogrebnyak with Tosno in 2018
Personal information
Full name Pavel Viktorovich Pogrebnyak
Date of birth (1983-11-08) 8 November 1983 (age 40)
Place of birth Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1989–2002 Spartak Moscow
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2002–2005 Spartak Moscow 18 (2)
2003Baltika Kaliningrad (loan) 40 (15)
2004Khimki (loan) 12 (6)
2005Shinnik Yaroslavl (loan) 23 (4)
2006 Tom Tomsk 26 (13)
2007–2009 Zenit Saint Petersburg 58 (22)
2009–2012 VfB Stuttgart 68 (15)
2012 Fulham 12 (6)
2012–2015 Reading 93 (26)
2015–2018 Dynamo Moscow 25 (1)
2018 Tosno 6 (3)
2018–2021 Ural Yekaterinburg 45 (10)
International career
2004–2005 Russia U21 6 (0)
2006–2012 Russia 33 (8)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Pavel Viktorovich Pogrebnyak (Russian: Па́вел Ви́кторович Погребня́к [ˈpavʲɪl ˈvʲiktərəvʲɪtɕ pəɡrʲɪbˈnʲak]; born 8 November 1983) is a Russian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Born in Moscow, Pogrebnyak began his career at Spartak Moscow, making his professional debut in 2002. Over the next three years, he spent time away on loan at Baltika Kaliningrad, Khimki and Shinnik Yaroslavl before joining Tom Tomsk in 2006. After a season with them, he moved to top Russian side Zenit St. Petersburg. There he spent three seasons and had his greatest spell of success, winning the Russian Premier League, the Russian Super Cup, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. In 2009, he joined German side VfB Stuttgart. After two-and-a-half seasons, he moved to English Premier League side Fulham in January 2012, and then to Reading six months later.

He is nicknamed The Pog,[1] Pogreb ("The Cellar")[2] or Velikiy Po ("Po the Great"),[3] the latter popularized by his former Zenit teammate Andrei Arshavin.[4] He is a "powerful player who holds the ball up well."[5]

Club career[edit]

Early career[edit]

Pogrebnyak started playing football at the age of six for the Spartak Moscow football school. In 2001, he made his debut for the Spartak reserve team and one year later he was selected for the first team squad. Between 2001 and 2003, he scored eight goals in 23 appearances.

In 2003, Pogrebnyak played 40 matches and scored 15 goals while on loan with Baltika Kaliningrad. He played 16 times and scored two goals for Spartak Moscow the next season. The same season he also scored six goals for FC Khimki in 12 appearances. In 2005, Pogrebnyak played for Shinnik Yaroslavl and scored four goals in 23 matches. Pogrebnyak made his true breakthrough during the 2006 season with Tom Tomsk scoring 13 goals in 26 matches and became one of the favorites amongst the local fans.

Zenit St. Petersburg[edit]

Pogrebnyak was signed in the off-season by Zenit St. Petersburg. In 2007, he scored 13 goals as Zenit won the national league. Zenit won the 2008 Russian Super Cup 2–1 over Lokomotiv Moscow, with Pogrebnyak scoring the winner in the 82nd minute.

Along with Luca Toni, Pogrebnyak was joint top-scorer in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup season, scoring ten goals and helping Zenit reach the final to be played at the City of Manchester Stadium. However, Pogrebnyak was to miss the final because of suspension following a third tournament booking in the semifinal's second leg win over Bayern Munich. In the final, Zenit still triumphed over runners-up Rangers to add their first European silverware.[6] In the 2008 UEFA Super Cup he scored one of the Zenit's two goals in the 2–1 over English champions Manchester United.

On 28 January 2009, Zenit officials declared that they were on the verge of accepting a bid from Blackburn Rovers which would see the player move to the English side during the January transfer window, but the transfer did not take place.[7]

Stuttgart[edit]

Pogrebnyak in August 2010

On 1 August 2009, he agreed to join VfB Stuttgart.[8] Pogrebnyak made his Bundesliga debut seven days later by playing all 90 minutes in the opening day 2–0 defeat to the defending champions Wolfsburg. He scored his first goal in his second game, on 15 August 2009, in Stuttgart's 4–2 win over Freiburg, in which he also won a penalty.[9]

He ended his first season in German football scoring eight goals (six in the league). He then started the 2010–11 season scoring four goals in the first four games including his first hat-trick in Stuttgart's historic 7–0 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach.[citation needed]

Fulham[edit]

On 31 January 2012, Pogrebnyak moved to Premier League side Fulham[10] and signed a contract until the end of the season.[11] He then scored on his debut in the 2–1 win over Stoke City on 11 February 2012.[12] In the following game he scored again, this time against London rivals Queens Park Rangers giving Fulham a 1–0 win.[13] He then scored a perfect hat-trick in his next game, in a 5–0 win against Wolves on 4 March, meaning he had scored five goals in his first three games for Fulham.[14] This made him the quickest player to reach five goals in Premier League history. On 21 April 2012, he returned from an ankle injury to score in a 2–1 win against Wigan Athletic at Craven Cottage.[15] He was released by Fulham on 1 July after failing to reach terms to extend his contract. Pogrebnyak announced that whatever happens over his contract he will remain in England.

Reading[edit]

On 8 July 2012, shortly after UEFA Euro 2012, Pogrebnyak signed a four-year contract with Reading on a free transfer. Manager Brian McDermott confirmed that it had been a "long process" as the deal was subject to Pogrebnyak obtaining a work permit while the club also denied rumours that he would be earning £65,000 a week.[16][17][18] He made his debut on the opening day of the 2012–13 Premier League against Stoke City and scored his first goal in Reading's next game, a 4–2 defeat to Chelsea.[19][20] He scored a last-minute goal in Reading's home game against West Bromwich Albion in January which saw them come from 2–0 down to win 3–2 but did not score again that season, finishing with eight goals, five in the Premier League.[21][22]

Following Reading's relegation, Pogrebnyak was linked with a move away from the club but did not leave.[23][24] He scored his first goals in more than eight months after netting twice in a 3–1 win over Derby County in September 2013.[25]

Dynamo Moscow[edit]

On 27 August 2015, Pogrebnyak moved back to Russia, signing a three-year contract with Dynamo Moscow.[26][27]

Dynamo released him on 25 January 2018, citing disciplinary reasons, such as attending a Juventus - Inter Milan game in Italy on the same day Dynamo played a league game and participating in the annual exhibition FC Spartak Moscow academy alumni game without Dynamo's authorization.[28] Pogrebnyak said he will demand the compensation for the full length of his contract through the Russian Football Union.[29]

Tosno[edit]

On 22 February 2018, he signed a contract until the end of the 2017–18 season with FC Tosno.[30] Pogrebnyak was crucial to the biggest achievement in the club's history, which came on 9 May 2018 with their victory in the 2017–18 Russian Cup final.

Ural Yekaterinburg[edit]

On 29 August 2018, he signed a contract with FC Ural Yekaterinburg.[31] On 24 July 2020, Pogrebnyak was released from the club.[32] After missing the first 10 games of the 2020–21 Russian Premier League season, he returned to Ural on 16 October 2020.[33] On 10 June 2021, he left Ural once again as his contract expired.[34]

International career[edit]

Pogrebnyak debuted for the Russian national team on 16 August 2006 in a friendly match against Latvia, where he scored his first goal. He was also initially called up as part of the Russian squad for UEFA Euro 2008, but because of a knee injury he picked up in a friendly match versus Serbia, he was replaced by Oleg Ivanov before Russia began the tournament.[35] He was confirmed for the finalized UEFA Euro 2012 squad on 25 May 2012.[36]

On 12 May 2014, Pogrebnyak was called up to the provisional 30-man Russian World Cup squad,[37] however four days later he was replaced by Denis Cheryshev as the squad was cut down to 25 players.[38]

Personal life[edit]

Pogrebnyak is married to Maria Shatalova – Pogrebnyak[39] and they have three sons: Artem, Pavel and Alexey.[40] In July 2023, Shatalova – Pogrebnyak filed for divorce.[41]

He is the brother of Kirill Pogrebnyak and Nikolai Pogrebnyak, they are both free agents as of June 2021.

In March 2019 Pogrebnyak was accused of racism after saying it was "laughable" for black players to represent the Russian national team.[42] Russian Football Union fined him 250,000 rubles (approximately €3,300) and put him on probation until the end of the 2018–19 season for his statements.[43]

He is the subject of the song "My cousin looks like Pavel Pogrebnyak" by Kunt and the Gang, a song focusing on how much the singer's[44] cousin looks like Pavel.

Career statistics[edit]

Club[edit]

As of match played 13 May 2018
Club Season League National cup League cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Spartak Moscow 2002 Russian Premier League 2 0 2 0
2004 Russian Premier League 16 2 1 0 5 3 1[a] 0 23 5
Total 18 2 1 0 5 3 1 0 25 5
Baltika Kaliningrad (loan) 2003 FNL 40 15 1 0 41 15
Khimki (loan) 2004 FNL 12 6 1 0 13 6
Shinnik Yaroslavl (loan) 2005 Russian Premier League 23 4 2 1 25 5
Tom Tomsk 2006 Russian Premier League 26 13 1 1 27 14
Zenit 2007 Russian Premier League 24 11 4 2 7 4 35 17
2008 Russian Premier League 19 6 14 8 2[b] 2 35 16
2009 Russian Premier League 15 5 1 1 4 0 20 6
Total 58 22 5 3 25 12 2 2 90 39
VfB Stuttgart 2009–10 Bundesliga 28 6 2 0 10 2 40 8
2010–11 Bundesliga 26 8 3 2 7 2 36 12
2011–12 Bundesliga 14 1 1 0 15 1
Total 68 15 6 2 17 4 91 21
Fulham (loan) 2011–12 Premier League 12 6 12 6
Reading 2012–13 Premier League 29 5 0 0 2 2 31 7
2013–14 Championship 39 13 1 0 0 0 40 13
2014–15 Championship 26 6 5 0 1 0 32 6
Total 94 24 6 0 3 2 103 26
Dynamo Moscow 2015–16 Russian Premier League 16 1 3 0 19 1
2016–17 Russian Premier League 8 0 1 0 9 0
2017–18 Russian Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 25 1 4 0 29 1
Tosno 2017–18 Russian Premier League 6 3 2 1 8 4
Career total 382 111 29 8 3 2 47 19 3 2 464 142
  1. ^ One appearance in Russian Super Cup
  2. ^ One appearance and one goal in UEFA Super Cup, one appearance and one goal in Russian Super Cup

International[edit]

As of match played 16 June 2012.[45]
National team Year Apps Goals
Russia 2006 5 2
2007 2 0
2008 5 3
2009 5 0
2010 7 2
2011 6 1
2012 3 0
Total 33 8
Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Pogrebnyak goal.[46][47]
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 16 August 2006 Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia  Latvia 1–0 1–0 Friendly
2. 11 October 2006 Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia  Estonia 1–0 2–0 Euro 2008 qualifier
3. 23 May 2008 Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia  Kazakhstan 1–0 6–0 Friendly
4. 28 May 2008 Wacker-Arena, Burghausen, Germany  Serbia 1–0 2–1 Friendly
5. 10 September 2008 Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia  Wales 2–1 2–1 2010 World Cup qualifier
6. 3 September 2010 Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra  Andorra 1–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
7. 3 September 2010 Estadi Comunal, Andorra la Vella, Andorra  Andorra 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
8. 10 August 2011 Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia  Serbia 1–0 1–0 Friendly

Honours[edit]

Zenit Saint Petersburg

Tosno

Individual

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Brede Hangeland hoping The Pog becomes a vital cog in the Fulham machine". London Evening Standard. 5 March 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
  2. ^ Гус Хиддинк едва не зашиб болельщика (in Russian). Izvestia. 6 September 2006. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  3. ^ Погребняк купил свой портрет (in Russian). Komsomolskaya Pravda. 27 May 2009. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  4. ^ Андрей Аршавин: "Скоро все будет хорошо!" (in Russian). Sport Express. 29 December 2008. Retrieved 4 November 2009.
  5. ^ Wilson, Jonathan. "Euro 2012: Russia". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  6. ^ Lindsay, Clive (14 May 2008). "Zenit St Petersburg 2–0 Rangers". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  7. ^ Zaitsev, Slava (28 January 2009). "Rovers bid for Russian: Blackburn eye Pogrebnyak". Sky Sports News. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  8. ^ "Stuttgart Sign Pavel Pogrebnyak From Zenit". goal.com. 1 August 2009. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  9. ^ "Bundesliga round-up". Sky Sports. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 15 August 2009.
  10. ^ "Pogrebnyak on the move to Fulham". VfB Stuttgart. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2012.
  11. ^ "FFC Sign Pogrebnyak". Fulham F.C. 31 January 2012. Archived from the original on 2 February 2012. Retrieved 19 January 2014.
  12. ^ "Fulham 2–1 Stoke". BBC Sport. 11 February 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  13. ^ "QPR 0–1 Fulham". BBC Sport. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  14. ^ "Fulham 5–0 Wolves". BBC Sport. 4 March 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  15. ^ "Fulham 2–1 Wigan". BBC Sport. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  16. ^ "Pogrebnyak deal is completed". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  17. ^ "Pogrebnyak agrees terms". Reading F.C. Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  18. ^ "Pavel Pogrebnyak completes Reading move". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  19. ^ "Reading 1–1 Stoke City". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  20. ^ "Chelsea 4–2 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  21. ^ Oscroft, Tim (12 January 2013). "Three goals in the final eight minutes gave Reading an unlikely win over West Brom at the Madejski Stadium". BBC Sport. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  22. ^ "Games played by Pavel Pogrebnyak in 2012/2013". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  23. ^ "Pavel's contribution". Reading F.C. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  24. ^ Watts, Charles (25 September 2013). "Support is music to Pogrebnyak's ears". Reading Post. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  25. ^ "Derby County 1–3 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 27 September 2013.
  26. ^ "Pogrebnyak joins Dynamo Moscow". www.readingfc.co.uk/. Reading F.C. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
  27. ^ Павел Погребняк – в Динамо!. fcdynamo.ru (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 27 August 2015. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  28. ^ ПОЧЕМУ "ДИНАМО" РАСТОРГЛО КОНТРАКТ С ПОГРЕБНЯКОМ. ВОТ ОБОСНОВАНИЕ (in Russian). Sport Express. 25 January 2018.
  29. ^ ПОГРЕБНЯК – О СПОРЕ С "ДИНАМО": "БУДУ ДОБИВАТЬСЯ СПРАВЕДЛИВОСТИ В ПАЛАТЕ ПО РАЗРЕШЕНИЮ СПОРОВ" (in Russian). Sport Express. 26 January 2017.
  30. ^ «Тосно» заключил контракт с Павлом Погребняком (in Russian). FC Tosno. 22 February 2018. Archived from the original on 25 February 2018. Retrieved 22 February 2018.
  31. ^ Павел Погребняк стал футболистом "Урала"! (in Russian). FC Ural Yekaterinburg. 29 August 2018.
  32. ^ "Pogrebnyak verlässt Jekaterinburg". kicker (in German). Retrieved 26 July 2020.
  33. ^ "Павел Погребняк вернулся в "Урал"!" (in Russian). FC Ural Yekaterinburg. 16 October 2020.
  34. ^ "Павел Погребняк покидает "Урал"" (in Russian). FC Ural Yekaterinburg. 10 June 2021.
  35. ^ "Pogrebnyak injury rocks Russians". BBC News. 7 June 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
  36. ^ "Advocaat announced the finalized Euro Squad" (in Russian). rfs.ru. 25 May 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  37. ^ "World Cup 2014: Reading's Pavel Pogrebnyak called up by Russia". BBC Sport. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  38. ^ Список сборной РФ на ЧМ сократили до 25 футболистов, Черышев заменил Погребняка (in Russian). Rsport. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  39. ^ Weinacht, Dennis (21 August 2009). "Pogrebnyak: Maria macht ihn zum neuen Gomez" (in German). goal.com. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  40. ^ "Pogrebnjak: Habe nicht vor, hier wegzugehen". bild.de. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
  41. ^ "Жена экс-футболиста сборной России Павла Погребняка подала на развод". Sportrbc.ru (in Russian). 18 July 2023.
  42. ^ "Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak's comment on black players 'smells of racism'". BBC Sport. 19 March 2019.
  43. ^ Погребняк оштрафован на 250 тыс. рублей за расистские высказывания (in Russian). Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 26 March 2019.
  44. ^ "My Cousin Looks Like Pavel Pogrebnyak". www.kuntandthegang.co.uk.
  45. ^ "Pavel Pogrebnyak". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 18 October 2013.
  46. ^ "Россия - Латвия: Погребняк выиграл голландское начало" (in Russian). championat.com. 16 August 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  47. ^ "Pavel Pogrebnyak - matches and goals for Russia". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 1 May 2022.

External links[edit]