Yuriy Nikiforov

Yuriy Nikiforov
Personal information
Full name	Yuriy Valeryevich Nikiforov
Date of birth	(1970-09-16) 16 September 1970 (age 43)
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	0	(0)
1989–1993	Chornomorets Odesa	65	(4)
1993–1996	Spartak Moscow	85	(16)
1996–1998	Sporting Gijón	65	(2)
1998–2002	PSV	96	(5)
2002–2003	RKC	29	(1)
2003–2004	Urawa Red Diamonds	12	(0)
Total		358	(28)
National team
1992	CIS	4	(0)
1992	Ukraine	3	(0)
1992–2002	Russia	55	(6)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Yuri Valeryevich Nikiforov (alternate spelling Valeriovych; Russian: Юрий Валерьевич Никифоров, Ukrainian: Юрій Валерійович Никифоров, born 16 September 1970) is a retired Ukrainian-Russian 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 solely appearing for the reserve side, 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 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).

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. In 2002–03, the 32-year old played with lowly RKC Waalwijk, 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 Football 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).

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

Statistics

Club

International

Honours

Club

• Ukrainian Cup: 1992
• Russian League: 1993, 1994, 1996
• Russian Cup: 1994
• Dutch League: 1999–2000, 2000–01

Country

• FIFA U-16 World Cup: 1987
• UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship: 1988
• Legends Cup: 2009, 2010

Personal

Nikiforov's older brother, Oleksandr, also played professional football, also representing Chornomorets (four different spells), and coinciding with Yuri from 1989–90.

External links

• RussiaTeam biography and profile (Russian)
• KLISF statistics
• Beijen profile (Dutch)
• BDFutbol profile
• Yuriy Nikiforov at National-Football-Teams.com
• Yury Nikiforov – International Appearances; at RSSSF