Konstantin Zyryanov

Konstantin Zyryanov

Zyryanov at Zenit in 2014
Personal information
Full name	Konstantin Georgiyevich Zyryanov
Date of birth	(1977-10-05) 5 October 1977 (age 39)
Place of birth	Perm, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Zenit-2 St. Petersburg (Player-Coach)
Number	18
Youth career
	Zvezda Perm
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–2000	Amkar Perm	171	(48)
2000	Torpedo-2 Moscow	2	(1)
2000–2007	Torpedo Moscow	164	(9)
2007–2014	Zenit Saint Petersburg	201	(30)
2014–	Zenit-2 St. Petersburg	80	(10)
National team‡
2006–2012	Russia	52	(7)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23 April 2017. ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:54, 17 December 2012 (UTC)

Konstantin Georgiyevich Zyryanov (Russian: Константин Георгиевич Зырянов; born 5 October 1977 in Perm) is a Russian footballer of Komi descent who is a player-coach for Zenit-2 St. Petersburg. He played as a central midfielder

Zyryanov started to play football in local club Zvezda Perm. His professional career began with Amkar, in 1994. He played 171 league games, having scored in 48 occasions. In 1998, Zyryanov won Russian Second Division with Amkar and in 2000, he joined Torpedo Moscow.

Upon joining Torpedo, Zyryanov switched to their reserve team, where he played two games, scoring once. After that, he became a first squad regular. He was one of the most important Torpedo players, where he made 164 league appearances and scored nine goals. His playing ability brought him to Russian football giant Zenit Saint Petersburg in 2007.

Zenit's late-developing holding midfielder was named Russian Footballer of the Year by Futbol and Sport-Express in 2007; in August alone he scored six league goals for Zenit.

Zyryanov also played at the back and, in addition, was used in a creative/goalscoring role by then Zenit coach Dick Advocaat. He was described as a "calm facilitator, keeping the ball moving and rarely losing possession" as he played in front of defenders.

In 2008, he scored against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the 2007–08 UEFA Cup to help earn his side a place in the final against Scottish club Rangers. He followed that up with the second goal in the final against Rangers to give Zenit a 2–0 victory and lift the title. Since then, Zyryanov became one of the finest Russian players, and one of the most important parts of Zenit and Russian national team.