Fyodor Smolov

In this name that follows Eastern Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Mikhaylovich and the family name is Smolov.

Fyodor Mikhaylovich Smolov (Russian: Фёдор Миха́йлович Смо́лов, IPA: [ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ˈsmoləf]; born 9 February 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Krasnodar.

Fyodor Smolov

Smolov with Dynamo Moscow in 2022
Personal information
Full name	Fyodor Mikhailovich Smolov
Date of birth	(1990-02-09) 9 February 1990 (age 34)[1]
Place of birth	Saratov, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Position(s)	Striker
Team information
Current team	Krasnodar
Number	19
Youth career
1997–2004	Sokol Saratov
2005–2006	Master-Saturn Yegoryevsk
2006–2007	Saturn Moscow
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2015	Dynamo Moscow	68	(3)
2010	→ Feyenoord (loan)	11	(1)
2012–2013	→ Anzhi Makhachkala (loan)	15	(0)
2014	→ Anzhi Makhachkala (loan)	11	(2)
2014–2015	→ Ural Yekaterinburg (loan)	22	(8)
2015–2018	Krasnodar	75	(53)
2018–2022	Lokomotiv Moscow	72	(23)
2020	→ Celta Vigo (loan)	14	(2)
2022–2024	Dynamo Moscow	60	(19)
2024–	Krasnodar	11	(1)
International career‡
2006–2007	Russia U17	11	(5)
2008	Russia U19	5	(3)
2008–2013	Russia U21	32	(16)
2012–2021	Russia	45	(16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 November 2024 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14 November 2021

Club career

Smolov is a graduate of the Master-Saturn Yegoryevsk football academy. In 2007, he joined Dynamo Moscow. He made his Russian Premier League debut for Dynamo on 28 April 2007 in a game against FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok, at the age of 17, as a last-minute substitute for Cícero. Despite scoring prolifically for the national junior teams and Dynamo's own Under-21 squad, he only scored one goal for the senior team in the next 3.5 seasons and only started in 11 games up to that point. On 14 July 2010, the club announced that Smolov would join Feyenoord on a one-year loan deal.^[3] Returning from loan, Smolov started 2011–12 season as a squad player, but after 9 matchdays his impact was limited to substitute appearances. So he was loaned again, this time to Anzhi Makhachkala - initially for whole 2012–13 season,^[4] and then for the second part of 2013–14 season.^[5]

Loan to Ural

On 1 September 2014, Smolov joined Ural Yekaterinburg on a season-long loan deal.^[6] Two weeks later, on his new club debut, he scored a goal in a 1–2 away loss to Amkar Perm.^[7] He provided 8 goals and 2 assists in 22 league appearances for Ural.^{[citation needed]}

Krasnodar

On 2 June 2015, Smolov signed a four-year contract with the Russian Premier League club Krasnodar as a free agent.^[8] He made his competitive debut for his new club in a 1–0 away victory over Amkar Perm in his first league match on 20 July 2015,^[9] and scored his first goal in a 3–3 draw against Slovan Bratislava in the UEFA Europa League third qualifying round on 6 August.^[10]

On 10 April 2016, Smolov scored four goals in Krasnodar's 6–0 victory over his former club Ural Yekaterinburg.^[11] With 20 goals in 29 games, he became the top scorer of the 2015–16 Russian Premier League season, and he is the first Krasnodar player who achieved this title. He repeated as top scorer in the 2016–17 Russian Premier League, scoring 18 times. In the 2017–18 Russian Premier League, he came in second with 14 goals to Quincy Promes' 15.^{[citation needed]}

Lokomotiv Moscow

On 9 August 2018, he joined the Russian Premier League champion FC Lokomotiv Moscow.^[12]

Loan to Celta

On 30 January 2020, he joined Spanish club Celta Vigo on loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.^[13] He scored his first goal for the new club on 16 February 2020 at Santiago Bernabéu Stadium against Real Madrid in a 2–2 away draw. Smolov scored the second goal of his loan spell in a 2–2 draw with Barcelona on 27 June.^[14]

Return to Lokomotiv

On 12 May 2021, he scored the go-ahead goal in the 2021 Russian Cup Final against Krylia Sovetov.^[15] He won his third trophy at Lokomotiv and also became the tournament's joint-top scorer with 4 goals, along with teammate François Kamano.^{[citation needed]}

Return to Dynamo

On 12 January 2022, Dynamo announced the signing of Fyodor from Lokomotiv, making him return to the first club in his professional career.^[16] Also the Moscow club disclosed that the term of the contract is 1.5 years plus an additional optional year.^[17] On 26 February 2022, in his first competitive game back with Dynamo, he scored the opening goal of the 3–0 victory over FC Khimki, 11 years after he last scored for Dynamo.^[18]

On 31 May 2023, Smolov extended his contract with Dynamo for the 2023–24 season, with an option for the 2024–25 season.^[19]

Return to Krasnodar

On 18 June 2024, Smolov returned to Krasnodar on a one-year contract.^[20]

International career

Smolov was part of the Russia Under-21 side that was competing in the 2011 European Under-21 Championship qualification.^[21] He was an important factor in the U-21 team qualifying for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in the next cycle, scoring three goals in the qualification play-offs against the Czech Republic.^{[citation needed]}

On 6 November 2012, Russia manager Fabio Capello included Smolov in the squad for a friendly game against the United States.^[22] During the game, he made his debut and scored his first goal for the national team, netting the opener in a 2–2 home draw on 14 November.^[23]

Smolov scored his first competitive goal for the national team in a 7–0 away victory against Liechtenstein in a Euro 2016 qualifier on 8 September 2015.^[24] He was subsequently included in Russia's squad for the final tournament in France, where he started in all three matches as Russia finished 4th in group B.^[25][26]

In the opening match of the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup against New Zealand on 17 June at Krestovsky Stadium, Smolov scored Russia's second goal in a 2–0 win and was Man of the Match.^[27]

On 3 June 2018, he was included in the finalized World Cup squad.^[28] He started the tournament-opener game against Saudi Arabia and appeared as a substitute in every subsequent game. He scored the opening penalty kick in the shoot-out that helped Russia defeat Spain in the Round of 16, but had his shot saved by Danijel Subašić in the quarterfinal shoot-out which Russia lost to Croatia.^{[citation needed]}

On 11 May 2021, he was named as a back-up player for Russia's UEFA Euro 2020 squad.^[29]

Personal life

Smolov is fluent in English and has read Mario Puzo's books in the original language.^[30] From 2012, he was in a relationship with Russian model and TV hostess Victoria Lopyreva. The couple got married in December 2013 but then divorced in May 2015.^[31] He has supported AC Milan since the 1997–98 season and once cited George Weah and Andriy Shevchenko as his childhood favorite players.^[32] On 1 August 2018, Smolov crashed his BMW M5 into a traffic barrier in Krasnodar. He was later fined and had his driver's license suspended for one year for leaving the scene of the accident.^[33] On April 5, 2020 Smolov broke Spain's coronavirus protocols to return to Russia to celebrate the 18th birthday of his fiancee Maria Yumasheva, the granddaughter of Boris Yeltsin.^[34]

He is the first Russian footballer to speak out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.^[35]

In June 2023 Smolov married DJ and blogger Karina Istomina.^[36] On the 15th of November of the same year the couple had a daughter named Laura.

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 10 November 2024^[37]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Dynamo Moscow	2007	Russian Premier League	3	0	0	0	—		—		3	0
	2008	Russian Premier League	7	1	1	0	—		—		8	1
	2009	Russian Premier League	18	0	3	1	2[b]	0	—		23	1
	2010	Russian Premier League	2	0	0	0	—		—		2	0
	2011–12	Russian Premier League	23	2	1	0	—		—		24	2
	2013–14	Russian Premier League	13	0	1	0	—		—		14	0
	2014–15	Russian Premier League	2	0	0	0	1[c]	0	—		3	0
	Total		68	3	6	1	3	0	0	0	77	4
Feyenoord (loan)	2010–11	Eredivisie	11	1	1	0	2[c]	0	—		14	1
Anzhi Makhachkala (loan)	2012–13	Russian Premier League	15	0	3	0	8[c]	1	—		26	1
	2013–14	Russian Premier League	11	2	0	0	4[c]	0	—		15	2
	Total		26	2	3	0	12	1	0	0	41	3
Ural Yekaterinburg (loan)	2014–15	Russian Premier League	22	8	1	0	—		—		23	8
Krasnodar	2015–16	Russian Premier League	29	20	3	1	12[c]	3	—		44	24
	2016–17	Russian Premier League	22	18	1	1	8[c]	6	—		31	25
	2017–18	Russian Premier League	22	14	0	0	2[c]	0	—		24	14
	2018–19	Russian Premier League	2	1	0	0	0	0	—		2	1
	Total		75	53	4	2	22	9	—		101	64
Lokomotiv Moscow	2018–19	Russian Premier League	22	6	4	1	3[d]	0	—		29	7
	2019–20	Russian Premier League	14	3	0	0	4[d]	0	1[e]	1	19	4
	2020–21	Russian Premier League	21	7	3	4	3[d]	0	1[e]	0	28	11
	2021–22	Russian Premier League	15	7	0	0	6[c]	0	1[e]	0	22	7
	Total		72	23	7	5	16	0	3	1	98	29
Celta Vigo (loan)	2019–20	La Liga	14	2	0	0	—		—		14	2
Dynamo Moscow	2021–22	Russian Premier League	11	5	4	2	—		—		15	7
	2022–23	Russian Premier League	24	10	7	2	—		—		31	12
	2023–24	Russian Premier League	25	4	9	2	—		—		34	6
	Total		60	19	20	6	—		—		80	25
Krasnodar	2024–25	Russian Premier League	11	1	5	0	—		1[e]	1	17	2
Career total			359	112	47	14	55	10	4	2	465	138

1. Includes Russian Cup, KNVB Cup, Copa del Rey
2. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
4. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
5. Appearance in Russian Super Cup

International

As of 14 November 2021^[38]

National team	Year	Apps	Goals
Russia
	2012	1	1
	2013	4	1
	2015	5	2
	2016	9	2
	2017	9	5
	2018	9	1
	2019	2	2
	2021	6	2
Total		45	16

Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first.^[37]

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	14 November 2012	Kuban Stadium, Krasnodar, Russia	United States	1–0	2–2	Friendly
2.	19 November 2013	Zabeel Stadium, Dubai, United Arab Emirates	South Korea	1–1	2–1	Friendly
3.	8 September 2015	Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein	Liechtenstein	5–0	7–0	UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
4.	17 November 2015	Olimp-2, Rostov-on-Don, Russia	Croatia	1–0	1–3	Friendly
5.	26 March 2016	Otkritie Arena, Moscow, Russia	Lithuania	1–0	3–0	Friendly
6.	6 September 2016	Lokomotiv Stadium, Moscow, Russia	Ghana	1–0	1–0	Friendly
7.	5 June 2017	Groupama Arena, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	1–0	3–0	Friendly
8.	17 June 2017	Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia	New Zealand	2–0	2–0	2017 FIFA Confederations Cup
9.	7 October 2017	VEB Arena, Moscow, Russia	South Korea	1–0	4–2	Friendly
10.	14 November 2017	Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Spain	1–2	3–3	Friendly
11.				3–3
12.	27 March 2018	Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia	France	1–2	1–3	Friendly
13.	8 June 2019	Mordovia Arena, Saransk, Russia	San Marino	7–0	9–0	UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
14.				8–0
15.	7 September 2021	Otkritie Arena, Moscow, Russia	Malta	1–0	2–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
16.	11 November 2021	Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia	Cyprus	2–0	6–0	2022 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Lokomotiv Moscow

• Russian Cup: 2018–19,^[39] 2020–21^[40]
• Russian Super Cup: 2019^[41]

Individual

• Russian Premier League top goalscorer: 2015–16, 2016–17
• Footballer of the Year in Russia (Sport-Express): 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18

References

1. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 17 June 2018. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018.
2. "Fyodor Smolov" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
3. СМОЛОВ ОТДАН В АРЕНДУ "ФЕЙЕНООРДУ" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 14 July 2010. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010.
4. Федор СМОЛОВ АРЕНДОВАН "АНЖИ" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 10 July 2012.
5. Федор Смолов - в "Анжи" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 29 January 2014.
6. "Урал" взял в аренду Федора Смолова (in Russian). FC Ural Yekaterinburg. 1 September 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
7. Федор Смолов забил первый гол за "Урал" в матче с "Амкаром" (in Russian). Sverdlovsk Oblast Television. 15 September 2014. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
8. Смолов подписал контракт с "Краснодаром" на четыре года (in Russian). Championat.com. 2 June 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
9. "A Shot by Petrov Brought the Bulls Three Points at the Start of the Championship. Official site FC Krasnodar" Выстрел Петрова принес "быкам" 3 очка на старте чемпионата (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
10. Смолов забил свой первый гол за "Краснодар" (in Russian). Championat.com. 6 August 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
11. "The Bulls Smashed the Bumblebees with Smolov Scoring a Double Brace. Official site FC Krasnodar" "Быки" разгромили "шмелей", Смолов оформил "покер" (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 10 April 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
12. Федор Смолов – в "Локомотиве"! (in Russian). FC Lokomotiv Moscow. 9 August 2018.
13. "El RC Celta enriquece su ataque con los goles y el talento de Fedor Smolov" (Press release) (in Spanish). Celta Vigo. 30 January 2020.
14. "Suarez brace not enough a Barcelona slump to draw at Celta Vigo". ESPN. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
15. "Lokomotiv 3:1 Krylia Sovetov". Premier Liga (in Russian). 12 May 2021. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
16. "Fyodor Smolov leaves "Lokomotiv"". fclm.ru (in Russian). 12 January 2022. Retrieved 12 January 2022.
17. "Fyodor Smolov joins "Dynamo"" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 12 January 2022.
18. "Khimki v Dynamo game report". Russian Premier League. 26 February 2022.
19. "Фёдор Смолов продлил контракт с "Динамо"" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 31 May 2023.
20. "ФЁДОР СМОЛОВ СНОВА В "КРАСНОДАРЕ"" (in Russian). FC Krasnodar. 18 June 2024.
21. "Russia Under-21 Squad". UEFA. Retrieved 29 January 2014.
22. "26 players in the national team" (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 6 November 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
23. "Russia 2-2 USA - as it happened". The Guardian. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
24. "Liechtenstein 0 - 7 Russia - Match Report & Highlights". Sky Sports. 8 September 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
25. Состав сборной России на ЕВРО-2016 (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 21 May 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
26. Россия покидает ЕВРО-2016 (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 20 June 2016. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
27. "Russia v New Zealand – Man of the Match". FIFA.com. Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 17 June 2017. Archived from the original on 21 June 2017. Retrieved 26 November 2017.
28. Заявка сборной России на Чемпионат мира FIFA 2018 (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 3 June 2018.
29. Расширенный состав сборной России для подготовки к ЕВРО [Extended national team line-up for Euro preparations] (in Russian). Russian Football Union. 11 May 2021.
30. Алексеев, Пётр (14 January 2008). Смолов: братьев Комбаровых уже различаю (in Russian). Championat.com. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
31. Смолов и Лопырева расстались (in Russian). Sport-Express. 16 May 2015. Retrieved 16 December 2016.
32. "Смолов: согласился бы перейти в "Милан" за любые деньги!".
33. "Smolov's license is suspended" (in Russian). RIA Novosti. 9 August 2018.
34. "Celta Vigo's Smolov defies lockdown to return home for fiance's 18th birthday". The Guardian. 5 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
35. Sidle, Ryan (24 February 2022). "First Russian Footballer Speaks Out Against Country's Invasion Of Ukraine". Sportbible. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
36. "Смолов женился на диджее и блогере Карине Истоминой" [Smolov married DJ and blogger Karina Istomina]. Sports.ru. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 6 September 2023.
37. Fyodor Smolov at Soccerway
38. Fedor Smolov at National-Football-Teams.com
39. "Локомотив 1:0 Урал" (in Russian). Premier Liga. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
40. "Lokomotiv beat FNL champions Krylia to win Russian Cup". Russian Premier League. 12 May 2021.
41. "сезона-2019/20" (in Russian). Russian Premier League. 7 June 2019. Archived from the original on 20 July 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2019.

External links

• Player page on the official FC Dynamo Moscow site (in Russian) at the Wayback Machine (archived 8 February 2009)
• Fyodor Smolov at Russian Premier League
• Fyodor Smolov – UEFA competition record (archive)