Yuri Zhirkov's Tale of Misfortune

Zhirkov had been dubbed 'the Russian Ronaldinho'

Yuri Zhirkov, the £18 million russion is set to leave Chelsea in the near future after he was seen in Russia at the training ground of Russian Premier League rich boys Anzhi Makhachkala today, apparently going through with a medical ahead of a £13.2 million deal. Two years after becoming the most expensive Russian footballer in the world, Zhirkov the 3rd signing of the Ancelotti era is to return to the league where he starred, persuading Ancelotti to part with £18 million. Here is his story of his Chelsea career from the promising start to the disappointing finish.


When Yuri Zhirkov joined Chelsea in the summer of 2009, many fans were excited to see one of the stars of the Russian run into the semi finals of the previous year's European Championship, as well as being one of the undoubted stars of the Russian League in a strong CSKA Moscow side. With the versatility to play at left back or left wing, Zhirkov looked set to become a solid first team member, as the talents of Florent Malouda were still being doubted at the time. A positive debut against AC Milan in the USA was marked with a brilliantly taken goal from outside the box after a number of blocks from the Italian club's defenders. After this performance in his first match, fans were expecting big things from the Russian, but before the season injury struck and Zhirkov was ruled out for the start of the season with a knee injury. When he regained his fitness again he started his first competitive match against QPR in the league cup, then played against Porto in the Champions League, assisting Nicolas Anelka for the only goal of the game. Unfortunately for Zhirkov, Malouda had managed to assert his position in the team with a series of strong appearances at left wing at the start of the season, keeping Zhirkov on the bench, being brought on as a midfielder, too narrow to show off the performances that had put him in the team of tournament at UEFA 2008. 

In February, things took a turn for the better for Zhirkov's Chelsea career as Ashley Cole was injured for three months against Everton. This allowed Zhirkov to start in one of his preferred roles of left back for a prolonged period of time, and show off what he really had to offer the club. In this run of games, some performances stood out, including the Champions League game against Inter at Stamford Bridge, where an excellent defensive performance meant that Inter didn't beat the blues by more than the 3-1 aggregate scoreline. Another classy performance came in the 7-1 thrashing of Aston Villa, where Zhirkov won two penalties for Frank Lampard to score as part of his four goal contribution. A month later, Zhirkov turned in a man of the match performance against Bolton and at the end of Chelsea's most successful season, Zhirkov had put in a solid start to his Chelsea career, with injury holding him back, but solid performances were made when he got the opportunity. 

After the double winning season, hopes were high for Chelsea, and I'm sure Zhirkov had high hopes for the season ahead too. Early in the season, he showed some of the incredible talent that he was signed for with a stunning volley from outside the box against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League. After a Ramires injury, Zhirkov got the chance to start, albeit not in a role he preferred, in the centre of midfield, due to an injury to Ramires. He started against Wolverhampton without much effect, but pulled out a standout performance against Blackburn at Ewood Park, creating two goals. Another large contribution that Zhirkov made to Chelsea that will be remembered by fans will be the penalty he won to allow Frank Lampard to win the match against Manchester United after coming on as a 71st minute substitute, unfortunately 'substitute' was the main word for the remainder of Zhirkov's season, and he failed to have any impact on Chelsea's season. 

Zhirkov's career has been largely seen as a disappointment, but I hate the fact that some of the media are calling him a flop, he is far from that. A brilliant player no doubt, but his chances were blocked at Chelsea due to injury and few chances to break into the already well established left flank. He did warn the club that he would have to leave if he didn't start more games, and it has come to that. Yuri Zhirkov, the Russian revolution not to be, forced out of the club by injury, ignorance and invisibility to the management. I for one, wish him all the best for the future and I'm sad to see things turning out this way.