Goalkeeper, captain, and stalwart of the Russian national team Igor Akinfeev now has his name etched alongside those of other Russian footballing heroes. Following 120 taxing minutes of play, steadfast composure in the net and acute reactions were all that was required of him in order to send the hosts into the quarterfinals. Akinfeev delivered on both fronts with impressive dexterity, allowing his strikers to win the penalty shootout against Spain 4-3 on the back of his pair of massive saves.
However, what was a herculean display of skill to the world appeared to be but a slight accomplishment to Akinfeev, who instead maintained that he and his team “were lucky, that’s it.”
Barely audible over the swelling uproar of die-hard Russian fans in the stands, a humble Akinfeev held that the victory was a collective effort. “I’m not the man of the match,” he said during a post-match interview. ”The man of the match is our team – and our fans.” The roughly 80,000 fans that comprised the home crowd no doubt contributed to their team’s enduring tenacity on the pitch.
A member of Russian club PFC CSKA Moscow since the age of 16 and the Russian national team since 18, Akinfeev boasts 100 international caps to his name. However, though he holds more clean sheets in Russian football than any other keeper, his club football career has hardly been smooth-sailing. Akinfeev only began accumulating clean sheets for his record on the heels of acquiring another, much more undesirable one. Before his rise to greatness, he had gone a total 43 club season matches without acquiring a single clean sheet – a Russian record of the worst kind.
However, Akinfeev managed to turn his name around, acting as a rock for his team which has became a premier Russian footballing club and constant threat to other teams gunning for the UEFA cup.
This impressive goalkeeping career ultimately earned him the honour of captaining his national team for the first World Cup on his home turf. And, despite his modesty in the minutes following Russia’s victory over Spain, Akinfeev was named man of the match for a reason, and there is much to be said for his showing.
As expected, Spain dictated the flow of the match with 75% possession of the ball and conjured up 9 on-target shots, but none managed to make it past the watchful eye of Akinfeev. In fact, the Spaniards were having such an off-day that the only way they were able to strike paydirt was by way of a silly own-goal courtesy of Sergei Ignashevich. In those 120 minutes of play, Akinfeev was everything expected of an all-star caliber goalkeeper, and in the following 10 minutes, he was everything and more.
The same could not be said of the goalkeeper on the opposite end of the pitch though.
Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea, regarded by many as the modern goalkeeping paragon, is Spain’s scapegoat for their pitiful exit from the tournament; and rightfully so: his middling performances against the likes of Portugal, Iran, and Morocco culminated in an inability to defend against much of anything in the penalty shootout against Russia.
Nevertheless, acknowledging the defensive strength of the Spanish side and wary of de Gea’s potential, a post-match interview revealed that, going into the second half, Russia had relinquished hopes of pulling ahead and instead planned on winning in a penalty shootout. Akinfeev’s sharp coolness both during standard play and the shootout made this doubtful plan a euphoric reality.
“Years ago I said he could end up being the world number one,” said former German goalkeeper Oliver Khan on Akinfeev’s abilities as a goalkeeper and captain. "Yes, he always made little mistakes, but I think he still has time to write his name into history."
With the 2018 World Cup, perhaps that time has finally come.
