The once irreplaceable central defender of Dynamo Moscow and the Russian national team has now become a player for Volga Nizhny Novgorod. The footballer had no playing experience for a long time, and his future, admittedly, raised concerns. Now this problem seems to be solved.
“Denis Kolodin, good evening!” - our columnist shouted enthusiastically, commenting on the match between the Russian and Dutch national teams in the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 that went down in history.
In that Hiddink team, Kolodin was one of the best, and his cannon shots made not only the commentators, but also everyone who saw it, gush with emotion. Although, it would seem, he then failed the opening matches of the Euro. But in the playoffs he became one of the creators of a landmark victory.
At one time, the then promising Kolodin was called a replacement in the center of the national team’s defense. Time passed, the footballer matured and gained strength in order to become one of the best central defenders in Russia. Did he? Certainly. Those who would deny this are wrong. Another thing is that he was unable to gain a foothold in this rank.
It cannot be said that he was to blame for this. The eternal scourge of a football player, injuries, was the main reason why Kolodin very quickly disappeared from the sight of experts and fans.
For the first time, the defender ended up in the hospital for a long time in the fall of 2008, after Krylya Sovetov defender Oh Beom Seok injured his ankle.
The head coach of the Russian national team perceived this as a personal tragedy. “Kolodin is a terrible loss... Perhaps Denis is not a very impressive player, if you don’t take into account his long-range shots, but he did an excellent job in last matches for the national team,” said the Dutchman. “We will miss him.”
Kolodin managed to recover just in time to take part in European competitions for the first time in his career in 2009. Moreover, for the match on the 3rd qualifying stage In the Champions League against Celtic, he took the team onto the field for the first time as captain. And it’s not so important that Dynamo later failed. Something else is important. Again the game with "Wings" - and again the injury, this time back surface hips. Because of this, Kolodin missed six championship matches, including the 2010 World Cup qualifying games. Who knows, if he had been in service, maybe that nightmare in Maribor would not have happened. Would you say his presence would not have changed anything? Not a fact.
2010, match Russia - Hungary, and again Denis twitches his thigh muscles. And yet he continues to be considered one of the best Russian defenders, and idle rumor wooed him for €15 million. Although the footballer himself then categorically denied that he could leave Dynamo somewhere.
He remained in the blue and white camp. Then an injury followed, another one, and now Kolodin is already sitting in deep reserve, and plays in his position with some success.
Where is Kolodin? Who is this? Good evening? No, good night already. How quickly everyone forgot that such a player existed...
Only Dynamo coach Dan Petrescu did not forget, he pulled him out of oblivion and again began to release him on the field in doses. But this was not the same Dynamo and not the same Kolodin.
At the beginning of 2012, Denis went on loan to Rostov. But he played only 8 matches for this club. Obviously, who once coached Kolodin at Dynamo, saw alternatives to him in his team’s defensive formations.
And it seemed that everything was over for footballer Kolodin: his contract with Dynamo expired and was not renewed. But unexpected and, admittedly, pleasant news was his transfer to Volga. Denis has a chance that he must use. If he succeeds, a new morning will begin in his career.
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During his fifteen year career Russian football player Denis Kolodin played for seven different clubs in the Premier League, and at the end of his performances he went to the Kazakhstan championship in the local Altai. In addition, he defended the color of the youth team, and from 2004 to 2010, the Russian national team. Playing as a central defender, he nevertheless scored about 40 goals in his career, which is a serious indicator for a player in this role.
Denis Kolodin: biography and facts from life
Kolodin Denis Aleksandrovich was born in 1982 in Volgograd region. He lived with his mother, stepfather and younger brother, and was interested in fishing and, of course, football.
At the age of 7 the boy began to attend football section local SDYUSSHOR, and in 1994 the coaches of the Volgograd Olimpia drew attention to him. By the way, the team was then managed by the now famous coach Leonid Slutsky.
It’s interesting that Denis Kolodin started playing in attack, but due to his height and good texture, he was later transferred to the center of defense. The footballer is rightfully considered one of the best personal guardians of the Russian Premier League of the last decade. Kolodin easily wins most combats in his own court and in the opponents’ penalty area. In addition, thanks to his well-placed kick, Denis was a regular set-piece taker in most of the teams he played for.
Beginning of a professional career
Play on professional level Kolodin started at the age of 18. His first club was Olimpia Volgograd, whose colors the footballer defended in the second league of the PFL. Denis spent 2 years as the main defender, after which he was invited to Uralan.
Kolodin moved to the yellow-blues under the patronage of the same Slutsky. Initially, it was planned to invite a defender who would play in the Uralan reserve team and, if necessary, replace the players of the main team, but Denis very quickly established himself and began to play for the first team. Kolodin stayed in Kalmykia for two years and managed to play forty-four matches for the club. Looking ahead, we note that both in Uralan and later in Krylya Sovetov, the defender began to actively participate in his team’s set plays, as a result of which he managed to score against the opponents several times.
At the peak
Literally a year later, every fan following the ups and downs in the Russian Premier League knew who Denis Kolodin was. The footballer spent two successful seasons as part of Krylya Sovetov, after which, in 2005, he was invited to join the camp of one of the contenders for main title- Moscow Dynamo.
The first two years in the capital team left mixed impressions about the defender. He still played just as well, but literally right out of the gate he managed to quarrel with Dynamo’s Portuguese legionnaires, after which he stopped being part of Wortmann’s team. The following year, Dynamo barely escaped relegation to the first league, however, Kolodin himself was named the best central defender of the championship, along with CSKA veteran Sergei Ignashevich.
Since 2007, Denis Kolodin finally became a player in the main team of the “blue and white” and played for the team until 2013. During this time the defender managed to win bronze medals Russian Premier League in 2008, and also become third prize-winner at the European Championships in Austria and Switzerland. In total, Kolodin played 133 matches for Dynamo.
The famous Romanian coach Dan Petrescu tried to promote Denis’s career in the capital’s team. He expressed support for the player more than once, even when he missed almost the entire season due to injury. However, over time, both Petrescu and the footballer himself understood that playing high level and Kolodin is unlikely to be able to fight for gold medals. Denis left the team in 2013, and Arena Khimki fans chanted his name as a sign of respect.
End of career
Despite the fact that at the time of his transfer to Rostov, Denis Kolodin was already over thirty, and his form, due to the lack of constant playing practice, left much to be desired, the main coach of the “yellow-blues” noted that the defender has good prospects of playing in team. That's what happened in the end.
Moreover, after the season in Rostov, Denis did not end his career and went to help Volga gain a foothold in the Premier League. He failed to do this, but the club was demoted most likely due to financial problems. Kolodin himself confidently played the entire season, after which he went to the Kazakh Altai - a place that was destined to be the last in the career of the central defender.
Denis Kolodin: personal life
According to the football player himself, there was no true love in his life. Perhaps that is why the athlete is still single, although Denis does not have to complain about the lack of support in the stands from the fair sex.
Thanks to the rich football career Denis Kolodin maintains good friendly relations with Roman Adamov and Leonid Slutsky. Together with ex-football players Rinat Dasaev and Nikita Simonyan, the player is a representative of the organizing committee for the upcoming World Cup.
Birthday January 11, 1982
Russian footballer, central defender of Dynamo Moscow and the Russian national team
He began his professional career at Olimpia Volgograd, then played at Uralan. In 2004 he moved to Samara's Krylya Sovetov, where he began showing good game, won the sympathy of the fans and was called up to the Russian national team for the first time. In June 2005, due to financial problems, Krylyev was sold to Dynamo Moscow.
He played for the Russian youth and Olympic teams, and since 2004 he has been regularly called up to the main team. Played 4 matches at the 2008 European Championship, which was successful for the Russians.
Youth
Denis Kolodin was born in 1982 in Kamyshin. Denis was the first child in the family - he has a younger brother Andrei. Lived in a dormitory with his mother and stepfather. His mother, originally from Belarus, worked as a saleswoman; he never knew his own father, and in childhood he considered his stepfather to be such. Denis loved to swim and fish, and in the wake of the success of the local Tekstilshchik, like most of his peers, he became interested in football. He got into the section when he was in the first grade of school - he and several classmates were invited by the coach of SDYUSHOR-2 Vladimir Zorkov. The children's team in which Kolodin played won 5 tournaments in 3 years.
In 1994, Denis and his two teammates were noticed by representatives of the Volgograd Olimpia, which needed reinforcement to play in the Children's football league. The future football player did not want to leave for an unfamiliar city and live in a boarding school, but Olimpia coach Leonid Slutsky persuaded Denis to move. Initially, Kolodin played as a striker, and at the junior level he often became top scorer. Problems with his right knee forced him to change his position - having undergone surgery and not training for a long time, Denis was both professionally and physically behind in development from his peers, after which he was unable to return to the attack. Slutsky assigned the player to midfield, and later assigned him a place in the center of defense.
In 1996, Olimpia won the DFL and, with almost the same lineup, began playing in the national amateur championship. At the amateur level, Olimpia also did not stay long - already in the second year, Volgograd residents received the right to compete in the second division of the PFL.
Club career
"Olympia"
In 2000, the professional stage of Kolodin’s career began. The next two seasons, which he spent at Olimpia, the Volgograd team played in the Volga region zone of the second PFL League.
Denis was a strong starting player - 32 matches in the 2000 season and 34 in the 2001 season. Kolodin played as a stopper and had impressive performance indicators for a player in this role - in two years he scored 14 goals. Olimpia at that time was a promising young team. Together with Kolodin, Roman Adamov and Andrey Bochkov began their careers in it. In the second division, Olimpia showed a good game: in the debut season, the Volgograd team finished 10th, and in 2001 they were already in the top three. In the same year, Kolodin could have ended up in Austria Vienna - he and his teammates Zhdanov and Ryabykh were watched by a scout of the Austrian club, but in the end all three remained in Volgograd.
"Uralan"
In 2002, Slutsky left the team, going to coach the double team of Elista Uralan. The Kalmyk club played in the Premier League. Soon, Slutsky invited Kolodin to a tryout at the club’s training camp in Turkey. The young player approached coach Sergei Pavlov, and on February 8 it was announced that Kolodin would move to Uralan. As Denis later stated, perhaps chance helped him - Pavlov was also a native of Kamyshin and, perhaps, wanted to help his fellow countryman. Kolodin’s debut game as part of Uralan was a friendly match between the team and the Hungarian Ferencvaros, which ended in a 0:0 draw. In this game, Denis replaced Igor Chugainov, who had left for the Russian national team training camp.
Today the Russian team will play the second match of the group tournament at the home match of the World Cup. In St. Petersburg, Stanislav Cherchesov's team will meet with the Egyptian team. In case of a victory or a draw, the Russians can secure their first place in the playoffs of the world championship in post-Soviet history and the second exit from the group at a major tournament. This opportunity was given to the national team by the defeat of the Saudi Arabian national team (5:0) in the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.
IN last time The Russian football team achieved great success in the summer of 2008, when, under the leadership of Guus Hiddink, the Russians reached the semi-finals of the European Championship in Austria and Switzerland. One of the heroes of that star-studded lineup was central defender Denis Kolodin, who recently retired from playing.
On June 14, the footballer attended the opening match between the teams of Russia and Saudi Arabia, and on Sunday he attended the Germany-Mexico match (0:1) at Luzhniki, after which he gave an interview to Izvestia. During the conversation, Denis Kolodin assessed the Russians’ performance at the World Cup, and also spoke about the phenomenon of the 38-year-old national team defender Sergei Ignashevich and his current activities.
- Were you surprised by the score with which the Russian team defeated the Saudi Arabian team?
The winning result itself didn’t really surprise me. I thought that we could win, and not with the smallest score. For example, 3:0. But I didn’t expect that Russia would score five unanswered goals. To be honest, I believed in victory from the very beginning. We are a big country - in many aspects, including football. Why should we doubt ourselves? Therefore, they had to win calmly.
How does the current Russian team differ from the team of ten years ago that succeeded at Euro 2008?
We had an individually strong Arshavin. But otherwise, half of the team remained the same. Zhirkov, Akinfeev, Ignashevich remained. As for the game - I don’t know what the current one is national team different from that one. It’s just that there were individually bright football players back then. Now there are simply no guys like Arshavin. Maybe only Golovin will reach his level.
Is this due to the fact that Ignashevich, Zhirkov and Akinfeev are so good at their age? Or do they simply not have a worthy replacement?
Don't know. There may be a replacement, but none of the clubs are looking at talent. 10 years have passed, and, in fact, there are no new people of this level. Especially in the position of central defender.
- So, in 2022, we should expect 43-year-old Ignashevich at the World Championships in Qatar?
Yes, sure (laughs). I'm looking forward to Ignashevich at the next championship.
- Aren’t you surprised that at 38 years old he still plays for the national team at the World Championships?
If you go through your entire career without injuries, then, of course, you have a lot of strength. I also thought that I would play until I was 50. But once it breaks - and the strength is already less. Therefore, may God grant Ignashevich to go even further without injury. And so that the coaches continue to trust him.
- Did you have the opportunity to avoid the epidemic of injuries that occurred after Euro 2008?
Don't know. These injuries happened by accident when, for example, I ran into the wrong direction on the field. I didn’t have the back of my thigh tear out of the blue because I didn’t warm up properly. I just ran at the wrong time and to the wrong place. Here is the result.
- Which players and teams made the greatest impression on you in the first days of the World Cup?
I really liked the game between Portugal and Spain. If we evaluate the players individually, then the Portuguese defender Guerrero looked good. Argentina has only Messi running around, he stands out from his teammates. But in general, in terms of dedication, almost all the players at this World Cup are playing to the limit of their capabilities. Everyone gives 150%. Not like in clubs, when they can afford to play imposingly at certain parts of the season. At this World Championship, everyone is doing their best.
- What do you expect from the match between the Russian and Egyptian national teams? How important will it be to have Salah on the pitch?
I think you need to look first of all at your game. It doesn't matter whether Egypt plays with or without Salah. Imagine that he represents not Egypt, but Saudi Arabia. Would this change the result in their match against us? I think not. Unless they could have won not 5:0, but 4:0. Nothing would change. I think Uruguay would have beaten this opponent by 10 goals even with Salah.
- How important is the starting victory?
We have taken a very important first step. I am especially pleased that it was achieved in the form of a victory with a large score. This gives Russia enormous confidence in its abilities. A stone has been lifted from our shoulders, the pressure has dropped - now we must fly on wings to victories in the next matches.
- Did you have a similar situation in 2008?
We also played hard against Spain (1:4) and Greece (1:0). It was only later that we ran at full speed in the quarterfinals with Holland (3:1 in extra time). And before that, I wouldn’t say that we were running somewhere at full speed. Unless friendly matches We played better before the Euro. But we do not know what tasks Cherchesov set for the last preparatory meetings. Perhaps he specifically gave instructions to roll back and check the reliability of the defense. We don’t know whether the result in those meetings was important to the coach.
- What are you doing now?
I work at Khimki as a children's coach. I was invited there by Alexander Kiselev, the director of the local school. Olympic reserve, who once worked as the head of the Dynamo Moscow team when I was a player at the club. We called and met once when I was still playing. Kiselyov said that he worked at Khimki and made me promise that I would come to work for him when I finished playing. I finished and went straight to him.
- What age group are you teaching now?
Born in 2011 - the youngest on at the moment. At the same time, I am studying at the Higher School of Coaches (HST) and looking closely at the profession. It’s still hard to decide which path I’ll take next. I just recently finished my football career. I need to unlearn, look around and decide what I want to do. So far I have only been working for 3-4 months.
Has working with children in football changed compared to what Leonid Slutsky offered his charges in Volgograd, when you and Roman Adamov played for him at the Olympia school?
I once asked Leonid Viktorovich: “How to work with children? What should I give them? What did you give them? To which Slutsky replied: “See for yourself and decide how to work.” I prefer to let my players play with the ball more. They are children - they don’t want to pass yet, they want to play with the ball more.
Who doesn't this happen to? Hamburg recently took off in Germany. This happened with other famous clubs. Of course it's unpleasant. I talked to some people from Dynamo and I know a little about what was happening at the club that season. I won’t say publicly what happened there, but it’s not serious. It’s good that we quickly returned to the RFPL and had a decent season, finishing in eighth place. They started this championship hard, but they had a good ending.
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Denis Aleseyevich Kolodin is a Russian football player. The position he plays in is defender. IN best years the player was able to achieve enough in his career good results. Twice became the bronze champion of Russia. At Euro 2008, together with the national team, he took third place. In recent seasons, the footballer has been lost in the lower leagues, and fans are increasingly interested in the question of where Denis Kolodin plays. At the beginning of 2016, the player signed a contract with Kazakh Altai.
Family and early life of a football player
Kolodin’s birthplace is a small town in the Volgograd region, Kamyshin. The football player was born on January 11, 1982. Kolodin has a younger brother. The footballer's mother is from Belarus. In Russia she worked as a saleswoman. Denis never saw his own father. The young football player lived in a dormitory with his family. Denis Kolodin became interested in this sport early childhood. From the first grade I started studying in a section with several classmates.
When the boy was twelve years old, he and several teammates were noticed by the management of Olimpia from Volgograd. Denis did not want to leave hometown. Leonid Slutsky, who served as coach at Olimpia, was able to persuade him. Initially, the player began to play in attack and showed himself well, regularly scoring goals. A knee injury forced him to change position. He simply could not cope with the pace of the game, and the coach assigned him first a place in midfield, and then in defense.
"Olympia"
Denis Kolodin signed a contract as a professional player in 2000. While playing for the club, he secured his place in the team and appeared on the field in almost every match. In addition, the football player was often notable for scoring goals. In two years on the team, he was able to score fourteen goals.
Soon, the Austrian “Austria” began to watch the player and his teammates, thanks to his excellent performance, but the transfer never took place.
"Uralan"
In 2002, Leonid Slutsky went to coach the doubles of the Elista club, and soon invited Kolodin to a tryout. The team management liked Denis's game, and soon a contract was signed with him.
Thanks to excellent performances, Denis Kolodin was able to move into the main team. The first season in the team was successful; the player appeared on the field twenty-two times. Soon, many teams in the Russian championship wanted to get a defender. However, the player's transitions were constantly disrupted.
The player started the 2004 season as part of the Samara team. Denis Kolodin demonstrated great game, helping out the team in the most difficult moments. Thanks to his excellent performances, the player was invited to the Russian national team in August.
In 2005, Krylya Sovetov began to have financial problems, and it became clear that the team needed to part with some players. Dynamo Moscow was interested in the footballer's services and soon signed a contract with him. Denis Kolodin later stated that he would hardly have left the Samara club if not for financial problems.
"Dynamo"
In the capital's club, the player quickly managed to gain a foothold in the team and began to appear in almost every match. With Dynamo he managed to win bronze medals in 2008. Denis Kolodin is a football player who was able to perform well at Euro 2008 and grow in price by one million euros. In the fall of the same year, he suffered a serious ankle injury and even thought about retiring. The player underwent a complex operation and had to recover for a long period.
In 2011, the player was injured again, and his place on the field was taken by Vladimir Granat, who subsequently sat Kolodin on the bench. Soon information began to appear about the football player’s transfer to another club.
Loan to Rostov and transfer to Volga
In the winter of 2012, Kolodin was rented by the Rostov team. Thanks to this club, Denis was able to get the long-awaited playing practice. The defender played eight matches for Rostov and returned to Dynamo.
Despite management's promises about the player's appearances on the field, Kolodin appeared only once during the season.
In the summer of 2013, the player left the capital club and signed a contract with Volga as a free agent. Throughout the season, the footballer showed a fairly good performance, but due to financial problems at the club, he was forced to sign a contract with Sokol.
At the beginning of January 2016, information appeared that the defender joined the Kazakh Altai team.
