Sergei Semak: biography and football career. Family and children of Sergei Semak

Sergei Semak is the owner of one of the brightest and longest careers in history Russian football. Scored the ball for the first time major league at 17 years old; won the national championship as part of three teams; was captain of the Russian national team at Euro 2008, when national team won bronze medals. Since 2013, he has been working as a coach, combining sports with business and charity.

Childhood and youth

Sergei Semak was born in the north of the Lugansk region of Ukraine (then Voroshilovgrad region) on February 27, 1976. He spent his childhood in the village of Sychanskoye, where his family lived, which he later recalled with warmth in many interviews. He grew up with four brothers, two of whom also became footballers. The head of the family was also associated with the game - Sergei’s father Bogdan Mikhailovich was a member of the regional team. Mom was against her son's passion for football.

Semak – a graduate of the Lugansk School Olympic reserve(coach – Valery Belokobylsky). I knew the school curriculum so well that upon completion I received gold medal. The athlete himself explains this by soft requirements and good visual memory. However, Semak also notes the merit of his parents - their hard work was an example for him.

Football

Semak’s career began with the Krasnaya Presnya club, but soon he was invited to the Asmaral club created by Iranian entrepreneur Hussam Al-Khalidi. The footballer's debut took place in the fall of 1993 in a match with Zhemchuzhina. And in the same meeting, Semak scored his first goal, becoming one of the few players who managed to score a goal before the age of 18.

Despite the successful start, Semak played only one season for Asmaral - in 1994 he began playing for CSKA. In an interview with Sports.ru, Sergei said that negotiations between the army team and the owner of Asmaral failed. Then CSKA took the opportunity to draft the football player into the army.

His debut for the “army team” took place in a successful game for CSKA with Ferencvaros in the Cup Winners’ Cup. Later, 19-year-old Semak received the captain's armband. In an interview, he admits that it was a symbol not so much of sports leadership as of friendship:

“I was young, I had nothing more valuable than the team.”

In the winter of 1997, at the end of his service, Semak went to the Torpedo training camp. An offer was also received from Dynamo. But none of these clubs agreed on the transfer of the player with Al-Khalidi. Only CSKA representatives managed to resolve the issue, and soon Semak returned to his previous team.

Over the course of ten years, Semak played 329 matches for CSKA, scoring 84 goals out of 127 goals scored throughout his career. Together with the team he won the Russian Cup (2001/2002), the Russian Super Cup (2004) and the national championship in 2003. The footballer constantly appeared on the field in the starting lineup.

Sergei recalls how he had to negotiate with disappointed and angry fans after the defeat to Mölde in the Champions League. The match against the Norwegians ended with a crushing score of 4:0 and became one of the biggest failures in the history of Russian football. Fans came to the athletes’ hotel and defiantly threw red and blue scarves at their feet.

“I understood their emotions, we had a heart-to-heart talk,” Semak told reporters. - He explained that they wanted to win no less than Melde, but one desire was missing. After listening to me, the guys took back their scarves. I was familiar with all the leaders of the fan movement, and I still communicate with some of them.”

In 2005, the athlete was offered to move to Paris Saint-Germain. The French paid attention to the Russian football player after two matches against CSKA in the 2004/2005 Champions League. Both games were victories for the army team, and Semak performed brilliantly in both, scoring one goal in the home game and three in the away game. In this situation, the French were not embarrassed by Semak’s short height for a football player - 178 cm with a weight of 73 kg.

Sergei Semak scores his 100th goal

However, his performance as part of the French team was not very productive, and in 2006 Semak moved to the Moscow club. He played for him for two seasons. Here Sergei scored the hundredth goal in his career, and not to just anyone, but to his former teammates - CSKA. At the same time, he received applause from the Army fans.

From January 2008 to August 2010, Semak played for Rubin, and then changed the Kazan club to Zenit. The midfielder cost the St. Petersburg residents €2 million. In 2011, he played for Zenit in a match against CSKA and suffered a fractured metatarsal bone in that match. The injury turned out to be complex, and a relapse occurred later.

Sergei Semak has repeatedly played for the national team. The most striking competition for both the athlete and the team was the 2008 European Championship. Semak, being the captain of the national team, made several assists in the championship games, including in the match against the Dutch. The victory over the Netherlands allowed Russia to reach the semi-finals of Euro 2008 and win bronze.

Coaching career

In 2013, Sergei Semak announced the end of his football career. Upon completion of the contract, he remained on the Zenit coaching staff as assistant coach to Luciano Spalletti. He worked under three coaches and acted as head coach during their shifts. Under his leadership, Zenit played eight matches. Semak was also part of coaching staff Russian national team under and.

Semak has repeatedly stated that he would like to start an independent coaching career. On December 30, 2016, he received the long-awaited appointment - he headed the Ufa coaching staff. Sergei admitted to the press that he lost a lot in salary compared to Zenit, but the chance to gain coaching experience is more important to him.

The club finished the 2017/2018 season in 6th place, which turned out to be the best result in the team’s history. In addition, for the first time in its existence, Ufa had the opportunity to participate in qualifying for the Europa League.

Personal life

Sergei Semak met his first wife Svetlana when he was 17 years old. After their marriage, the couple had a son, Ilya. After 10 years of marriage, Svetlana and Sergei separated, but the footballer still supports him financially ex-wife and son.

In France, during the period when Semak played for Paris Saint-Germain, he met Anna, who became his second wife. The couple had five children: daughters Varvara and Ilaria, sons Semyon, Ivan and Savva. The couple also raise Anna's daughter from her first marriage, Maya, and adopted daughter Tatyana - due to a genetic disease, the girl cannot walk and moves in a wheelchair.

Sergey Semak now

The athlete lives with his family in Ufa. In the morning and evening, Sergei takes children to schools and sections in a minibus. He admits that so far none of his sons are passionate enough about football to follow in his footsteps. The Semak couple are friends with the football player's family. Sometimes they go on a trip together for several days.

Semak continues to train Ufa players. Swearing is prohibited in the club, violators are fined. Sergey Semak actively invests money in business development: the banking sector (shareholder of one of the Rostov banks), limousine rental, agriculture (owner of a cereal production company).

He runs the Great Shepherd charitable foundation and is on the boards of trustees of several other organizations. Sergei Semak does not use Instagram, but his wife shares photos from his family’s life. Sergei also appears in the photographs posted by Anna.

Awards

CSKA Moscow

• Russian Champion: 2003
• Russian Cup winner: 2001/02
• Winner of the Russian Super Cup: 2004
• Silver medalist of the Russian Championship: 1998, 2002, 2004
• Bronze medalist of the Russian Championship: 1999

"Ruby"

• Russian Champion: 2008, 2009
• Winners of the Russian Super Cup: 2010

"Zenith"

• Russian Champion: 2010, 20011/12
• Russian Super Cup winners: 2011
• Silver medalist of the Russian Championship: 2012/13

Russian national team

• Bronze medalist of the European Championship: 2008

Personal

• Listed seven times 33 the best football players Russian Championship: No. 1 - 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2009; No. 2 - 2008; No. 3 - 1997
• Twice received the Golden Horseshoe award (2002, 2004) and once the Bronze Horseshoe award (2003)
• Member of the Club of 100 Russian Bombardiers (2007)
• Member of the Grigory Fedotov Club (2007)
• Member of the Igor Netto Club (2008)
• Ranks second in the Russian Championship in the number of matches - 456 and in the number of seasons in top division - 19
• Honored Master of Sports (2005)
• The jury of the competition “The Russian Football Championship is 20 years old” recognized him as the best defensive midfielder of the Russian championships of 1992-2012.

Sergei Bogdanovich Semak was born in the village of Sychanskoye, located near Voroshilovgrad (now Lugansk) in Ukraine, into a large family. To the delight of his parents, young Semak studied brilliantly at school, showing talent in the exact sciences and, of course, in physical education lessons. The dream of playing football was so great that Sergei arrived at the Lugansk sports boarding school a year ahead of schedule - and, unfortunately, was not accepted due to his age. On the second attempt they managed to get through - despite his short height and low weight, the coaches decided to take Semak. True, the young football player had to seriously work on his shortcomings. The character tempered in this way made Sergei a real team leader, and coupled with serious work on school assignments allowed the future star of the Russian national team to receive his first gold medal - for his studies at school.

At the age of 16, Semak arrived with the Lugansk team in Moscow, was immediately noticed by Konstantin Beskov and first ended up in Asmaral, and then in CSKA. A month after his debut for the army club, Semak scored his first goal, and less than a year later, at 19 years old, he became the youngest team captain in the history of Russian football. In fact, having gone through the entire path of a football player - from school player to captain, Sergei Semak became the main star of CSKA for many years to come. In 2002 and 2004, he twice received the main prize of the army society “Golden Horseshoe”, and in 2003 he received a similar bronze award.
In 2005, Semak was forced to leave the army team: Sergei accepted an offer from one of the French top clubs - Paris Saint-Germain. In the same year he was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports. Things didn't work out for the midfielder in Paris, and, having taken a step back, Semak took two steps forward: returning to Russia, he first became the leader of Moscow, and then led Kazan Rubin to the first title of Russian champion in the history of the Tatarstan club.

In 2007, having surpassed the bar of 100 goals scored in the Russian championships, he entered the Club of 100 Russian scorers of the Sport Express newspaper and the Grigory Fedotov Club.
In 2008, he returned to the national team, where he became captain of the team that won bronze medals at the European Championship. Member of the Igor Netto Club (for players who have played more than 50 matches for the Russian national team).
He played for Zenit as a midfielder from August 2010 to June 2013. Over three seasons, he played 72 matches for the team, scored 13 goals and gave 7 assists.
In June 2013, he accepted Luciano Spalletti's offer to join the blue-white-blue coaching staff as assistant head coach.

Speaking about the name of this famous football player, it is worth mentioning several interesting facts. He was one of the few who managed to score a goal in the highest league without reaching the age of 18. Sergei, participating in Euro 2008, was the only player on the team who was not born in Russia. And he became the champion of our country three times in different teams.

Career on the field

Semak was a winner, starting from school - he graduated with a gold medal, after which he went to the Lugansk Olympic Reserve School, where he was brought up under the guidance of Valery Belokobylsky. After graduation, already as a member of the Moscow team Asmaral, the athlete scored his first goal - the same record one, at the time of which Semak was not 18. One main part of his career on the field was spent as part of the CSKA team. Over the 10 years of playing at the club, Sergei actually became its symbol. Alexander Tarkhanov personally invited Semak to CSKA, where the latter became team captain at the age of 19.

Having scored a goal against the French in 2004 in a home match against Paris Saint-Germain, in addition to converting a penalty, Sergei received an invitation to play for PSG - the young athlete’s performance amazed his opponents. But he failed to settle down abroad; after returning, the footballer became a member of the Moscow national team. In its composition, he scored the hundredth goal against CSKA, and then in 2008 he entered the field for Rubin Kazan. The contract was signed for three years, Semak was appointed captain, and in the battle against Zenit, Sergei’s team won with a score of 1-3. The match, by the way, was already the 350th in a row in the major league of the Russian championship for the football player. The contract with Rubin was extended until 2012, but in 2010 Semak unexpectedly moved to. The transfer there was quite expensive - 2 million euros.

In March 2008, the football player was called up to the Russian national team, becoming captain, and at Euro 2008 the team under his leadership won the match against the Netherlands with a score of 3-1, Semak himself scored an assist. This was already the fiftieth game in the national team. However, Sergei was not called up to Euro 2012, Dick Advocaat motivated this by the player’s supposedly advanced age: in 2012 the footballer turned 36 years old, at that time there were already plenty of good players in the midfield. Semak himself really wanted to take part in the championship; at that time he did not see any prospects for a coach for himself.

Already in August 2012, Sergei Semak still made it into the expanded national team for the 2014 matches, but never played for the Russian national team again.

The Coach's Path

Semak announced his plans to start a coaching career in 2013. The footballer did not renew his contract with Zenit, which was already expiring, and went to the team’s coaching staff as an assistant to Luciano Spalletti. After the dismissal of the latter former player team became its coach. Under the management of Sergei, two matches were played, the first Zenit lost to CSKA, and the second match was won against Borussia. Semak did not stay in the position of coach for long; he was replaced by Andre Villas-Boas. When the latter was disqualified, in 2015 Sergei again moved from the coaching staff to the main position and led the Zenit team for six matches of the Russian championship.

In August 2014, Sergei Semak joined the coaching staff of the Russian national team along with. When he left the national team, Sergei stayed. Now the former football player remains the assistant to the head coach at Zenit, the other day there was a change of coach in this position, it is unknown what place Semak will now occupy, but according to Arkady Zaporozhanu, agent Mircea Lucescu, the new coach of Zenit, the athlete will absolutely remain with the team.

Successes and achievements

Sergei Semak had quite a lot of achievements. As part of the CSKA team - three trophies, PSG - one trophy, Rubin - three trophies, Zenit - three trophies, bronze in Euro 2008. Semak's name is on the list of the best football players in the Russian championship; he is the absolute record holder for the number of matches - 456. In 2005, the athlete received the title of Honored Master of Sports. In the “20th Anniversary of the Russian Football Championship” competition, the former football player was recognized as the best defensive midfielder of the Russian championships of 1992-2012. The Golden Horseshoe Award, awarded every year to the three most best players football, basketball and hockey club CSKA was received by Semak three times - two gold (2002, 2004) and one bronze (2003).

Family and children

Semak's first wife is Svetlana, their son's name is Ilya. The footballer is now married to Anna, a writer, who has a daughter from her first marriage, Maya. And over the years together, the couple had five children - their names are Semyon, Ivan, Varvara, Savva, Illaria. Sergei and his wife and children lead a quiet lifestyle, go to church, and prefer family evenings with a cup of tea to noisy weekends.

The athlete met his first wife at the age of 17, and during 10 years of marriage, he and his wife raised a son, Ilya. However, in 2006, Sergei met Anna, who later became his second wife. Semak himself became her third official husband. From an early age, growing up in a large family with four brothers, Sergei dreamed that he would have a wife and many children, a huge friendly family. This dream has come true. By the way, the athlete’s two brothers - former football players, perhaps family and football from an early age were what Semak valued most.

Awarded the title “Honored Master of Sports”; he is the record holder of domestic football championships. In addition, Semak is an attentive father of seven children and a loving husband.

The beginning of life's journey

The Russian football player was born in Ukraine in 1976, on February 27. His childhood years were spent in the village of Sychanskoye (now Lugansk). Here he received his secondary education and entered the Lugansk Olympic Reserve School. There, the future champion was taught football skills by coach Valery Belokobylsky.

After graduating from the Lugansk School, Semak Sergei Bogdanovich, at the age of 16, moved to Moscow. Here he begins to build a career, becoming a member football club"Presnya" (1992). Then the footballer moves to the Karelia club, where his skill is noticed by coach Konstantin Beskov. So Sergei becomes a member of Asmaral, and then CSK.

First achievements

Sergei Semak scored his first goal a year after joining the army club. And at the age of 19 he was appointed captain of the football team.

In 2002 and 2004 Russian football player was awarded the “Golden Horseshoe” - the main prize of the army fan community. And in 2003, he was awarded a similar figurine, but in bronze.

In 2005, Sergei accepted an offer from the top French football club Paris Saint-Germain, but he never managed to make it there good career. Therefore, after a while he returned to Russia and became a member of FC Moscow. Very soon the footballer became a leader Russian club and the highest paid midfielder.

But Sergei Semak did not want to stop there and decided to transfer to the Kazan club Rubin. And having become a member of a club in Tatarstan, the footballer was able to lead it to the title of Russian champions. In 2007, the midfielder surpassed the 100-goal mark in the Russian championships.

Awards

Sergei Semak, whose biography has always been of interest to the public, is a unique football player. Over the course of several years of his football career, he was able to reach professional heights, well-deserved titles and honorary awards.

• The famous football player is a five-time Russian football champion. The titles were awarded when he was part of three different clubs: CSK, Rubin, Zenit.
• Semak - triple silver medalist Russian championships 1998, 2002, 2004; bronze medalist of the 1999 tournament.
• As a member of CSK, Sergei won the Russian Cup in 2002.
• The famous football player became the winner three times: 2004 - CSK, 2010 - Rubin, 2011 - Zenit.
• The Russian midfielder is the winner of the UEFA Cup (2005).
• At Euro 2008, Semak was declared a bronze medalist.

Personal life

Sergei Semak, whose photos are always featured in fashion glossy magazines, distinguished himself not only in the football field, but also in the personal sphere. Today famous football player raises seven children, six of whom are his own, and one from the previous marriage of his second wife.

Sergei met his first wife, Svetlana Demidova, in a cafe when he was 17 years old. The young athlete liked the girl so much that he decided to get her attention at any cost. This took about a year, during which the football player skillfully looked after the beauty. Later the lovers got married. Their marriage lasted 10 years. During this time, Svetlana gave her husband a son, Ilya.

But in 2006, Sergei had a fateful meeting. One evening he went to sit in a Parisian cafe with his wife (then he played for Paris Saint-Germain). There, near the football player’s toilet, a girl named Anna, who worked as an administrator of the establishment, waylaid him. She quickly handed Semak a piece of paper with her phone number and asked him to call. And after a while Sergei called the fan. From that moment on, Anna became the football player’s “legal” mistress, and later his common-law wife. And after her divorce from Svetlana Demidova in 2007, 22-year-old Anna began to lay claim to the title of Semak’s official wife.

The footballer could not leave his wife Svetlana for a long time. He was tormented by his conscience about what he could do to a loved one, and therefore for three years he was torn between two women. But when Anna gave birth to Sergei’s son, everything was decided by itself.

Children of a football player

Anna Semak, although younger than Sergei, was able to surpass him in the number of official marriages. The girl was married twice. Sergei Semak became the third official husband of the sizzling brunette.

Anna was able to give birth to her wife of five children - sons Semyon, Ivan, Savva and daughters Varvara and Ilaria. The footballer admits that he is very happy to be a father of many children. Sergei has a son from his first marriage; he has 5 children together with his new wife and Anna has 1 child from a previous marriage.

Semak grew up in and therefore from a young age he dreamed of creating his own large family, where he would have many children. And it looks like Anna was able to make the football player’s dream come true.

Sergei is related to his daughter Varvara interesting story. The girl was born on the day the football player played for Rubin, whose opponent was Barcelona. This game ended in a draw, and Semak decided to name his daughter Barcelona, ​​in honor of the rival team. These rumors quickly spread in the press, but they did not come true. The official name for the girl has already been chosen - Varvara.

Strict but kind father

Anna Semak has repeatedly admitted that she wanted to have many children next to Sergei. The second wife was able to give birth to five children for her husband, and it seems that the couple is not going to stop there. The couple plans to adopt another child in the future.

Sergei Semak, whose children look happy, admits that he really loves each of them. The footballer strongly supports his eldest son Ilya (from his first marriage), who loves to come to visit his father. Semak considers his daughter Maya, who remained with Anna after her first marriage, to be her own child. According to his wife, Sergei loves his children with all his heart, but does not forget about strictness in upbringing.

Strictness and discipline are the fundamental principles that guide football players in training with young students.

Business

Sergei Semak is a football player and successful businessman. Over the years of his football career, he was able to open his own business - the Limo-Club limousine rental company. The idea of ​​creating a company began to be implemented by 2007. It was during this period famous football player started buying limousines. At first it was planned that the company would belong to Semak’s first wife, Svetlana Demidova. But after the divorce in 2007, Svetlana became only a representative of her ex-husband’s interests in the automobile business.

Today, the captain of the Russian football team is the president of the Limo Club. His company provides rental cars for special occasions and events.

Sergei Semak: about football

The coach of the famous football club was the titled Russian football player Sergei Semak. Zenit signed a 3-year contract with the Russian champion.

But in recent years, the Zenit team has not pleased fans with its victories. Semak explains this by the emergence of new players in the team, changes in playing tactics and the difficulties of “grinding in” players to each other.

Sergei admits that it is not easy for Zenit’s youth to play. And although professional level players are high, young players cannot withstand the competition. The coach believes that young players should train more with masters of sports and strengthen themselves mentally.

Sergei claims that in a team, as in a family, one must adhere to strict discipline. Players must have good self-control, hard work and determination. But the football player emphasizes that today’s youth do not have the willpower or patriotism that would motivate them to succeed. Therefore, probably, young football players do not live up to the coach’s expectations.

Dossier

Sergey Semak - biography, personal life and main achievements.