Yuri Zhirkov, 18# Winger
Yuri Zhirkov is a natural-born winner. Zhirkov was signed in 2009 on the recommendation of ex-Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink for a fee in excess of £18 million. A versatile left-sided player who is equally capable in defence as he is on the wing, Zhirkov has endeared himself to the Chelsea fans despite an injury-plagued début season.

His first season at Chelsea was limited by injury to just 26 appearances, but Zhirkov was still able to partake an important role within the squad; deputising for Ashley Cole when the England star was sidelined and also making cameo appearances out wide in the Blues’ trademark 4-3-3 set-up.

Zhirkov’s career began in his native Russia where his impressive two-year stint at FC Spartak Tambov earned him a move to CSKA Moscow, where he made more than 200 appearances and won an incredible 11 trophies in six seasons. His finest hour was the 2005 UEFA Cup Final, where he scored the opening goal in CSKA’s 3-1 defeat of Sporting Lisbon. Zhirkov also scored the goal of the tournament in the 2006/07 Champions League; dribbling the length of the pitch before finishing with aplomb against Hamburg.

A fine display at Euro 2008, coupled with further good form with CSKA prompted huge interest from Europe’s giants, but it was Chelsea who secured Zhirkov on a deal making him the most-expensive Russian player of all-time.

The early part of his Stamford Bridge stay was blighted with niggling injuries, and though he was able to participate in a 2-1 win over AC Milan in pre-season – a game where he scored the winner – he was not able to make his competitive début until late September against Queen’s Park Rangers.

With Ashley Cole out for three months, Zhirkov was promoted to first choice in February and marked this by putting in a number of brilliant performances. In March he supplied three assists in a 7-1 win over Aston Villa and then showed his versatile best against Bolton in mid-April with a Man of the Match performance despite requiring stitches on a head injury. Cole was not as missed as Chelsea’s title rivals had hoped.

Yuri’s incredible trophy haul was complimented with Chelsea’s historic Premier League and FA Cup Double, and aged just 27, Zhirkov still has age on his side as he looks to impose himself as one of Europe’s best left-sided players by building on a solid first season at Stamford Bridge.

Written By Alex Hinsley    Discussion Topic