The Most Capped Russian Footballers Ever

Before anything else we should say that none of the footballers on the list of most capped Russian footballers ever are among the current Russia football team players. However, one of them, as they say, namely the 38-year-old Yuri Zhirkov, is still one of the options to be called up to the Russia national football team for the coming 2022 World Cup. You may see him among the

Russia football team players

for the global competition, but that’s not happened yet.

Although none of the footballers on the list are among the current Russia football team players, there are footballers on the list like Andrey Arshavin and Igor Akinfeev who are indeed among the top 10 Russian footballers of all time, but to call them one of

Russian football player legends

, you should think twice. In fact, there are some former Soviet Union footballers like Lev Yashin and Rinat Dasayev who are among Russian football player legends and even made more international appearances than some of the footballers on the list, but since our list of most capped Russian footballers ever focuses on footballers who made the most number of appearances for the Russian national team and not the Soviet national team, they are automatically ruled out.

A List of Most Capped Russian Footballers Ever

The list of most capped Russian footballers ever consists of ten footballers with at least 71 international appearances, but let’s see who tops the list and with how many appearances.

Sergei Ignashevich (127 Caps)

Number one on the list of

most capped Russian footballers ever

, Sergei Ignashevich is also the only footballer on the list with more than 120 international appearances. He served the Russian national team for 16 years between 2002 and 2018 making 127 appearances and scoring 8 goals for them in the process - He played as a center back which explains his low number of goals. Ignashevich also held the record for most appearances within the Russian Premier League - actually 489 - before he was overtaken by his fellowman, Igor Akinfeev, in August 2021 who has made 507 appearances within the Russian league to this date.

If you would like to know about how many appearances Ignashevich made and in which international competitions, here is a brief stats of it plus some more info: Friendlies, 44 appearances and 2 goals, Euro qualification rounds, 38 appearances, 5 goals, 3 assists, and 3 yellow cards, World Cup qualification rounds, 28 appearances, 1 goal, 2 assists, and 2 yellow cards, Euro finals, 10 appearances, and World Cup finals, 8 appearances. That actually sums up to 128 appearances, 8 goals, 5 assists, and 5 yellow cards for Ignashevich at international level. The 42-year-old retired Russian footballer was part of the Russian national team who managed to advance to 2018 World Cup quarter-finals and Euro 2008 semi-finals. He also took part in Euro 2012 and 2016 and World Cup 2014 but never saw beyond the group stage in these competitions. Russia have never won an international trophy and you shouldn’t expect Ignashevich either, however, at club level, he managed to win 21 trophies with the Russian clubs, CSKA Moscow and

.

Igor Akinfeev (111 Caps)

The only goalkeeper and the only one-club man on the list of most capped Russian footballers ever - he has only served CSKA Moscow,

is a 35-year-old Russian goalkeeper who although has retired from International football, he’s still active at club level, and as mentioned above, it’s only been CSKA Moscow that he has served to this date, of course, if he doesn’t change his club in the final years of his career. Akinfeev is actually the one on the list with most club appearances both across all competitions (697) and within the Russian Premier League (507) and also the one with the youngest debut age (18 years and 20 days). But, let’s get to his international stats.

At international level, Akinfeev made a total of 111 appearances which distributes among different international competitions like this - the stats also include his conceded goals and clean sheets: Friendlies, 42 appearances, 42 goals, 18 clean sheets, and 1 yellow card, World Cup qualification rounds, 29 appearances, 16 goals, and 14 clean sheets, Euro qualification rounds, 21 appearances, 10 goals, and 12 clean sheets, Euro finals, 8 appearances, 14 goals, and 2 clean sheets, World Cup finals, 8 appearances, 10 goals, and one clean sheet, and finally Confederations Cup, 3 appearances, 3 goals, and one clean sheet. That actually sums up to 111 appearances, 1 yellow card, 95 goals conceded, and 45 clean sheets collected for Akinfeev at international level.

Just like Ignashevich, Akinfeev has also no international trophy to his name since the Russian national team has never won one during their history, however, at club level, he’s near to Ignashevich with 20 club trophies won to this date with CSKA Moscow including six

titles and seven Russian Super Cups. He actually served Russia national football team sometime between 2004 and 2018 taking part in Euro 2008 and 2016 and 2014 and 2018 World Cups with them. He also served Russia U21 team between 2002 and 2005 making 8 appearances for them in the process. Maybe Akinfeev has not been known yet as one of Russian football player legends, but considering that he was named the best Russian goalkeeper by the Russian Football Union in three consecutive years of 2008, 2009, and 2010, he won the Lev Yashin Goalkeeper of the Year Award in two sets of three consecutive years, namely 2004, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010, and he’s a member of Member of Lev Yashin club, he’s, for sure, one of the top 10 Russian footballers of all time, or better said, one of the top 10 Russian goalkeepers of all time.

Viktor Onopko (109 Caps)

Only two caps behind Igor Akinfeev to occupy the third position on the list of most capped Russian footballers ever, Viktor Onopko is a 52-year-old retired Russian defender who served the Russian national team sometime between 1992 and 2004 during which he made a total of 109 appearances and scored 7 goals for them. It might be interesting for you to know that Onopko was actually the most capped Russian footballer ever with his 109 international appearances up until September 2015 before his record was broken by the current most capped Russian footballer, Sergei Ignashevich.

As for Onopko’s international stats concerning his appearances, we should say that it’s 109 appearances for Russia and 3 appearances for the former Soviet Union distributed among different international competitions like this - the stats also include the number of goals he scored, assists he provided, and yellow or red cards he received: Friendlies, 49 appearances, 1 goal, 3 assists, 4 yellow cards, and 2 red cards, World Cup qualification rounds, 28 appearances, 2 yellow cards, and one red card, Euro qualification rounds, 28 appearances, 6 goals, 1 assist, and 1 yellow card, and World Cup finals, 5 appearances, and Euro finals, 2 appearances, and 2 yellow cards. That sums up to 112 appearances, 7 goals, 4 assists, 9 yellow cards, and 3 red cards for Onopko at international level. With those stats, Onopko is actually the one with the most number of international red cards on the list, though collectively, concerning the sum of international yellow and red cards he received, he’s still behind - we mean there are footballers on the list with more yellow and red cards than him altogether.

Yuri Zhirkov (105 Caps)

One of the only two footballers on the list of

most capped Russian footballers ever

to have served within the English Premier League - he actually served Chelsea from 2009 to 2011, Yuri Zhirkov is a 38-year-old Russian winger and left back who although has retired from international football, he’s still active at club level, though he’s probably going to retire from club football, too, in a year or two concerning his age. Zhirkov actually served the Russian national team sometime between 2005 and 2021 making 105 appearances and scoring 2 goals for them in the process. He also served Russia U21 team between 2004 and 2005 during which he made 9 appearances and scored 2 goals for them, too.

Zhirkov’s international appearances actually took place in several international competitions as below - the stats also include his goals, assists, and any yellow or red cards he received: Friendlies, 43 appearances, 2 goals, 4 assists, and 3 yellow cards, Euro qualification rounds, 25 appearances, 5 assists, and 1 yellow card, World Cup qualification rounds, 15 appearances, 1 assist, 1 yellow card, and 1 second yellow card leading to a red card, Euro finals, 9 appearances, 1 assist, and 3 yellow cards, World Cup finals, 4 appearances, UEFA Nations League, 6 appearances and one yellow card, and Confederations Cup, 3 appearances and one second yellow card. That sums up to 105 appearances, 2 goals, 11 assists, 9 yellow cards, and 2 second yellow cards for Zhirkov at international level. As you see, although Zhirkov didn’t receive a direct red card during his international career, he’s no less than Onopko concerning the number of yellow cards he received plus that he also received two second yellow cards leading to a red card which could be considered as red cards after all. Call them violent footballers or what?

Vasili Berezutskiy (101 Caps)

The last footballer on the list of most capped Russian footballers ever with more than 100 caps, Vasili Berezutskiy is a 39-year-old retired Russian defender who played as a right back or center back for only two Russian clubs, namely

and CSKA Moscow, during his career. The fact is he served the former for only two seasons between 1999 and 2001 and the latter for the rest of his career; actually from 2002 up until the end of his career in 2018. If he hadn’t served the former for that two seasons, he would have actually been the second one-club man on the list, however, that’s not the case.

Anyways, let’s get to Berezutskiy’s international stats. The retired Russian defender served the Russian national team sometime between 2003 and 2016 making 101 appearances and scoring 5 goals for them in the process. He also served Russia U21 team between 2001 and 2003 finishing his service to them with 5 appearances and one goal.

Most of Berezutskiy’s appearances for the Russian senior national team took place in international friendlies (38); here is a brief record of his international stats concerning his appearances, goals, assists, and any yellow or red cards he received: Friendlies, 38 appearances, 1 goal, and 3 yellow cards, World Cup qualification rounds, 26 appearances, 2 goals, 1 assist, and 5 yellow cards, Euro qualification rounds, 29 appearances, 1 goal, 1 assist, and 2 yellow cards, Euro finals, 5 appearances and one goal, and World Cup finals, only 3 appearances. That sums up to 101 appearances, 5 goals, 2 assists, and 10 yellow cards for Berezutskiy at international level.

As you see, he’s also one of the footballers on the list with 10 or more international yellow cards meaning that he was kind of an aggressive footballer, too. You will probably admit that if you know he also received 71 yellow cards and 4 red cards during his career, too. Berezutskiy captained the Russian national team in 2014 World Cup - the only World Cup he took part in - and he also took part in Euro 2008 and 2016 with them, captaining his team in two of the three matches in the latter edition of the European competition.

Aleksandr Kerzhakov (92 Caps)

The one on the list of most capped Russian footballers ever with the most number of international goals to his name, Aleksandr Kerzhakov is a 39-year-old retired Russian forward who is actually Russia top scorer of all time jointly with another Russian forward, namely

, of course as of now, since the latter is still active and will probably increase his international goals to stand as Russia’s lone top scorer of all time. That, indeed, we should wait and see, but back to Kerzhakov, we should tell you that he actually served the Russian national team between 2002 and 2016 making 92 appearances and scoring 30 goals for them in the process - almost one goal in every 3 appearances.

Up until June 2014, it was Vladimir Beschastnykh - another footballer on the list - who was Russia’s top scorer of all time with 26 international goals, but in a 2014 World Cup group-stage match against South Korea, Kerzhakov equaled his international goals with those of Beschastnykh by scoring his 26th international goal, and later on in the same year’s September, he became Russia’s top scorer of all time by scoring two more goals in a friendly against Azerbaijan. He’s still Russia’s top scorer of all time with the 30 international goals he scored before his retirement, however, as we mentioned above, that record is going to be broken anytime by Artem Dzyuba who shares the record with him and is still active.

The interesting fact about Kerzhakov which could also make him one of the top 10 Russian footballers of all time is that he’s also the most prolific Russian goalscorer of all time with the 203 goals he scored at club level and in 15 seasons - 13 goals per season averagely. That means, as you know, you can find no other Russian footballer to have scored that many goals in that time period or even longer, however, we have Artem Dzyuba again who is very near to Kerzhakov concerning the club goals he has scored (184), and we should wait and see if he can overtake the Russian top prolific goalscorer of all time or not in this respect.

And finally here is Kerzhakov’s international stats concerning his appearances, goals, assists, and any yellow or red cards he received: Friendlies, 35 appearances, 8 goals, and 4 assists, World Cup qualification rounds, 25 appearances, 11 goals, 8 assists, 1 yellow card, and 1 red card, Euro qualification rounds, 24 appearances, 10 goals, 4 assists, and 2 yellow cards, World Cup finals, 4 appearances, 1 goal, and 1 assist, and finally Euro finals, 4 appearances and one assist. That actually sums up to 92 appearances, 30 goals, 18 assists, 3 yellow cards, and one red card for Kerzhakov at international level. The 39-year-old retired Russian forward took part in Euro 2004 and 2012 and 2002 and 2014 World Cups with the Russian national team, and the most number of goals he scored in a single international match was in a Euro 2008 qualification match against

where he managed to score a hat-trick contributing to his team’s 4-0 win.

Aleksandr Anyukov (77 Caps)

The lowest scoring outfield player on the list of most capped Russian footballers ever, Aleksandr Anyukov is a 39-year-old retired Russian defender who scored only one goal in his 79 appearances for

Russia national football team

, however, that one goal was against a worthy opponent, namely Germany, in a friendly that ended in a 2-2 draw. And considering that Anyukov was a defender, one shouldn’t expect so many goals from him, but again, one goal in 79 appearances may look too few - we leave the judgement to you.

The interesting fact about Anyukov is that he received more yellow cards than the sum of yellow and red cards any other footballer on the list received during his career; actually 13 yellow cards, however, he received no red card or a second yellow card leading to a red card during his international career. Here is Anyukov’s international stats concerning the number of his appearances, goals, assists, and also yellow cards: Friendlies, 26 appearances, 1 goal, and 2 yellow cards, World Cup qualification rounds, 23 appearances, 2 assists, and 5 yellow cards, Euro qualification rounds, 19 appearances, 4 assists, and 5 yellow cards, and finally Euro finals, 9 appearances, 2 assists, and one yellow card. Anyukov is the only footballer on the list to have not seen a World Cup with the Russian national team because during the time he served them, actually between 2004 and 2013, Russia was not qualified for the global competition. His best shot with the Russian national team was finishing fourth in Euro 2008.

Andrey Arshavin (76 Caps)

If you cannot consider Arshavin as one of Russian football player legends, you can, for sure, call him one of the

top 10 Russian footballers of all time

, and that’s no exaggeration. The man is the only one on the list of most capped Russian footballers ever to have earned a worthy position in a Ballon d’Or trophy ranking - actually 6th in 2008 Ballon d’Or - and one of the two footballers on the list to have served a top Premier League club, namely Arsenal, during his career, though he didn’t win any club trophies with them, but on the other hand, the transfer fee for which he moved to the club in 2008, £15 million, was a record one in the history of the club at the time.

Arshavin served the

sometime between 2002 and 2012 during which he made 76 appearances and scored 17 goals for them - 1.1 goals in every five appearances. He played also for Russia U21 team between 2001 and 2003 making 9 appearances and scoring one goal for them in the process. Considering that he was a forward by role, though he also played sometimes as a winger or attacking midfielder, that number of goals may not suffice, however, that doesn’t make him a lesser footballer compared to other Russian forwards or other footballers on the list since he actually impressed with his performances in 2008 and especially in Euro 2008 which makes him a memorable figure in the history of Russian football.

Arshavin actually provided more assists - both club and international - than he scored goals during his career and that actually what emphasizes his role more as a playmaking midfielder. Here is a brief stats of how he performed at international level concerning the number of his appearances, goals, assists, and any yellow or red cards he received: Friendlies, 27 appearances, 4 goals, 5 assists, and 1 yellow card, World Cup qualification rounds, 21 appearances, 8 goals, 3 assists, and 2 yellow cards, Euro qualification rounds, 23 appearances, 3 goals, 8 assists, 1 yellow card, and 1 red card, and finally Euro finals, 6 appearances, 2 goals, 4 assists, and one yellow card. That actually sums up to 76 appearances, 17 goals, 20 assists, 5 yellow cards, and one red card for the 40-year-old retired Russian footballer at international level.

Arshavin never scored more than one goal in a single international match, but he captained the Russian national team in 41 of his 76 international appearances. He also never took part in a World Cup competition because during the time he served his country’s national team, they were only qualified for the global competition once and in 2002 where he was not called up to the team.

Valeri Karpin (72 Caps)

One of the two footballers on the list alongside Viktor Onopko to have served the Russian national team as a manager - he’s the manager and Onopko is his assistan, Valeri Karpin is also the oldest footballer on the list - he’s 53 years old by now. He served the Russian national team sometime between 1992 and 2003 making 72 appearances and scoring 17 goals for them in the process - 1.15 goals in every 5 appearances. He also made one appearance for CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) national team which was actually a transitional national team of the former Soviet Union in 1992.

Here is a brief stats of how Karpin performed at international level concerning his appearances, goals, assists, and any yellow or red cards he received: Friendlies, 32 appearances, 7 goals, 3 assists, and 2 yellow cards, World Cup qualification rounds, 13 appearances, 1 goal, 2 assists, and 2 yellow cards, Euro qualification rounds, 18 appearances, 8 goals, 2 assists, and 2 yellow cards, World Cup finals, 6 appearances, 1 goal, and 1 yellow card, and finally Euro finals, 3 appearances and 1 assist. That actually sums up to 72 appearances, 17 goals, 8 assists and 7 yellow cards for Karpin at international level. He was actually part of the Russian national team in 1994 and 2002 World Cups and in Euro 1996, but never managed to advance beyond the group stage with them.

Vladimir Beschastnykh (72 Caps)

The last but not least on the list of

most capped Russian footballers ever

, Vladimir Beschastnykh is a 47-year-old retired Russian forward who served 11 clubs during his career among which are also clubs like the German club, Werder Bremen, and the Turkish club,

, in addition to top Russian clubs like Spartak Moscow. He also served the Russian national team sometime between 1992 and 2003 making 72 appearances and scoring 26 goals for them in the process. With that number of international goals, he has actually the highest international goal-to-appearance ratio (0.36) on the list, though Aleksandr Kerzhakov who scored 30 goals in 92 international appearances is very close to him with an international goal-to-appearance ratio of 0.32.

Maybe Beschastnykh was not a prolific goalscorer like Kerzhakov who is currently Russia top scorer of all time, however, he, at least, managed to become the all-time top scorer of the discontinued Soviet Union cup, CIS Cup, with 20 goals and also its top scorer in 1994 and 2002 with 10 and 7 goals, respectively. Here is a brief stats of how Beschastnykh performed at international level concerning the number of his appearances, goals, assists, and any yellow or red cards he received: Friendlies, 38 appearances, 8 goals, 6 assists, 4 yellow cards, and one red card, World Cup qualification rounds, 16 appearances, 9 goals, 2 assists, and 2 yellow cards, Euro qualification rounds, 13 appearances, 7 goals, and 2 assists, World Cup finals, 4 appearances and one goal, and Euro finals, 1 appearance and 1 goal. That actually sums up to 72 appearances, 26 goals, 10 assists, 6 yellow cards, and one red card for Beschastnykh at international level.

Just like Karpin, Beschastnykh was also part of the Russian national team in 1994 and 2002 World Cups and in Euro 1996, but as already mentioned, Russia never advanced beyond the group stage in these competitions. And finally, the most number of goals Beschastnykh scored in a single international match was in a 2002 World Cup qualification match against Switzerland where he managed to score a hat-trick contributing to his team’s 4-0 win.

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