Konoplyov football academy
Yu. Konoplyov football academy (Russian: Академия футбола имени Юрия Коноплева) is a Russian youth football academy based in Togliatti.[1]
History
The academy was founded in 2003 as SDYuShOR Krylia Sovetov. In 2007 the name was changed in honor of its founder Yuri Konoplyov, a local businessman who died in 2006 aged 39.[2] Since then it is sponsored mainly by Abramovich's National Academy of Football.
Present
The academy comprises age-group teams ranging from Under-8's up to Under-18's. Team of Under-18's plays in the Amateur Football League, 4th level of Russian football, under the name of Togliatti-dubl. Russian Second Division's FC Akademiya Togliatti was also fed on the academy players, as was FC Togliatti, now defunct. As of 2015–16 season, the academy was feeding FC Lada-Togliatti. The senior squad of the academy originally received a license to play in the third-tier Russian Professional Football League for the 2017–18 season, but before the season started, it became the feeder team to FC Krylia Sovetov-2 Samara instead.[3]
Alumni
The best known alumni of the Konoplyov academy are Russian international midfielder Alan Dzagoev[4] and 2006 UEFA U-17 Championship winners Anton Vlasov, Yevgeni Korotayev, Denis Shcherbak, Igor Gorbatenko, Dmitri Ryzhov and Roman Savenkov.[5] Another player was Ilya Kutepov who is a Spartak defender.
The list of alumni also includes: Artur Yusupov (who signed for Dinamo Moscow), Yevgeni Pesegov (Krylia Sovetov Samara), Aleksandr Stolyarenko (CSKA Moscow), Vladimir Drukovskiy (Krylia Sovetov Samara), Maksim Fyodorov (CSKA Moscow), Ivan Stain (FC Nizhny Novgorod), Ivan Zlobin (Benfica) and Sergei Borodin (FC Nizhny Novgorod).[6]
Three more academy alumni made their Russia national football team debut in 2015: Roman Zobnin, Dmitri Yefremov and Artur Yusupov. Stanislav Kritsyuk and Ilya Kutepov made their national team debut in 2016. Roman Yemelyanov was called up to the squad but has not played any official games yet.
References
- "Футбольная школа Академия футбола им. Юрия Коноплёва Самарская обл.: Воспитанники, Тренеры, История". footballfacts.ru. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
- "About the founder of the Academy". Yu. Konoplyov football academy official site. Archived from the original on 2009-05-28. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- Группа «Урал-Приволжье» ждёт почти двукратного расширения (in Russian). Konoplyov football academy. 23 June 2017.
- "Our stars: Alan Dzagoev". Yu. Konoplyov football academy official site. Archived from the original on 2010-02-25. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- "2006 European champions". Yu. Konoplyov football academy official site. Archived from the original on 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
- "Our stars". Yu. Konoplyov football academy official site. Archived from the original on 2009-05-25. Retrieved 2009-09-11.
External links
See also
- FC Lada
- FC Akron
- FC Akademiya