Zenit legend Andrei Arshavin, current blue-white-sky blue goalkeeper Yuri Lodygin and former Russian international Alexi Smertin, who is the RFU’s anti-racism officer all spoke to the high school students alongside UEFA delegate Vasco Doychinovski.
The players spoke to the kids about anti-racism, the work being done in Russian football to be inclusive and all the efforts being made since the World Cup to improve the sport for everyone. After the event, those in attendance were free to ask questions and below are some of the highlights from the Q&A.
“I would like to dispel the stereotype that all football players favorite lesson is physical education, I liked Russian language,” said Smertin.
“Before I started to play football at a professional level, I liked history,” answered Lodygin.
The next question was for Andrei Arshavin: how did he come up with his your famous goal celebration?
“It came about spontaneously, I just decided to do it, then everyone was expecting me to put my finger to my lips after every goal” said Arshavin.
Alexey Smertin and Andrei Arshavin shared their experiences of playing in England.
“At first it was not easy and I ended up at Portsmouth, a team in a relegation battle, but it was a good starting point. At first it seemed I would not fit into English football, it’s dynamic and very fast, but everything turned out OK for me," Smertin said.
“I enjoyed playing for Arsenal and when comparing the Russian and English Premier Leagues, of course, in England, the standard is higher. I had good friendships at Arsenal with Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas and later with Lukas Podolski and Per Mertesaker,” Arshavin answered.
Andrei Arshavin with asked about his favourite goals, was it the goals at Euro 2008 or the four against Liverpool for Arsenal?
“Memories of the match against the Dutch are very dear to me and I was playing for my country. As for my favorite goals, I will say my very first goal, against Lokomotiv in the Super Cup and a lob against Amkar," Arshavin said.
Yury Lodygin spoke about the most memorable match in his career.
“I really remember the match in Monaco in the UEFA Champions League. We lost, but the atmosphere was crazy. Andre Villas-Boas had a surprise for us before the game, he showed us a video with messages from our families. It was very touching,” answered Lodygin.
How difficult is it recovering from injury? Was a question for all three of the footballers.
“Thank God, there were few injuries in my career. You just need to have patience and believe that everything will be fine. You need to give it the right time to recover and not rush,” said Lodygin.
“You have to set yourself a goal to recover faster. I was playing for Portsmouth and injured my knee 25 days before the international match with Wales, but I knew that I had to play in that game by any means. The manager gave me with a place in the starting lineup and I did well marking Ryan Giggs,” said Smertin.
Finally, the players were asked to name their dream teams from the last 20 years. Arshavin named his favourite Zenit team, Smertin a Russian team and Lodygin a World all-stars.
Andrei Arshavin’s Zenit XI (4-3-3): Malafeev, Anyukov, Kim, Garay, Krizanac, Radimov, Denisov, Bystrov, Kerzhakov, Hulk, Arshavin.
Alexi Smertin’s Russia XI (4-4-2): Akinfeev, Ignashevich, Onopko, Anyukov, Khlestov, Zhirkov, Arshavin, Titov, Tsymbalar, Kerzhakov, Beschastnykh.
Yuri Lodygin’s World XI (4-3-3): Casillas, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, Maldini, Nesta, Gattuso, Zidane, Guti, Ronaldo (Brazi), Messi and Ronaldo (Portugal).
The event was summed up by Alexey Smertin and he thanked the club for organizing “the football lesson” and highlighted the main goals of such events.
“A year ago, I was appointed by the RFU to combat discrimination and racism, we have done significant work together and with the organising committee of the World Cup. We continue working with FIFA and FARE. The World Cup was a springboard and we understand what the legacy of this tournament must be and remember the feeling it gave us. We are carrying out these football lessons across Russia, we have already been in Moscow, today in St. Petersburg and will be in Kazan and Sochi and these are extremely important. We need to show the children that they we on the right path and setting a good example. I am very grateful for to Zenit, Arshavin and Lodygin and thank them for coming today,” Smertin said.
At the end of the lesson, the players had their photos taken with the kids and signed autographs.
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