Mikhail Biryukov was born on 7 May 1958 and played for Zenit as a goalkeeper from 1980 to 1991. In the 1984 league winning season, he was named the USSR's goalkeeper of the year.

Biryukov joined the coaching staff after retiring aged 42 and helped coach the likes of Vyacheslav Malafeev, Yuri Lodygin and Mikhail Kerzhakov.

Mikhail will continue to work with the Zenit first team alongside his new role.