In which club does Anton Miranchuk play? Alexey Miranchuk: personal life, biography, girlfriend (wife)

People began to talk about you as the main discovery of the season, and the former head coach of the Russian national team, Leonid Slutsky, even expressed confidence that the World Cup would reveal your playing potential even more clearly. Are such advances pleasant or make you nervous?

You’re saying this now, but somehow I haven’t thought about these topics. It happens that I go on the Internet and read something about myself, but in such formulations... It’s nice, of course, when your work is noted by experts, experienced trainers. But my job is to keep working. We'll see what comes of this.

- What words could you use to describe your call to the national team - lucky or deserved?

Rather, he probably deserved it, first of all, due to the current season in the Premier League. Before that, I played some test matches, from which, probably, the coaches also drew conclusions, decided whether I fit this or that scheme. After all, Lokomotiv won the championship, and I made a certain contribution to this championship. So he deserved it.

To be honest, I was very surprised by the fact that from a club that has become the strongest in the country, only you and your brother were invited to the national team. Was there a fear that they might not call?

I thought about this. I knew when the entry list would be made public, so as soon as I came home from training that day, the first thing I did was look at the information on the Internet. When I saw my name, of course, I was happy. Of course, it’s a pity that there are only two of us from Lokomotiv, but nothing can be done about it. This means that the head coach sees the squad this way. After all, he follows all the players throughout the season, he probably knows better.

At Lokomotiv you played in a 4-4-2 formation, while Stanislav Cherchesov prefers to play differently. Where do you see yourself in the scheme of the head coach of the national team?

I can play both in the center and from the flank, that is, I feel quite comfortable in any formation. No matter where the coach puts me, I don’t get lost, all the positions are familiar, I clearly understand how to act everywhere, so there are no problems with that.

- How long does it take you to adapt to working with a new coach?

For some time, of course, it will be necessary. It's easier for me in this regard. I have already been called up to the national team, played test matches, I know what the head coach wants, what his requirements are for the players, how he communicates in everyday life, how to behave...

- By the way, Cherchesov managed to explain to you how he sees your role in the team?

In fact, I can’t even say that it’s especially important for me to understand this now. If we're talking about about playing in attack, then, as they say, tell me where to run and who to give to, I will run and give.

I know that there are players for whom it is important to feel that the team needs them for all 90 minutes, who feel quite uncomfortable in the game if they do not come on from the first minutes, but as a substitute. Do these things matter to you?

Not too much. Whether you are ready to play or not is determined not by the player, but by the coach. Psychologically, I feel comfortable both ways. Both in the club and in the national team, I repeatedly came on as a substitute, clearly understanding that my task was to strengthen the game. In my opinion, the main thing is to understand your own task, and not how many minutes you spent on the field.

- You are the younger of the twins, aren't you?

- Have there been situations in which you really felt younger in comparison with your brother?

Rather, the opposite happened. I still sometimes feel as if I gave Alexey the opportunity to be the first to choose the football path for himself. Like, you go, look at what’s there and how, and I’ll follow along. It probably sounds funny, after all, my brother has been playing for Loko for quite a long time, and for me this season was the first, but there is no jealousy in this regard, no desire to share anything between us.

You are right-handed, Alexey is left-handed, and this, it seems to me, should bring you a certain advantage when you play together. An analogy immediately arises with Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale: when, playing in a link, they began to move towards the center, the ball fell on each of their working feet.

We also practiced this. It’s really convenient to both receive a pass and shoot. This is exactly how we once played against Dynamo. Moreover, we always talk with Alexey, I instantly understand what and how he will do on the field, at what moment he will open up - everything has long been established. In the same way, my brother knows what I will do and at what moment.

- Playing in a club and playing in the national team - how different are these things according to your inner feelings?

The difference is primarily in the level. It’s one thing to play in the domestic championship, and quite another to play against France, Spain, Brazil. These countries have so many titles! Accordingly, the responsibility is higher. In our championship, it’s not that you know everything inside and out, but you are largely confident in yourself. And here even the excitement is different. After all, you represent the country, and, accordingly, the whole country looks at you.

And if we discard everything you said - titles, responsibility, and try to speculate in purely technical characteristics: what exactly is the advantage of French, Spanish or Brazilian players over Russian ones? How are you worse than Ronaldo, relatively speaking? Does he run faster? Passes better?

I would say that ours is less serious general level. In our country, for example, if a team loses the ball, it immediately retreats to its own goal. We are much more insured, or something. Players from leading European and world clubs in the same situation act more confidently and more relaxed. This is a different mobility on the field.

Would you like to go and play in one of these clubs? Still, with Lokomotiv, in a certain sense, we reached the “ceiling” - gold medals in the Russian Championship.

I am greatly constrained by the fact that Lokomotiv will play in the Champions League. Now I’m 22 years old and for as long as I can remember I’ve always dreamed of playing in the Champions League. For me this is absolute space. Not so long ago, even in a team with Roman Zobnin, we talked about this. About the fact that when you enter the field in a tournament of this level, when you listen to the anthem playing, you even get goosebumps. I kind of know about this, but I’ve never experienced this in my life. I really want to.

I think you have accomplished something incredible. You managed to progress playing in Estonia, in a country where it is quite problematic to achieve gaming progress in principle. Did you put any special effort into this?

Certainly. I understood from the very beginning that playing in the general mode would not get far. Therefore, whenever possible, I gave myself additional training. Including on days when the club had a day off. I worked alone or with someone else, and it actually helped me a lot.

If you now looked at the period when you went on loan from the height of your current experience, could you have stayed at Lokomotiv, or was there no chance?

I don't think it was. I didn’t want to go to the first league, there are too many flights there. I myself have never encountered this, but I listened to other guys and was horrified by their stories. I didn’t understand how, living in such a regime, they even played. I did not regard my departure to Tallinn as a punishment. Perhaps the coach felt that I was not ready to play or something else. But I don’t regret at all that everything turned out this way. This gave me both confidence and strength.

Some time ago, Alexey, when asked if he was ready to leave the club, replied: “I have a brother here, where would I be without him?” How important is it for you to play on the same team?

This is important, of course. For example, I really wanted Alexey to be there when I played in Estonia. But it didn’t work out, and I had to go through some sad moments because of it. We've never really talked about it, although we both understand that the football profession is such that you can end up in different clubs at any time. I think we can handle this. But, of course, it’s more comfortable together.

- What was the most unpleasant situation you ever experienced during that period?

Probably an injury when, while playing in Estonia, I broke my fifth metatarsal. I broke it stupidly during training on the second day of training camp. I didn’t understand how this happened. I had the operation, but the period after which I had to start playing and prove something to everyone again was very difficult.

- Which coach would you like to work with?

I never thought about it.

- Which club would you prefer?

Definitely Barcelona. I've been thinking this way since childhood. Even when I was little and playing in the yard in Slavyansk, the boys and I tried to copy at some points the football they play at Barça, their famous “tiki-taka”. All this was very fascinating and drove me forward. Real Madrid has always had a more stellar lineup, but this is different. And in Barcelona there was Ronaldinho, whom we considered an idol.

- Who is your favorite player now - Ronaldo or Messi?

Messi, of course. You can't even compare.

- Why?

Because he can walk the entire field, dribble past everyone and score a goal. And Ronaldo is just a goalscorer. That's why I like Barcelona - a club that can spin the game and make it unpredictable. Although I can’t call Messi my favorite football player. I like Neymar better.

- What exactly?

Creativity and the ability to dictate your game. Neymar makes quite a lot of mistakes, he sometimes loses balls, but his teammates, if you noticed, don’t even yell at him for it. On the contrary, they rush to chew up these balls themselves in order to give them back to Neymar. The way he plays and carries himself on the field - with such good football chutzpah and self-confidence - is very attractive. It's hard to remain indifferent.

- Do you think such qualities can be cultivated in yourself?

Not sure. Rather, I would say that it is either given to the player or not.

During this season, you once said that Lokomotiv does not always have enough sharpness in the game and that there must be a leader who will score and lead the team to victory. In relation to the Russian national team, do you see a player capable of being just such a leader?

This is probably Fedya Smolov. Although it seems to me that we are strong mostly because of our collective play and general attitude. If we can achieve something and make the opponent nervous, it is only through her, and not through the efforts of any one player.

By the way, I have an acquaintance who believes that all the stories about the mood, about how someone’s eyes lit up in the game and others didn’t, are absolute nonsense. That on the field everyone shows only what they are capable of.

I don't agree. There are moments when you are on a roll when you yourself don’t understand how everything works out for you. Every time you think: why can’t you always play like this? But it doesn’t work out, and that’s a fact. As for the burning eyes, all the coaches have told us about this since I can remember in football. Take the same match with Zenit, which we went into so charged, so hungry for victory, that I don’t even know what words can describe this state. When even one player enters the field in such a state, you can catch courage even just by looking at him.

- Was Igor Denisov such a player at Lokomotiv?

Igor is a player with pronounced leadership qualities. Knows how to start a team.

- Do you have to do anything special to prepare yourself before a match?

No, everything works out on its own, without additional effort. Before the match I can even laugh, get distracted, and at some point - a click, and everything falls into place. And the necessary concentration appears, and the head begins to work differently.

- What, by the way, is Yuri Semin’s secret?

I think that the matter, first of all, is in the human qualities of Yuri Pavlovich. He has seen a lot in life, so in any situation he very quickly finds the right words and necessary actions.

- If you have some difficult everyday situation, will you go to Semin for advice?

Certainly. And I will go no matter how personal this situation is. I know that Semin will always help.

Was the fact that your mother began working at the Spartak boarding school, where you and your brother ended up at the age of 12, a generally accepted practice at that time, or was it just luck?

We were lucky that we were able to agree on this right away. Mom immediately set the following condition: that she would allow Alexei and me to leave home only if she was hired as a teacher at the boarding school.

Now that you have grown up, are there any things that your mother does not allow? Get tattoos, for example?

In fact, we have never had any prohibitions. And what are they for? Mom, I think, knows very well that my brother and I are adequate people and are capable of understanding what we need in life.

I know many examples when athletes for many years felt guilty before their parents because they sacrificed their own work and personal life for them. Do you know this feeling?

I won’t say that this somehow puts pressure or forces me to do something, although my mother definitely sacrificed her whole life for Alexei and me. We really owe everything we have achieved to her. Mom did everything she could for us. Even when he scolds us for something, he does it only because he wants us to be fine. I know how much she worries when she watches our matches. I don't know if we will ever be able to repay her for this. In fact, I think about this often when I train. And I really want to make my mother happy.

Have there been situations in your life when you really wanted to have something, but you realized that you couldn’t afford it?

I am calm about such things. I never count other people's money, for example. I know that if I work hard, money will not escape me.

- And if you suddenly need a large amount, can you ask Alexey for it? Or will you try not to do this?

Of course I'll ask. And I myself will give any amount without hesitation. In this regard, we do not have the concept of “mine”. We will immediately help each other without any additional words.

- What's the coolest household thing you've ever done? After all, you ran a household when you lived in Tallinn?

The hardest part was washing and cleaning. Not in the sense that these were some activities that were beyond my strength, but in the sense that I had to do this every day. Throw things into the machine, wash, hang, iron. Although when my brother and I lived together in a dorm or at training camps, our room was always in order. Everyone has everything in their bags on the floor, but in ours it’s laid out on shelves in the closet. Mom taught me.

- What is the most exotic country you have ever been to?

Thailand and Vietnam. The two countries are actually very similar. Now more and more of our tourists are appearing there.

Many people prefer to travel to these countries, also because they can make good clothes very inexpensively.

This is definitely not for me. If I go on vacation, I go on vacation.

- What is the most serious mistake you have ever made?

I won’t say that there were such people. They're probably ahead.

- Spit.

I am a fatalist in this regard: what is destined to happen will definitely happen.

- Craziest waste of money?

I really spend a lot on clothes. But it gives me pleasure.

- What exactly? Dress stylishly and beautifully?

Yes. In this regard, I like to look at NBA players, how they dress, and there is also the rap group Migos. It is clear that not all of this can be worn and gone out somewhere, but we buy something from the category of “normal” things. It seems to me that my brother and I are one of the coolest in Russian football in terms of style.

Ever since I read on the Internet that you have 150 pairs of sneakers at home, I have been haunted by the question: how can you even choose something from such a quantity?

150 pairs is between us and Alexey. There is only one size. Although yes, it's a bit much. Mom even once asked, walking me off to get ready: “Antosh, where should I put all this? It’s not like opening a store, after all.” But that's how it happened. My brother and I love sneakers. Our most preferred type of shoes.

- What color do you personally prefer?

- What is the hardest thing for you to sacrifice for the sake of football?

The main sacrifice is time. I don’t regret it, because I get tremendous pleasure from training, but sometimes I look at my classmates who are constantly traveling somewhere, relaxing somewhere, and I understand that I cannot afford to lead such a life.

- And you get the feeling that life is passing you by?

Well, come on, there is no trace of such a thing. All the same, one way or another, you manage to touch all aspects of life.

Is that really all there is to it? You are probably prohibited by contract from riding alpine skiing, engage in extreme sports.

This is true. But I am not too attracted to such activities, as well as any jumping from heights. I think this is terrible. When I saw people jumping in Sochi a couple of times, I thought: “God, how lucky I am that my life revolves only around football.”

- Can you imagine yourself playing until the age of 39, like Sergei Ignashevich?

It seems to me that one can only dream about this. Especially about playing for the national team at the age of 39. This is very cool. Just like seeing it with your own eyes. How many world championships has a person completed?

- Do you communicate with Sergei within the national team?

It's easier for me with my peers. You don’t feel the difference on the field, but in everyday life we ​​are still people of completely different generations.

- Do you often remember that the World Cup is getting closer and closer?

More often now. Recently I even dreamed about the Argentina national team with Messi and Aguero. I woke up and racked my brain for a long time: what could such dreams be for?

Could you cry over defeat, as Dmitry Sychev and Alexander Kerzhakov cried in South Korea in 2002?

Probably yes. To be honest, I don’t remember that championship very well, but I remember the next one very well. I was rooting for the Brazilians, but they lost to France in the quarterfinals with a score of 0:1. It came as a shock to me. It was a very disappointing defeat.

- If we put the Russian team aside, who could you root for in the final of the current World Cup?

For Brazil.

- Why not for Germany?

Don't know. The Brazilians are simpler and somehow closer - just like us, the guys from the yard. Wherever you got the ball, that’s where you play. I understand very well what it is. I still remember how in Slavyansk we made gates from pillars on which clothes were dried or from bricks. Brazilians always play with mood and with some, I would say, indifference. Everything is done very easily on the field. This is what attracts me the most.

- If not football, what sport could you imagine yourself playing?

Perhaps I would not be an athlete at all. My brother and I seem to be good runners, but I’m not sure I could do athletics. Maybe I would go dancing, like my mother once wanted.

-Are you a good dancer?

I can't do it at all. I love music very much, but I don’t sing, I don’t have a voice. What I would really like to learn is to play the piano.

- Why do you need this?

Don't know. But I can just imagine the picture: I’m sitting at the piano, and people are standing around and are amazed at how wonderfully I play...

Anton Miranchuk is a Russian footballer, midfielder of the Lokomotiv football club. Twin brother of football player Alexei Miranchuk.

Childhood and family

Anton was born on October 17, 1995 in the city of Slavyansk-on-Kuban Krasnodar region. On his maternal side, Anton has Siberian roots, but most of the footballer’s relatives are Kuban Cossacks. “The guys have such a core in their character, something irreconcilable, active,” says Elena, the mother of Anton and his twin Alexei.

Mom dreamed of her sons doing choreography. In first grade, Elena enrolled her brothers in ballroom dancing, however, after a couple of lessons, Anton and Alexey protested. Later, the brothers briefly studied karate, but eventually ended up in the local football section “Olympus”.

The boys' first coach, Alexander Nikolaevich Voronkov, brought them to a level where they could compete with their peers from Moscow sports schools. When he first saw the Miranchuk brothers, he immediately realized that they would make excellent players. Later he stated that the Miranchuks would become the best twins in the RPFL, surpassing both the Kombarovs (Kirill and Dmitry) and the Berezutskys (Vasily and Alexey).

Sports career

From Olympus, Anton and his brother ended up at the Spartak sports school (at one of the games at Olympus, coach Boris Streltsov noticed them). Mom, who was divorced at that time, decided to go with her sons. Thanks to her pedagogical education, she managed to get a job as a teacher in the boarding school where Anton and Alexey lived.

In 2011, they entered the Lokomotiv camp. Anton was considered a more promising player - he played more often in the first team, but Alexey was more successful in his transition to “adult” football. Anton played for some time in the youth team.

In the fall of 2012, Anton made his debut in the youth championship in a match against CSKA, a few months later he played as part of the Russian youth football team at the Granatkin Memorial (Miranchuk’s team won the tournament), and in the summer next year the football player was invited to a training camp with the main team.

Anton’s debut in the main team took place on October 30, 2013, in the Russian Cup match against Volgograd FC Rotor. In the next two seasons, Miranchuk was involved in Lokomotiv’s training sessions, but never took to the field.

In 2016, Anton was rented by the Estonian club Levadia. The main reason he called the transition an opportunity to finally get a full-fledged gaming experience.

On April 2, the young footballer made his debut in the Estonian championship in a match against the Tallinn club Nomme Kalju. In the next match, Miranchuk scored the winning goal, but was sent off in the middle of the 2nd half.

After returning to Russia and to Lokomotiv, Anton met coach Yuri Semin - it was he who gathered the brothers into the team. However, at the beginning of 2017, the football player was injured during training - he injured his foot and was out of the game for several weeks.

In April 2017, Anton made his debut in the Russian Championship - the footballer came on as a substitute in the match against Rostov. A few days later, Miranchuk scored a goal in the match of the 3rd round of the Europa League group stage against Sheriff.

Personal life of Anton Miranchuk

For a long time, Anton dated a girl named Arina. According to the footballer, his lover attended all his matches. It’s hard to say whether the young people are together today.

When asked about the “ideal girl,” Anton answered that he did not like “artificial” ladies with eyelashes, bright lipstick and tattoos. His chosen one must certainly be interested in football and love Lokomotiv.

Previously, it was very difficult to distinguish between twins. There were few differences: Anton is right-handed, while Alexey is left-handed. Many people noticed that they different shapes ears. With age, the situation has changed.

You should have enough arguments to understand why it is not for nothing that an old-fashioned coach from the Stone Age coaches Lokomotiv: here is the table, here is the team’s counter-attacking pattern, here Jefferson Farfan, running to thank the coach after the “bomb” against Zenit. We need one more touch to understand how this Loko was built. In winter, without wanting to, the Miranchuk brothers could leave the club. While the players were peacefully waiting for the conflict to be resolved, Lokomotiv and the agents tried to squeeze out their profit, and Ilya Gerkus The fireman was assigned a personal bodyguard just in case - now he says that he understands the complexity of the influence of the agent world.

Yuri Palych Semin– the only one who, in the murky story with contracts, Miranchuk behaved transparently from the first day. Lokomotiv trained in Spain, Semin got used to Farfan, whom he initially called Forlan, and regularly received practice in test matches. Semin was asked why, and he answered clearly: “I’m a coach and I’m not involved in politics. My job is to see and evaluate a football player while working with him. And if Lyosha looks better than another player in this position, but I don’t play him and play along with one or the other, then I’m worthless as a coach.” was healing from an injury, but remained with the team in Spain - he also felt trust.

Semin took up the task of educating young people, asked to stay on the team, and his word turned out to be the most important. re-signed the contract and began to carry the Lokomotiv attack. For six months he was grinding into the core of the “railroad” team, but in the summer he won his place in the squad. And it doesn’t let go anymore.

Picture of Mira. Stop criticizing Alexey Miranchuk

Put aside money, contract wars, in which Alexey Miranchuk is not involved, and think about who else in our 2018 team will play like him.

Anton and Alexey Miranchuk are very similar, as it should be with twins, but they have already learned to tell them apart. Different hairstyles, different brands boots... they have been distinguished since childhood by their external attributes. “We weren’t dressed the same; when I look at old photographs, we’re always dressed differently,” Anton recalls. – True, when dad came from a business trip, I woke up at night and chose the best for myself, and Lyosha had what was left. So I'm cunning." The characters, as Anton says, are also different, but the tastes in clothing and music are the same.

In the Lokomotiv youth team they were also ranked approximately on an equal footing. Anton was considered more talented, he played more often in the 1995 squad, but Alexey was more fortunate in his transition to adult football - he, still 17 years old, was attached to the squad and released in the Premier League Slaven Bilic. Anton stayed to puff in the youth team, went to Tallinn for playing practice, and met Yuri Semin only after returning to Lokomotiv. Yuri Palych became the first to fully assemble the Miranchuk brothers as a team.

Anton could have revealed himself in the spring, but at Lokomotiv’s winter training camp he received an unpleasant injury. Then he recovered, began to get playing time, jump from position to position, and came out in Yekaterinburg after a bloody fight in the cup final. Having a yellow card, I decided to dive. “There wasn’t enough artistry,” Anton laughed later. Deja vu: having arrived in Estonia, Miranchuk was also injured in one of the first training sessions, and when he recovered, he received a red card in the second match of Levadia.

But the lesson was enough. At Lokomotiv he never failed again.

If Lokomotiv makes it to the Champions League in the spring (at least there - that will already be a success for the red-greens), then the crazy 4:3 in Tushino should be considered the main point of the season. There, Loko went through self-identification, gave itself a license to constantly rob the favorites and easily mastered the counter-attacking pattern of the game. I found myself there too. I didn’t immediately understand how to fit the second Miranchuk into the Lokomotiv system. At the expense of Anton, Palych changed the formation from 3-4-2-1 to 4-2-3-1, threw more energy into the attack and won seven points at the beginning of the season, but Miranchuk himself worked a lot in an uncomfortable position - in the supporting zone, next to with Denisov.

Lokomotiv easily opened up the champion's center of the field, even losing 0:2, and Semin needed another player ready to push the ball forward. So the coach found an ideal solution to the problems, which is then transformed into the main tactics of the season: the 4-2-3-1 scheme, where Denisov burns out the support zone, and the attacking four collects the balls behind him and runs sharply forward. Where exactly Alexei, Manu Fernandes and Jefferson Farfan will be located does not matter - everyone can play any role in the attack. The main thing is to run away.

Anton became the main player in the development of Lokomotiv's counterattacks, and three scoring combinations began with him. Twice he accelerated through the center, passed to the left edge to Fernandes and Farfan, after which they rolled the ball to the far post. When the "railwaymen" scored the key goal in the match, Miranchuk opened up the middle of the Spartak field alone, winning the junction against Denis Glushakova, and sensed just in time when to pass the ball.

Anton Miranchuk - in an interview with Sportbox.ru about his loan to Estonia, a coach not from the last century, the 44-year-old goalkeeper of the Egyptian national team and Lokomotiv's chances for the championship.

I don't like too much publicity

– For the second time in a week in Ostankino: on Wednesday – Urgant, on Sunday – Cherdantsev. How does it feel?

- Honestly? I don't like excessive publicity. But we went to Urgant well, so we already know the area here well, we found everything quickly, and didn’t get lost.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BcFmA2onacs/?hl=ru&taken-by=miranchuk__jr60

- Is mom delighted?

– Yes, but she is also reserved, afraid that they will say something unnecessary. She still prefers watching our matches.

– My brother has 82 thousand followers on Instagram, you have 28. Does this make you angry?

– Not at all (Laughs). It’s a good question, because every subscriber is worth a lot - thanks to everyone who likes and leaves comments. If I progress, there will be more of them.

– And the fact that, according to Transfermarkt, he is worth 7.5 million euros, and you are worth 500 thousand?

– Until you said it, I didn’t even know - I don’t follow it, but everything is logical. He has been playing in the first team of Lokomotiv for almost five years, scoring for the national team, showing himself everywhere. I've just started - why be surprised? This is fine.

– Doesn’t it bother you that you are not perceived separately? If you ask to name Anton’s strengths and Alexey’s strengths, they will say the same thing.

– If we talk about personal qualities, it is clear: we are twins - we have much the same behavior, there is nothing special about it. About football qualities, perhaps there really is such a thing, but only if we talk about ordinary fans. I have no doubt that the coaches – Semin, Cherchesov – know our characteristics very well. For example, I can play deeper in the supporting zone, unlike, it seems to me, my brother. If we go deeper, I play a little to the left, and Lesha plays to the right. He moves from the flank to the center under his left foot, and he does it very well.

Alexey Miranchuk: “100% - we will be different without Yuri Pavlovich”

– I heard that you and Alexey no longer want to give joint interviews.

- Yes, that's true. We are adults. Why would we both sit in an interview and talk about each other? Lesha and I are able to speak and answer for ourselves. It seems to me that they have already earned this right.

Chose Estonia over FNL because of flights

“The most satisfying thing is to come to the team and go with it all the way. I would like to contribute to success, to reach the point when the club is already among the leaders,” were your words to SE a year ago.

- That's what I said, right? If he said it, it means he believed it and wanted it. It’s much more interesting to go the whole way, to go through all the difficulties, than to come to everything ready-made. When you try, you puff, you fight for a place in the lineup, you get out of difficult situations Together with the team, the taste of victory becomes much sweeter.

– When you left for Estonia, it didn’t matter where, just to play?

- No, it doesn’t matter one hundred percent. We were just discussing this topic recently. Once again I was confirmed in the opinion that it was not in vain that I left. Game practice is needed, now I fully understand this. At that moment I just needed to play, play and play.

– Estonia is not at all level.

– You know... There was another option to go to the FNL, but I was immediately confused by the flights, so I chose Estonia.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BEttWkLQvnc/?hl=ru&taken-by=miranchuk__jr60

– Of course, I remember the story with the negotiations, with the contract. The story was resolved successfully, and everyone was happy.

How did his situation affect you?

– Again: we are different. He talked to the president about himself, I talked about myself. I immediately made it clear that I wanted to stay at Lokomotiv.

– They wrote that you two had the option to move to Krasnodar. To your homeland.

- Don't know. This option was not discussed with me.

– Considering the position of Lokomotiv and Rubin in the table, was Alexey’s decision to stay in Moscow the wisest in his life?

- Oh, there will be so much more in life... He told me that my heart told me to stay at Lokomotiv. Thank God it all worked out this way.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BYTE4lYHKMK/?hl=ru&taken-by=miranchuk__jr60

I don’t have the feeling that Semin is a coach from the last century

– You worked at Loko with, and. How does Semin stand out against their background?

– All the coaches were in good relations with the team, but it was Yuri Palych who truly believed in me. It seems like I felt trust with the others, but now I’m consistently on the field, they really trust me. That’s why I didn’t play for anyone in the RFPL except Yuri Palych. I am sincerely grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to feel this confidence.

– Do you have the feeling that Semin is a coach from the last century?

– I have never had such a feeling. All our exercises - football, tactical exercises - are serious. In theory, InStat transcripts are used. Everything is the same as everywhere else. It seems to me that everyone on the team shares his views on football and fully supports him.

– is in the lead with luck,” – the opinion of fans of Spartak, CSKA and Zenit.

– There is a program on Channel One: “Let them talk.” They can talk as much as they want. Lucky are those who are lucky.

– Also Semin.

“We do our job, we enjoy football. Luck is on our side - and thank God.

– How seriously do you believe that Lokomotiv can win the Russian championship?

– There are so many matches ahead... Eleven! You will need to go through the preseason well, get in shape, and prepare for everything. Even more pressure will fall on us. Still working and working – nothing is clear.

– Do you sincerely think so or are you just avoiding answering?

– I sincerely believe that nothing is clear yet. There are really a lot of matches ahead, a crazy fight ahead.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbfV2NvnWuA/?hl=ru&taken-by=miranchuk__jr60

“Boy, are you okay? What's wrong with you?

– . Is it hard to imagine a duller sign for the opening match?

– This is the World Championship – there are no weak teams. Saudi Arabia? They went out there, didn't they? That means they deserve it. I’m not interested in whether they are considered weak or strong. I will give my all to achieve victory if I get the chance.

– The main goalkeeper of Egypt is twice your age – he is 44 years old. This is fine?

“I hope to be at the World Cup and hit a shot that he won’t have time to save due to a bad reaction: he’ll fall and miss a goal.” No one will feel sorry for him because of his age - he himself must feel sorry for him.

The Loko football player went cold when he felt someone's hand on him in the pitch darkness

Football fans are slightly perplexed. After 20 rounds of the RFPL championship, Lokomotiv Moscow, which took eighth place last season, is leading by eight points. And midfielder Alexey MIRANCHUK and his brother- twin Anton quietly turned into super popular players,making a difference in the team. At the request of numerous fans of the “railway” club, the site asked how the guys were doing on the personal front.

Unexpectedly for myself Alexey Miranchuk fell into a love net that was skillfully set up for him by a socialite Toma Sargsyan. The beautiful Armenian tried herself in the modeling business, but somehow it didn’t work out. But at some event she became friends with Olga Buzova, who was married at the time Dmitry Tarasov. They say that it was Buzova who introduced her to Miranchuk, who is 10 years younger than Sarkisyan. Tamara often attended Lokomotiv matches and soon achieved her goal. They began to live together, often traveled abroad, met each other’s parents... According to friends, Alexey lost his head. Sargsyan already had plans to start a family and wanted to have a child. But the strict dad intervened:

Leshka, what kind of family? You have to think about your career; the World Championships in Russia are ahead.

You'll waste everything with your love! And she’s not a match for you.

When Buzova was the wife of Dmitry TARASOV (pictured on the right), Lesha MIRANCHUK began an affair with Toma SARGSYAN (second from left) Photo: Instagram.com

Father, Andrey Miranchuk, was categorically against this relationship, believing that Tamara was driven by calculation. And last summer the young people broke up. Sargsyan had a hard time with this breakup. And only recently Olga Buzova happily announced that Toma had a new lover. Not from the world of football.

But Lesha was not bored for long. Soon he was somehow noticed in the company of a fashion stylist Darina Vedmenskaya, the owner of her own agency. The girl has many relatives in the Israeli city of Eilat, whom she often visits. It is possible that the day will come when Darina and Alexey will go there together. However, for now, the 22-year-old football player, remembering his father’s instructions, is being cautious. He refused to comment on the depth of his relationship with Darina.

My heart told me

Anton Miranchuk was born a few minutes later than Alexey, so he is formally considered the youngest. It was very difficult to tell the twins apart as children. Once Lesha and Anton were confused even by his own father. The guys (they were 16 years old at the time) were preparing for their first trip abroad with the team - to a tournament in Spain. The father took his sons’ documents to the visa center, but in a hurry, he mixed up the photos of Anton and Alexey. When the twin brothers were going through passport control before their flight, Anton, as luck would have it, came across a corrosive employee.

Darina VEDMENSKAYA. Photo: vk.com

Is this your photo? - she asked the guy.

Yes,” Anton shrugged.

But your ear curve is not at all the same as in the photo! - the controller was dumbfounded and called a stern man in civilian clothes.

The young football player was taken to a gloomy room and interrogated. Soon Alexei was taken there too. The documents of both Miranchuks were declared invalid and they were told that their trip was cancelled. Fortunately, the coach intervened. I called the club management, and half an hour later the twins were allowed to fly with the team.

External similarity sometimes helps brothers in communicating with the opposite sex. Anton has a girlfriend, Ksenia. And recently he decided to introduce her to his brother.

Antokha and I were sitting in a cafe,” Alexey said. - And then he smiles and says: “Listen, let’s play Ksyusha. She will arrive now, and instead of me at the entrance you will meet her.” And so they did. Ksyusha looked at me somehow incredulously. And then she asked: “Where is Anton?” She understood everything immediately. We both laughed and went to the table.

After the beach... Photo: Instagram.com

When asked what he imagines the perfect girl, Anton, scratching the back of his head, responded like this:

Hair length and color don't matter to me. But it's better not to have bangs. He is not tall. Eyelashes should be your own - I don’t like anything artificial, including pumped-up lips. Bright lipstick I don’t like it either, especially red. And without any tattoos. Yes, she must also love football and, of course, Lokomotiv.

Two years ago, Anton had a whirlwind romance with a student named Arina. She came to the stadium to root for Loko even in late autumn and winter. She was frozen, but she supported Anton morally. And on weekends I took him to museums and exhibitions, introducing him to high art.

In the Museum contemporary art I experienced unforgettable experience, - recalls Miranchuk Jr. - You enter a new room, and it’s pitch dark. Can't see anything! And you have to make a choice: either you risk going forward or you go back. That's the whole point. Well, I'm brave, I went ahead. And suddenly someone in the dark touches my hand! To be honest, I felt uneasy. I was a little scared. But what adrenaline!

One fine day, Anton was sent on loan to the modest Estonian club Levadia. The long separation played a role - their relationship came to naught.

...Arina suggested Anton go to a museum or an exhibition. Photo: Instagram.com

Left the children

Fans are apparently interested in where the star brothers live?

Once upon a time, Anton and I lived in a sports boarding school,” says Alexey. - We ate Doshirak with Georgiy Dzhikia, he is currently playing for Spartak. We had such a great time at the boarding school - we didn’t want to leave. The field is nearby, there are all conditions for training. But now Anton and I live in a rented apartment. It was inconvenient to stay in the boarding school. There are children there, but we have already grown up.

In addition, during the season, you often have to spend the night at the Loko base in Bakovka.

When we come to Bakovka, we usually have breakfast and lunch there. But Yuri Palych allows us to have dinner outside the base,” Anton revealed a little secret. - You can sit with friends in a restaurant. Semin Overall an amazing person. He is already old, but he understands us young people well. Yuri Palych created an excellent atmosphere in the team. I want to play and win! It was not by chance that we became leaders.

By the way, Spartak wants to lure Anton Miranchuk in the off-season. His contract has a release clause of seven million euros. The Red and Whites agree to pay this amount. But Semin dissuades the midfielder from such a step. And Anton himself does not want to part with his brother again. Especially at such a moment, when for once the championship title loomed before Lokomotiv.

By the way

• Alexey and Anton’s mother wanted to send them to ballroom dancing when they were children. But the twin brothers flatly refused. They asked us to bring them to football.
• Anton Miranchuk played two official matches for the Russian national team. His brother Alexey is 14, and scored four goals in them.
• Alexey Miranchuk shorter than his brother (179 cm versus 183 for Anton) and weighs less (64 kg versus 72 kg). Lesha is left-handed in life, and Anton is right-handed.