Aleksandr Petrovich Shirko (russian: Александр Петрович Ширко; born 24 November 1976) is a Russian football scout and a former player. He works as a scout of

FC Khimki FC Khimki (russian: ФК Химки) is a Russian professional football club based in Khimki. The club returned to the Russian Premier League in the 2020–21 season. History The team was formed in 1996 by merging two amateur clubs from Khimki ...

Playing career

Shirko started his professional career with

Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia: * FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club * HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team * Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club * WB ...

, with whom he won six

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; russian: Российская премьер-лига; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is the top division professional association football league in Russia. It was established at the end of 2001 ...

titles, from 1996 to 2001, and become one of the top scorers of the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

in the 1997/1998 season, before leaving for city-rivals

Torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...

.
In 2004 Shirko joined Shinnik Yaroslavl as part of a loan deal from

, but then extended his stay at the club by two years.
In 2006 Aleksandr Shirko was involved in a fight with Shinnik fans, after a disappointing 1–6 defeat to

Rostov Rostov ( rus, Росто́в, p=rɐˈstof) is a town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, one of the oldest in the country and a tourist center of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero, northeast of Moscow. Population: While ...

. That accident earned him a ten-match ban.
At the start of 2007, Shirko signed with

Tom Tomsk FC Tom Tomsk (russian: Футбольный клуб Томь Томск) is a Russian professional football club, based in the Siberian city of Tomsk. The team plays in Trud Stadium (Tomsk). History The team was previously named ''Burevestnik'' ...

, in club's attempt to replace Pavel Pogrebnyak, who left for

Zenit Saint Petersburg Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...

.
During his professional career, Shirko earned six caps for

Russia national football team The Russia national football team (russian: Сборная России по футболу, Sbornaya Rossii po futbolu) represents the Russian Federation in men's international association football. It is controlled by the Russian Football Uni ...

from 1999 to 2001, scoring one goal in a 3–0 win over

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

in 2001.

International goals

External links

Player profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shirko, Aleksandr 1976 births Footballers from Moscow Living people Russian footballers Russia youth international footballers Russia under-21 international footballers Russia international footballers FC Spartak Moscow players Russian Premier League players FC Torpedo Moscow players FC Shinnik Yaroslavl players FC Tom Tomsk players FC Akhmat Grozny players Association football forwards FC MVD Rossii Moscow players