Gennady Mikhailovich Smirnov (russian: Геннадий Михайлович Смирнов; 16 January 1955 – 2 September 2000) was a Soviet

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

er who played as a

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

in the 1970s and 1980s.

Career

Born in

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

, Smirnov began playing football with local side Sokol Saratov. He scored 34 league goals for the club in just over two seasons, earning a move to Soviet Top League side Krylia Sovetov Kyubyshev in 1997. Shortly after, Smirnov entered military service and was sent to play for SKA-Khabarovsk. Over the course of three Soviet Second League seasons Smirnov scored 56 goals for SKA-Khabarovsk, scoring a club-best 27 goals in a single season, making him the club's fifth all-time leading goal-scorer. After his success at SKA Khabarovsk, Smirnov joined Soviet Top League side

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 ...

, but he only made a single substitute's appearance for Spartak. His greatest successes followed as Smirnov scored 71 league goals for Soviet First League side

Fakel Voronezh FC Fakel Voronezh (russian: Футбольный клуб "Факел" Воронеж) is a Soviet and Russian professional football club based in Voronezh. Founded in 1947, the club has played in the Soviet Top League and the Russian Premier Lea ...

over the next four seasons. During his career, Smirnov scored 226 goals in the Soviet Top, First and Second Leagues, making him the fourth all-time leading goal-scorer in those three leagues.

Personal

Smirnov married Elena Krestenenko, also from Saratov, when he was age 21. They had a son, Maksim, while Gennady was playing for Spartak Moscow in 1980. However, after a few seasons with Fakel Voronezh, he left his family and went home to Saratov. After he retired from playing, Smirnov struggled to find work, and he was stabbed to death by drinking companions in his apartment at age 45. Smirnov's brother, Yuri, was a professional footballer who played for Sokol Saratov, Torpedo Moscow, CSKA Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow and Krylia Sovetov Kyubyshev, and was a

Soviet Cup The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS (Moldova ...

-winner. His son, Maksim, played semi-professional football for

FC Yelets FC Yelets (russian: ФК «Елец») is a Russian football club from Yelets, founded in 1968. In 2009, it played in the Russian Second Division, which is the highest level it ever reached. In the past, the team was called Elta Yelets (1968–1 ...

FC Dynamo Voronezh FC Dynamo Voronezh (russian: «Динамо» (Воронеж)) is a Russian football team from Voronezh. It played professionally in 1946, 1949 and 2006–2008. In 1949, they played in the second-highest Soviet First League, taking 8th place in ...

, FC Lokomotiv Liski and

FC Metallurg-Oskol Stary Oskol FC Metallurg-Oskol Stary Oskol (russian: ФК «Металлург-Оскол» Старый Оскол) was a Russian football club from Stary Oskol, founded in 1997. It played in the Russian Second Division The Russian Second League (russian ...

References

External links

* 1955 births 2000 deaths Soviet men's footballers FC Sokol Saratov players PFC Krylia Sovetov Samara players FC SKA-Khabarovsk players FC Spartak Moscow players FC Fakel Voronezh players Navbahor Namangan players FC Vorskla Poltava players FC Salyut Belgorod players Men's association football forwards FC Metallurg Lipetsk players FC Portovik-Energiya Kholmsk players Russian men's footballers Deaths by stabbing in Russia {{USSR-footy-bio-stub