Irena Kuznetsov ( he, אירנה קוזנצוב, russian: Ирена Кузнецов; born 24 April 2002) is an Israeli professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as defender for German club

1. FFC Turbine Potsdam 1. Frauenfußballclub Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V., commonly known as 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (or Turbine Potsdam outside of Germany), is a German women's football club located in Potsdam, Brandenburg. They are one of the most successful women's footb ...

and the Israel women's national team. She also holds a Russian passport.

Early life

Kuznetsov was born and raised in

Hadera Hadera ( he, חֲדֵרָה ) is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel, in the northern Sharon region, approximately 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along 7 km (5&nbs ...

, Israel, to parents who immigrated from Russia to Israel.

Club career

After having played in the boys' sections of the professional men's

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

club of Ironi Sport Hadera, Kuznetsov was scouted in 2012 by the professional women's club of the Israeli

Ligat Nashim Ligat Nashim ( he, ליגת נשים, lit. ''Women's League'') is the Israeli women's football league. It has been run by the Israel Football Association since 1998. Format The league is divided into two divisions, with the top division, tit ...

's club, Maccabi Kishronot Hadera. In 2012, she began her junior career in a club in the Israeli women's Premier League, where she played until 2016. In 2016, she signed with the Ligat Nashim club of the Israeli National Women's Football Academy, and made her professional debut at the age of 14. In 2019, she signed for the season and joined the Israeli club Maccabi Bnot Emek Hefer. During the summer of 2020, at 18 years of age, she joined the Cypriot first division club

AEL Limassol Athlitiki Enosi Lemesou ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λεμεσού, translation=Athletic Union of Limassol) commonly known as AEL, is a Cypriot sports club based in the city of Limassol, most famous for its football team. AEL also maintain ...

. In November 2020, following poor working conditions, she terminated her contract to engage with Israeli club Maccabi Kishronot Hadera. In January 2022, Kuznetsov joined German

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

Turbine Potsdam 1. Frauenfußballclub Turbine Potsdam 71 e. V., commonly known as 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam (or Turbine Potsdam outside of Germany), is a German women's football club located in Potsdam, Brandenburg. They are one of the most successful women's footb ...

, signing a 3.5-year contract. In May 2022, she played in the

2021–22 DFB-Pokal The 2021–22 DFB-Pokal was the 79th season of the annual German football cup competition. Sixty-four teams participated in the competition, including all teams from the previous year's Bundesliga and 2. Bundesliga. The competition began on 6 Aug ...

Final, which they lost 4–0 to

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

Honors

* Best revelation of the Israeli Women's Premier League 2016–2017 * Best defender of Israeli Women's Premier League 2017–2018 * Best defender of September/October Cyprus's Women's Premier League 2020-2011

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuznetsov, Irena 2002 births Living people Footballers from Hadera Israeli women's footballers Women's association football defenders Maccabi Kishronot Hadera F.C. players AEL Limassol players F.C. Ramat HaSharon players 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam players Ligat Nashim players Frauen-Bundesliga players Israel women's international footballers Israeli expatriate women's footballers Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Expatriate women's footballers in Cyprus Israeli expatriate sportspeople in Germany Expatriate women's footballers in Germany Israeli people of Russian descent Israeli people of Soviet descent Russian people of Israeli descent