Sergei Bogdanovich Semak (russian: Серге́й Богда́нович Сема́к ; uk, Сергій Богданович Семак; born 27 February 1976) is a Russian
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 ...
manager and a former
international
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* ''International'' (New Order album), 2002
* ''International'' (The T ...
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
who currently manages
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 ...
side
FC Zenit
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 ...
.
Early life
Semak was born in the
selo Sychanskoye in the
Voroshilovgradskaya Oblast into a peasant family of modest economical background. He was an excellent student and had an ideal behavior. When he was a child his teachers would argue as to whether he would become a mathematician or a football player.
He left Ukraine shortly before the
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
fall, but his parents stayed there. He would become a Russian naturalized citizen, but until today he uses to visit his bornland; he had declared that he misses Ukraine.
His older brother
Andrei Semak
Andrei Bogdanovich Semak (russian: Андрей Богданович Семак; uk, Андрій Богданович Семак; born 9 December 1974) is a former Russian-Ukrainian professional football player.
Club career
He played in the ...
and younger brother Nikolai Semak were also professional footballers.
Club career
Semak started training football at the Luhansk football school. In 1992, he signed in
Presnya Moscow who played in the
Russian Top Division
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 ...
. After 19 matches scoring 4 goals he was sold to
Karelia Petrozavodsk, but in 1993 returned to Presnya Moscow, which had changed its name to
Asmaral Moscow
FC Presnya Moscow (russian: ФК «Пресня» Москва) was a Russian football team based in Moscow. It was founded in 1978 as FC Krasnaya Presnya Moscow. It participated in the third-tier Soviet Second League and was notable for giving t ...
.
In 1994, he was noted and signed by
CSKA Moscow
CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was a central piece ...
. He became the club's captain and leader. With the club he won the
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 ...
in 2003, the
Russian Cup in 2002 and 2005. He left the club after it finished third in the group stage of the
UEFA Champions League 2004–05
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...
and did not move on to the knockout stage. This was despite his hat-trick against
Paris Saint-Germain
Paris Saint-Germain Football Club (), commonly referred to as Paris Saint-Germain, Paris, Paris SG or simply PSG is a professional football club based in Paris, France. They compete in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. As Fr ...
in the final group game.
In 2005, he then moved to the team he scored the hat-trick against, Paris Saint-Germain, but failed to settle, scoring just one goal. After just one season he returned to Russia.
In 2006, he signed for
FC Moscow :''This article refers to the Moscow government team formed in 2004. For the predecessors in the Russian Premier League, see FC Torpedo-ZIL and FC Torpedo-Metallurg.''
FC Moscow (Russian: Футбольный клуб Москва) was a Russian ...
, where he stayed until 2008 when he moved to
Rubin Kazan
FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...
. In Rubin Semak was moved from the positions of striker and attacking midfielder to the position of a defensive midfielder. At Rubin Kazan he became the captain and leader of the team, and led it to its first two championship titles in 2008 and 2009.
In August 2010, he transferred to
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 ...
.
International career
Semak made his international debut for the
Russia national team in 1997 and took part in the
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...
in South Korea and Japan.
Having lost his place in the national team with the arrival of
Guus Hiddink
Guus Hiddink (; born 8 November 1946) is a Dutch former football manager and professional player. He enjoyed a long career playing as a midfielder in his native Netherlands. Retired as player in 1982, Hiddink went into management, leading both c ...
in 2006, Semak missed out on Russia's
Euro 2008 qualifying campaign, but was recalled to the national team, just prior to the
Euro 2008
The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...
finals. Semak captained the Russia national team in their first Euro 2008 warm-up friendly against
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
, and during the rest of the campaign. Semak had a good performance in the crucial match against
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
and provided an assist for the only goal Russia scored with a skilled bicycle kick pass from a wide angle. Another notable performance in Euro 2008 came in the quarter-finals during which he was playing his 50th game for his country, when his precise left-wing cross was volleyed in by
Roman Pavlyuchenko
Roman Anatolyevich Pavlyuchenko (russian: Роман Анатольевич Павлюченко; born 15 December 1981) is a Russian former footballer who played as a striker.
He started his career at Dynamo Stavropol, and Rotor Volgograd, b ...
against the
Netherlands
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, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
.
Managerial career
After his retirement, Semak was named as assistant coach of
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 ...
. He was appointed interim coach of the club after the sacking of
Luciano Spalletti on 10 March 2014.
He held the position until 18 March when
André Villas-Boas
Luís André de Pina Cabral e Villas-Boas (; born 17 October 1977) is a Portuguese football manager, who most recently was the manager of Ligue 1 club Marseille. He is one of a growing number of top-level managers who have never played football ...
was appointed as the team manager.
[Uefa.com: "Milevskiy thriving with added responsibility"](_blank)
/ref>[Euro 2012: "Artem Milevsky: 'Shout for us as loud as possible and we’ll pay off with our performance and a win!'"](_blank)
/ref>[EuroSport: "Бердыев: «У нас нет опыта, зато есть настрой»"](_blank)
/ref>
On 30 December 2016, he was appointed a manager of the 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 ...
club FC Ufa
FC Ufa (russian: ФК «Уфа», ba, Өфө, Öfö) is a Russian football club based in Ufa that will play in the second-tier Russian First League in the 2022–23 season.
History
During the summer of 2010, Rustem Khamitov, the second Preside ...
.
On 29 May 2018, he returned to Zenit St. Petersburg, signing a two-year contract with one-year extension option. In his first year, he won the 2018–19 Russian Premier League. He led Zenit to the title again in the 2019–20 Russian Premier League
The 2019–20 Russian Premier League (known as the Tinkoff Russian Premier League, also written as Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga for sponsorship reasons) was the 28th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of ...
. On 25 July 2020, he sealed the double for the club by winning the 2019–20 Russian Cup
The 2019–20 Russian Cup was the 28th season of the Russian football knockout tournament since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
The competition started 19 July 2019, but suspended on 17 March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Russia.
L ...
. On 2 May 2021, Zenit secured their third title in a row in a 6-1 victory over second-place FC Lokomotiv Moscow
FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three oc ...
. On 30 April 2022, Zenit secured their fourth title in a row.
Career statistics
:''Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Semak goal.''
Managerial statistics
Honours
Player
CSKA Moscow
*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 ...
: 2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
* Russian Cup: 2001–02
*Russian Super Cup
The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Russian Cup winners. If the Premie ...
: 2004
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
Paris Saint-Germain
*Coupe de France
The Coupe de France, formerly known as the Coupe Charles Simon, is the premier knockout cup competition in French football organized by the French Football Federation (FFF). It was first held in 1917 and is open to all amateur and profession ...
: 2005–06
Rubin Kazan
*Russian Premier League: 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
, 2009
File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...
*Russian Super Cup: 2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
Zenit
*Russian Premier League: 2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, 2011–12
*Russian Super Cup: 2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
Russia
*UEFA European Championship
The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...
: 2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
bronze medalist
Individual
*In the list of 33 best football players of the championship of Russia (8): 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2008, 2009
*Member of Grigory Fedotov club
Grigory Fedotov Club (russian: Клуб Григо́рия Федо́това) is a non-official list of Soviet and Russian football players that have scored 100 or more goals during their professional career. This club is named after first Sovie ...
Manager
Zenit
*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 ...
: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
, 2021–22
* Russian Cup: 2019–20
*Russian Super Cup
The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Russian Cup winners. If the Premie ...
: 2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, 2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
, 2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
Individual
*Russian Premier League Coach of the Season: 2020–21
The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...
, 2021–22
*Russian Premier League Coach of the Month: August 2022.
References
External links
*
*
Profile
at ''RussiaTeam''
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Semak, Sergei
1976 births
Living people
People from Luhansk Oblast
Association football midfielders
Russian footballers
Russian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in France
FC Asmaral Moscow players
PFC CSKA Moscow players
Paris Saint-Germain F.C. players
FC Moscow players
FC Rubin Kazan players
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
Russia youth international footballers
Russia under-21 international footballers
Russia international footballers
Russian Premier League players
Ligue 1 players
UEFA Euro 2008 players
Russians in Ukraine
Russian people of Ukrainian descent
Russian football managers
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg managers
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg non-playing staff
Russian Premier League managers
FC Ufa managers