Alexei Eremenko (born Aleksei Alekseyevich Yeryomenko; russian: Алексей Алексеевич Ерёменко; born 24 March 1983) is a former 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 ...

. He is from a footballing family, with his father, Alexei Eremenko Sr., and brother Roman Eremenko also playing professionally. Eremenko was born in Rostov-on-Don in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, but grew up in Finland. He made his breakthrough with HJK in 2002, and became known as versatile

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 ...

and a set piece specialist. A mediocre spell with Italian club Lecce followed, before he came to prominence at Russian club Saturn. He moved to

Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...

in 2009, but was loaned out twice, especially impressing with Kilmarnock where he was nominated for the 2010–11 Players' Player of the Year award. He returned to the club on a permanent deal in January 2014. After failing to negotiate a contract extension, he played in Finland until retiring from football in 2017. Eremenko represented

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

between 2003 and 2013, and was a key player for the team in 2006 World Cup qualifying, scoring seven goals, four of which came from free kicks. He ended his international career with 57 caps in which he scored 14 goals.

Early life

Eremenko was born in Rostov-on-Don,

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

but moved to Finland with his family at the age of seven when his father, former

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', russian: Дина́мо Москва́ ) is a Russian football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Foot ...

and

FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (russian: Футбольный клуб «Спартак» Москва, Futbolʹnyy klub «Spartak» Moskva, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet championships (second only to Dyn ...

player Alexei Eremenko Sr., came to play in Finland with

FF Jaro FF Jaro is a Finnish football club, based in the bilingual town of Jakobstad. It currently plays in ''Ykkönen''. Home matches are played at the Jakobstads Centralplan. Current squad ''Updated 7 March, 2022.'' Manageme ...

. He was granted Finnish citizenship in 2003, but still holds a

Russian passport The Russian passport (russian: Заграничный паспорт гражданина Российской Федерации, Zagranichnyy pasport grazhdanina Rossiyskoy Federatsii, Transborder passport of a citizen of the Russian Federati ...

as well. He is the elder brother of fellow footballers Roman Eremenko and

Sergei Eremenko Sergei Eremenko (russian: Сергей Алексеевич Ерёменко; born 6 January 1999) is a Finnish football player who plays for HIFK. Club career Eremenko made his professional debut in the Veikkausliiga for FF Jaro on 6 July 2014 ...

Club career

Eremenko spent some time with

Tromsø IL Tromsø Idrettslag is a Norwegian professional football club founded in 1920, based in the city of Tromsø. They play their home games at Alfheim Stadion. Tromsø play in the Eliteserien. Tromsø have won the Norwegian Cup twice, in 1986 and 19 ...

in Norway (his father played for the senior team, he himself played for the under-fifteen team) and with the youth academy of

FC Metz Football Club de Metz, commonly referred to as FC Metz or simply Metz (), is a French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 2, the second division in the French football league sys ...

in France, before returning to Finland to make his

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga (; sv, Tipsligan) is the premier division of Finnish football, the highest tier of the Finnish football league structure, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikka ...

debut with

FC Jokerit FC Jokerit was a Finnish professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. History It was founded in 1999. The club was known for its wild supporters, 116% Boys, and for its owner, Hjallis Harkimo who is also the owner of Jokerit, an ice ...

in 2001. A trial with Aston Villa followed, but in the next season he moved to HJK, and eventually became the league's top player. He won two Finnish championships and one

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup ( fi, Suomen cup; sv, Finlands cup) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the ...

with HJK. In the summer of 2004, Eremenko moved abroad, joining Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...

club

U.S. Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce, commonly referred to as Lecce (), is an Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2022–23 season, the top level of the Italian football pyramid, having been promoted from Serie B. ...

. After failing to make a major breakthrough at Lecce, he moved to FC Saturn on a four-year deal in January 2006

transfer window A transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club can transfer players from other playing staff into their playing staff. Such a transfer is completed by registering the player into the new club through FIFA. "Transfer wi ...

, becoming a key player for the Russian side.

Metalist Kharkiv

On 29 July 2009, Eremenko signed a three-year contract with the Ukrainian club

FC Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 year ...

, and scored his first goal in his debut game against

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka ( en, Croatian Football Club Rijeka), commonly referred to as NK Rijeka or simply Rijeka, is a Croatian professional football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka compete in Croatia's top division, HT Prva lig ...

Jaro (loan)

On 12 March 2010, it was announced that Eremenko had been traded back to his first club,

, for the 2010 season (his father was the club's manager at the time). He managed to score on his debut, in a

Finnish League Cup The Finnish League Cup was a knock-out football competition contested annually during the pre-season in winter by teams from Veikkausliiga. The league cup was abolished after the 2016 tournament and replaced with the Finnish Cup group stage startin ...

game against JJK on 20 March 2010. He also continued scoring in

's opening match against

FC Lahti FC Lahti is a Finnish football club based in the city of Lahti. It currently plays in the Finnish Premier League ('' Veikkausliiga'') after placing first in the Finnish First Division ('' Ykkönen'') during season 2011. The homeground of FC ...

, scoring on a rebound after his unsuccessful penalty kick.

Kilmarnock (loan)

On 30 August 2010, it was announced that Eremenko had been traded to

Mixu Paatelainen Mika-Matti Petteri Paatelainen (born 3 February 1967) is a Finnish former professional football player and the head coach of Veikkausliiga club HIFK. He scored 18 goals in 70 appearances for the Finnish national team, which makes him Finland's ...

's Kilmarnock until the end of the season. He scored on his debut in a 2–1 victory over St Mirren. On 5 March 2011, Eremenko was given his second straight red card of the season against Hearts at Tynecastle after an off the ball altercation with the opposition captain Marius Zaliukas. On 11 April, Eremenko stated that he wanted to end his career at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium situated in the Scottish town of Kilmarnock. It was first used in 1899 and is the home of Kilmarnock F.C. Rugby Park has also been used for co ...

. Eremenko was nominated for the 2010–11 Players' Player of the Year award, losing out to Celtic's

Emilio Izaguirre Emilio Arturo Izaguirre Girón (; born 10 May 1986) is a Honduran former professional footballer who played as a left-back. He became the new sporting director of Motagua in October 2022. Izaguirre started his career at Motagua, where he playe ...

. After returning from his loan spell, Metalist Kharkiv told him he could leave, where he then stated that he had received bids from an English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club and a Russian club, with reports that Scottish

Old Firm The Old Firm is the collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are by far the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply em ...

duo Celtic and Rangers were interested in signing him. The Championship club was later reported to be the Welsh club Cardiff City.

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club (), commonly referred to simply as Brighton, is an English professional football club based in the city of Brighton and Hove. They compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league ...

, a fellow Championship club, were also believed to be interested in signing him. On 15 July 2011, it was reported in a Finnish newspaper that Eremenko was signing for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire in England. The club competes in the Premier League, the highest level of England's football league system, and plays its home matches at Elland Road ...

, but the transfer was delayed due to a cancelled flight, which prevented him from linking up with the squad in Scotland.

Rubin Kazan

On 30 August 2011, Eremenko signed a contract with Russian club

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 ...

alongside his younger brother Roman.

Kairat

In June 2013 Kairat signed Eremenko on a free transfer from Rubin Kazan. He terminated his contract with Kairat on 26 November 2013.

Kilmarnock return

On 28 January 2014, it was announced that Eremenko had re-joined Kilmarnock until the end of the 2013–14 season. On 7 August 2014, he signed a new contract at Kilmarnock, keeping him at the club for the 2014–15 season. At the end of that season, Eremenko left the club after failing to agree to the terms on a new contract.

Jaro (second spell)

On 7 August 2015, Eremenko signed again for

, agreeing to a contract until the end of the 2015 Veikkausliiga season, with the contract also containing a clause allowing him to move abroad should he receive a suitable offer.

SJK

On 26 January 2016, Eremenko moved to SJK. After just over three months, Eremenko left SJK on 4 May 2016 due to personal reasons.

International career

Eremenko made his debut for the Finnish national team on 11 October 2003 against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. He was a key player for Finland in 2006 World Cup qualifying, scoring seven goals, four of which came from free kicks. He shared the third position among the top scorers in the group, along with

Adrian Mutu Adrian Mutu (; born 8 January 1979) is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is in charge of Liga I club Rapid București. During his playing career, he was deployed as a forward or an attacking midfielder. Mutu star ...

, but behind

Jan Koller Jan Koller (; born 30 March 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was noted for his height, strong physique, and heading ability. He began his career at Sparta Prague, then moved to Belgium, where he becam ...

and

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

who both scored nine goals.

Career statistics

International

International goals

''As of 15 November 2011''.

Honours

Club

HJK Helsinki *

: 2002, 2003 *

: 2003 Rubin Kazan * Russian Cup: 2011–12 *

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 ...

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

Individual

* Scottish Premier League Player of the Month: November 2010 * Scottish Premier League Player of the Year: 2010/11 nominee

References

External links

* * * * * * *
Finn
Iltalehti, 14 September 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eremenko, Alexei 1983 births Living people Finnish footballers Finnish expatriate footballers Finland international footballers FF Jaro players U.S. Lecce players Serie A players Association football midfielders Association football forwards FC Jokerit players Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi players Russian-speaking Finns Finnish people of Russian descent Finnish people of Ukrainian descent Soviet emigrants to Finland FC Saturn Ramenskoye players FC Rubin Kazan players FC Metalist Kharkiv players FC Kairat players Kilmarnock F.C. players Expatriate footballers in Norway Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Norway Expatriate footballers in France Finnish expatriate sportspeople in France Expatriate footballers in Italy Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate footballers in Russia Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Russia Expatriate footballers in Ukraine Finnish expatriate sportspeople in Ukraine Veikkausliiga players Russian Premier League players Ukrainian Premier League players Scottish Premier League players Scottish Professional Football League players Kazakhstan Premier League players Expatriate footballers in Scotland Naturalized citizens of Finland Expatriate footballers in Kazakhstan