Vyacheslav Malafeev
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Malafeev | ||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Zenit Saint Petersburg | ||
| Number | 16 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 7 February 2008 | |||
Vyacheslav Aleksandrovich Malafeev (Russian: Вячеслав Александрович Малафеев) (born 4 March 1979 in Saint Petersburg, (then Leningrad) is a Russian international football goalkeeper. He plays for the Russian Premier League team Zenit St. Petersburg.
Vyacheslav Malafeev started attending the Smena football school at the age of 9. In 1997 he began to play for the farm club of FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, Zenit-2, in the Third Division. He got the chance to play for Zenit in the Premier League in 1999 during the suspension of Roman Berezovsky. Malafeev later became the first-choice goalkeeper for Zenit in 2001, after Berezovsky left the club.
On 19 November 2003 Malafeev debuted as a goalkeeper for the national team in a Euro 2004 qualification play-off against Wales. He went on to play two games played at the final tournament after the suspension of Sergei Ovchinnikov. After Euro 2004, Malafeev, became the first-choice goalkeeper for Russia.
After a long-term injury in May 2005, Malafeev lost his place in the goal for Zenit and Russia to Kamil Čontofalský and Igor Akinfeev, respectively, but after a long-term injury of Akinfeev, Malafeev reestablished his place in goal for Russia. Recently however, Malafeev has found competition for goal in the national side from Vladimir Gabulov and Dmitri Borodin.
In a Euro 2008 qualifying match, between Russia and Macedonia, Malafeev saved the resulting penalty after substituting fellow goalkeeper Vladimir Gabulov who was sent off for tripping Goran Maznov in the area. Russia won the game 3-0.
Personal Life
Vyacheslav has a wife named Marina and two children named Ksenia and Maxim.[1]