15 Facts About Fyodor Smolov

Fyodor Mikhaylovich Smolov is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Dynamo Moscow and the Russian national team.

Fyodor Smolov made his Russian Premier League debut for Dynamo on 28 April 2007 in a game against FC Luch-Energiya Vladivostok, at the age of 17, as a last-minute substitute for Cicero.

On 14 July 2010, the club announced that Fyodor Smolov would join Feyenoord on a one-year loan deal.

On 1 September 2014, Fyodor Smolov joined Ural Yekaterinburg on a season-long loan deal.

Fyodor Smolov provided 8 goals and 2 assists in 22 league appearances for Ural.

On 2 June 2015, Fyodor Smolov signed a four-year contract with the Russian Premier League club Krasnodar as a free agent.

Fyodor Smolov won his third trophy at Lokomotiv and became the tournament's joint-top scorer with 4 goals, along with teammate Francois Kamano.

Fyodor Smolov was part of the Russia Under-21 side that was competing in the 2011 European Under-21 Championship qualification.

Fyodor Smolov was an important factor in the U-21 team qualifying for the 2013 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship in the next cycle, scoring three goals in the qualification play-offs against the Czech Republic.

Fyodor Smolov started the tournament-opener game against Saudi Arabia and appeared as a substitute in every subsequent game.

Fyodor Smolov scored the opening penalty kick in the shoot-out that helped Russia defeat Spain in the Round of 16, but had his shot saved by Danijel Subasic in the quarterfinal shoot-out which Russia lost to Croatia.

Fyodor Smolov is fluent in English and has read Mario Puzo's books in the original language.

On 1 August 2018, Fyodor Smolov crashed his BMW M5 into a traffic barrier in Krasnodar.

Fyodor Smolov was later fined and had his driver's license suspended for one year for leaving the scene of the accident.

Fyodor Smolov is the first Russian footballer to speak out against the war in Ukraine following the invasion by Russia on 24 February 2022.