Aleksandr Golovin (footballer)


Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin is a Russian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for AS Monaco and the Russian national team.

Early life

Golovin was born to a mining family in the small mining town of Kaltan in Southern Siberia, Russia. Since childhood, he was friends with Aleksandr Plyasunov, a coach at the local youth sports school. When Golovin was six years old, he started playing football under Plyasunov, before moving on to the school of FC Novokuznetsk and the Olympic reserve school in Leninsk-Kuznetsky. After playing for Metallurg, he was invited to play for the squad of the Siberian team. It was during this time that Golovin attracted the attention of scouts and was invited to play for PFC CSKA Moscow.

Club career

CSKA Moscow

Golovin debuted playing for PFC CSKA Moscow on 24 September 2014 against FC Khimik Dzerzhinsk in the 1/16 round of the Russian Cup. He made the starting lineup and was subbed out in the 88th minute of the game.
Golovin made his Russian Football Premier League debut for PFC CSKA Moscow on 14 March 2015 in a game against FC Mordovia Saransk as a sub in the 72nd minute of the game. He made his UEFA Champions League debut against Sparta Prague on 5 August 2015, subbing in for Alan Dzagoev. He scored his first goal for CSKA on 9 April 2016 against FC Mordovia Saransk.
In the summer of 2017, Arsenal offered between £8 and £10 million for Golovin, but CSKA declined the transfer.
On 2 December 2016, Golovin extended his contract with CSKA Moscow until the end of the 2020–21 season.

AS Monaco

On 27 July 2018, Golovin signed a five-year contract with AS Monaco for an undisclosed, but record-transfer fee, from CSKA Moscow. Golovin made his competitive debut for Monaco in the 1-1 Ligue 1 home draw against Nîmes Olympique on 21 September 2018, coming on as a substitute during the 72nd minute. He made his first start in Ligue 1 on Tuesday, 25 September 2018, in the 1–0 home defeat against Angers SCO. He scored his first Ligue 1 goal on 2 February 2019 in the 2–1 home win over Toulouse FC.
On 24 September 2019, Golovin scored two goals and provided an assist for Wissam Ben Yedder in Monaco's 3-1 Ligue 1 home win over OGC Nice.

International career

Golovin won the 2013 UEFA European Under-17 Championship with Russia national under-17 team, with which he also participated in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Later, Golovin went on to represent the Russia national under-19 team at the 2015 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, where Russia came in second place. Golovin made his debut for the Russia national team on 7 June 2015 in a friendly game against Belarus at the Arena Khimki, replacing captain Roman Shirokov in the 61st minute and scoring Russia's second goal of a 4–2 victory 16 minutes later.
On 11 May 2018, he was included in Russia's extended 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. On 3 June 2018, he was included in the finalized World Cup squad. On 14 June 2018, he played a crucial role in Russia's 5–0 victory over Saudi Arabia making two assists and scoring the final goal, a free-kick in the opening match of the 2018 World Cup.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

№DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 June 2015Arena Khimki, Khimki, Russia2–24–2Friendly
2.26 March 2016Otkritie Arena, Moscow, Russia2–03–0Friendly
3.14 June 2018Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia5–05–02018 FIFA World Cup
4.10 October 2019Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia4–04–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification
5.13 October 2019GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus4–05–0UEFA Euro 2020 qualification

Honours

Club

;CSKA Moscow
;Russia U-17
;Russia U-19