Biography
Who is Pavel Pogrebnyak?
Early football career
Pavel Pogrebnyak began his athletic path at age six within the Spartak Moscow football school. He moved up to the reserve team in 2001 before joining the first team squad one year later. During the period between 2001 and 2003, he recorded eight goals in 23 appearances.
His early professional years involved several loan spells to gain experience. He played for Baltika Kaliningrad in 2003, where he scored 15 goals in 40 matches. He also spent time at FC Khimki and Shinnik Yaroslavl before finding success at Tom Tomsk during the 2006 season.
Success at Zenit and abroad
A major period of his career occurred at Zenit St. Petersburg. During his tenure, he won the Russian Premier League in 2007 and the Russian Super Cup in 2008. He was also a top scorer in the 2007–08 UEFA Cup, helping the team secure that trophy.
In 2009, he moved to Germany to play for VfB Stuttgart. He scored his first goal for the club against Freiburg in August 2009. After his time in Germany, he played in England for Fulham and Reading. At Fulham, he became the fastest player to reach five goals in Premier League history.
Later club years and international play
Pavel Pogrebnyak later played for Dynamo Moscow, starting in August 2015. He also joined FC Tosno, where he helped the club win the 2017–18 Russian Cup. Later in his career, he had stints with Ural Yekaterinburg between 2018 and 2021.
On the international stage, he debuted for the Russian national team in 2006 against Latvia. He was a member of the Russian squad for the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament. He was also included in the provisional squad for the 2014 World Cup.
Personal life and controversies
Pavel was married to Maria Shatalova-Pogrebnyak, and the couple has three sons. In July 2023, she filed for divorce. He has two brothers, Kirill Pogrebnyak and Nikolai Pogrebnyak, who have also been involved in football.
In 2019, he was accused of racism following comments about black players in the Russian national team. The Russian Football Union issued a fine of 250,000 rubles and placed him on probation. He denied the allegations through his actions and statements during that period.
Birthday and age
Pavel Pogrebnyak was born on November 8, 1983, which makes Pavel 42 years old today. That birthday falls under the Scorpio sign. Pavel shares the date with 26 other famous people.
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