|
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov: 10 things you need to know about
the new Everton signing
| |
|
|
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov / Photo mirrorfootball.co.uk
|
So David Moyes has wasted no time in spending some of his
£24m kitty from the sale of Joleon Lescott. His first signing is
a Russian winger with a tongue-twister of a name for a fee reported to
be in the region of £9million. But what do we know of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov?
MirrorFootball presents the essential guide...
1) He was born in the Russian capital of Moscow on February 27, 1985.
2) His father Rinat was also a professional footballer who played for
Lokomotiv Moscow. He is currently the reserve team coach at the club.
3) Bilyaletdinov, who stands at 6ft 1in, has won 28 caps for Russia since
making his debut at the age of 20.
4) A 24-year old playmaker, he was a key player during the Euro 2008 campaign,
playing in 10 of the 12 qualifying matches and getting to the semi-finals
under the stewardship of Guus Hiddink.
5) It would cost exactly £17 to get Bilyaletdinov on the back of
your Everton shirt. He has the second longest name in Premiership history
- one letter behind ex-Bolton player Stelios Giannopoulos.
6) The tall left-footer helped Lokomotiv to only their second Russian
title in his debut season, earning the Russian Premier League's Young
Player of the Year accolade. He possesses a good scoring rate and good
passing but he is best known for his dribbling and pace.
7) The ex-Lokomotiv captain will now return to Russia to complete the
formalities of a visa application to enter the UK, although he will be
ineligible for Thursday's Europa League play-off second leg with Sigma
Olomouc.
8) Expect him to have not your usual squad number, during his time at
Lokomotiv he wore the, er, traditional number of 63, because that's how
many syllables are in his full name - Diniyar Rinatovich Bilyaletdinov.
9) The 6ft 1in, star has led Lokomotiv to glory after completing a double
in Russia with winning the League and League Cup in 2004 and winning the
Russian Supercup in 2005.
10) Diniyar will have a long season ahead of him as he has been playing
regularly for Lokomotiv since March - the start of the Russian season.
Plus, so long as Russia qualify, he will be playing in the World Cup,
meaning he will have played 16 months consecutively.
10) He was reported to be Russia's best player at Wembley in England's
3-0 win against Russia in the Euro 2008 qualifier.
MirrorFootball.co.uk,
25/08/09
|
|
