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CHELSEA STAR REVEALS HARDSHIP GROWING UP
By Aidan Magee
AN EMPTY fridge, a fold-up bed and an impoverished
family of six crammed into a one-room apartment under the smoke-filled
skies of post-Communist Russia.
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ZHIRKOV: Trying to make his mark at Chelsea.
Photo: newsoftheworld.co.uk
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It's just about as far removed as you could possibly imagine
from the mock-tudor mansions, diamond jewellery, WAGS and fast cars of
the Premier League in 2010.
Those who thought Yuri Zhirkov's ?18million move to Chelsea from CSKA
last summer signalled the arrival of just another foreign mercenary in
English football need to take a closer look at the obstacles he hurdled
on his journey to the top.
Being hungry to succeed is one thing. Going hungry as a child is quite
another. That's exactly what Zhirkov suffered as he grew up and it would
often move him to tears as he tried to sleep in that fold-up bed.
Zhirkov played football for his village team to earn food supplies, which
he would take back to his parents in the run-down industrial town of Tambov,
some 350 miles from Moscow.
His late father Valentin even turned away a regional sports school scout
who was desperate to sign the nine-year-old Zhirkov, because his son was
needed to grow vegetables and harvest food over the summer.
His story may read like the memoirs of a prisoner of war in the 1940s,
yet this was Russia in the mid-1990s still coming to terms with the collapse
of the Iron Curtain.
In Britain, Tony Blair Prime Minister-elect, Chris Evans ruled TV screens
and Oasis battled Blur to be crowned kings of Britpop.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United were lighting up the early years
of the Premier League and Cool Britannia was in full swing.
Think about it, because it really wasn't all that long ago.
While some of us may have been watching the launch of the National Lottery,
Zhirkov, the second child in a family of three brothers and a sister,
was wishing he didn't have as many siblings because there was so little
to go round. "My mother worked as a postal worker, my father worked
in a factory," he recalls. "We did not live in misery, but sometimes
I came home at night and opened the fridge to find there was nothing in
it. Supper might be eaten without me.
"My childhood was normal. Six of us lived together in a one-room
apartment. I had my own folding bed and so as not to disturb anyone, I
kicked a ball in the yard every day until very late.
"When I got back, everyone was already sleeping so I would take down
my bed and close my eyes. I sometimes dreamed that it would all be different,
that we would emerge from poverty to prosperity.
"A few times I was upset by it and I cried. I even thought: 'Why
did my parents have more kids after me?' But now I am happy that I have
so many relatives!
"They say that football is a sport for poor men. Many present stars
grew up in poor conditions and their ability to master the ball provided
a unique chance to offer themselves and their family a decent life away
from the hardship they knew.
"Before I played for Spartak in Tambov, I played for the local village,
Mordova, and our win bonus was food supplies, which I took home.
"From an early age, I thought about how to help my family -out of
their situation but I also wanted a car and to not worry about money."
Zhirkov, 26, has had new battles to fight since he joined Chelsea last
July. During an impressive pre-season tour of the United States, he scored
the winner in a friendly against AC Milan, but suffered a knee injury
in the same game which saw him miss most of his new club's fine start
to the campaign.
Rumours circulated at one stage that the winger, who has survived two
minor car crashes in the last five years, needed surgery.
He made his debut in the Carling Cup against QPR in September but had
to wait until December for his Premier League bow. Zhirkov came off the
bench for Joe Cole at West Ham and then finally made his first start against
Fulham last week at left-back. But the Russia international, who has 34
caps, is used to biding his time.
As a youngster he was often overlooked by coaches. He sometimes had to
miss training to babysit brothers and sisters.
The problems continued when he joined his home town club Spartak Tambov
and began playing for the youth team at the age of 13. He became so sure
that he would not be picked by the coach that he allowed other squad members
to use his playing kit.
When he finally got a chance, two goals in a local cup final earned him
a crack at the first team. At this time he was earning ?140-a-week and
was also training to become a welder.
His time-keeping let him down on his debut, though, as his manager blamed
the side's defeat on Zhirkov's failure to arrive at the ground in time,
forcing him to watch from the stands.
"I was not outstanding at all in the youth matches and nobody noticed
me!" he revealed. "I was usually on the bench, and even in tournaments
I rarely got a game. I could not make it for the reserves of Tambov, the
first team I played for.
"Before matches I would give my kit to those who were playing as
I never needed it. But I was patient - except for once, when I was left
out of a side for a tournament and I thought it was unfair.
"There was a parents' meeting, and I was told not to go, so I cried
and ran away. I spent that evening kicking the ball in the yard, and thought
I would never play again. I was 13 at the time, but thankfully, the coach
called me back.
"That was where I had my first big success. It was the local Cup
final. We were 1-0 down with two minutes to go, and I scored two goals.
The whole stadium cheered me. It was a really great feeling! After that
I was noticed more.
"When I was invited to play for Tambov Spartak, I knew that destiny
was giving me a chance.
"But soon that joy turned to an awful fear. I misunderstood the timings
and when I turned up to prepare for a match, I saw that it was already
underway and I had to watch it from the stands.
"When the coach, seeing me there, wanted to get me on the pitch,
there was a big controversy. The team lost and the coach blamed me.
"Again, my form picked up. I was surprised when I got taken on by
CSKA Moscow. I had had trials at Spartak, Lokomotiv and Dynamo Kiev.
"I had learned to cope with disappointment and was mentally prepared
for another rejection. And also, I did not play that well in the CSKA
trial, I thought I had played badly so I still don't know what the coach
Artur Jorge saw in me." In spite of his improbable journey to the
Premier League, and the determination that got him here, Zhirkov remains
a shy person who places strong emphasis on looking after his family.
The ?80,000-a-week he now earns at Stamford Bridge means his widowed mum
Galina no longer has to work. He sends her money every month.
His shyness made him an unlikely husband for stunning Russian model Inna
Gracheva.
They married in the summer of 2008 in Turkey while he was preparing for
the Euros at a training camp for the national team.
Three months later, Inna gave birth to their first child, Dimitry.
The marriage has made the couple one of the most talked about in their
home country.
"I could never imagine myself being in the public eye," he said.
"Even now I have bad memories of my first TV interview.
"It was after a Champions League match with CSKA and we had to send
two players out to speak.
"I was very worried about it, I went red, and also turned pale. I
had no idea what to say, but somehow I got through it."
News
Of The World, 02/01/2010
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