Igor Smolnikov is a Russian footballer who plays for Zenit in the Russian Premier League as a right-back.
Smolnikov is an offensive fullback, who can play both on the right and on the left side. Over the years, he has improved a lot thanks to his great attitude and the help of competent head coaches like Luciano Spalletti and André Villas-Boas. Smolnikov has high stamina as well as excellent pace. However, what makes him unique is his incredible ability to get behind opponent’s defenders to create goalscoring opportunities. This is possible thanks to his developed understanding with Hulk, who has perfectly learned how to assist the Russian fullback. A part of this, Igor is a player who never gives up on the field, although he sometimes lacks concentration during games. He’s good at passing, but his defensive skills are as not as good as his offensive ones. Therefore, he’s really dangerous when his team attacks, but less effective during the defensive phase, when he could suffer from a player strong at dribbling.
Smolnikov was called up by Fabio Capello to the Russia squad for the first time on 4 October 2013 for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Luxembourg and Azerbaijan. He made his debut for the national team on 19 November 2013 in a friendly against South Korea.
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. |
