Alexander Starkov Since the summer of 2004, head coach of Spartak Moscow Date of Birth: 26.07.1955 Country: Latvia

Alexander Starkov - Biography

Alexander Petrovich Starkov was born on July 26, 1955, in the city of Madona, Latvia. He began his football career as a forward in the main squad of the Riga club "Daugava" in 1975, playing in the first league of the USSR championship. From 1975 to 1989, with a break in 1978, he played for the Riga club, participating in 301 matches and scoring 106 goals. In 1989, he ended his playing career.

After retiring, Starkov graduated from the Higher School of Coaches (VShT) in 1990 and became the assistant coach of "Daugava". In 1993, he took charge of a new Riga club called "Skonto". Under Starkov's leadership, "Skonto" became Latvian champions 11 times and won the Latvian Cup several times. From 1994 to 1996, Starkov also coached the Latvian youth national team.

In 1996, Starkov joined the coaching staff of the Latvian national team as an assistant coach. After disappointing results under the guidance of Revaz Dzodzuashvili and Englishman Harry Johnson, Starkov was appointed as the head coach in 2001. His main achievement in this position was leading the national team to a successful performance in the Euro 2004 qualifiers. The team finished second in their qualifying group and qualified for the final tournament by defeating the Turkish national team.

During the Euro 2004 tournament, Starkov's team faced tough competition, losing to the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, and drawing against Germany. Nevertheless, Starkov's coaching abilities were recognized, and he was included in the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) ranking of the best national team coaches in 2004.

After the Euro 2004 championship, Starkov was offered the position of head coach of Moscow's "Spartak". He officially became the new head coach of the prestigious Russian team on September 9, 2004. Under Starkov's guidance, "Spartak" finished in second place in the 2005 Russian championship, securing a spot in the Champions League qualifiers.

However, in 2006, "Spartak" had a disappointing start to the season, leading to conflicts between players and coaches. The team's captain, Dmitry Alenichev, accused Starkov of incompetence in an interview with the newspaper "Sport-Express". As a result, Alenichev was removed from the main squad in April 2006, followed by the termination of Starkov's contract with "Spartak".

After leaving "Spartak", Starkov expressed his intention to take some time off from football. He is married and has a son and a daughter.