Alexey Eremenko Football player Date of Birth: 17.01.1964 Country: Finland

1. Biography of Alexei Eremenko
2. Early Life and Career
3. Life in Finland
4. Football Career in Finland
5. Observations of Russian Football
6. Family and Future

Biography of Alexei Eremenko

Alexei Eremenko is a Finnish football player who was born in the Soviet Union. His family moved to Finland in 1990 and he obtained Finnish citizenship in 2001. Eremenko's two sons, also named Alexei and Roman, followed in his footsteps and became football players as well.

Early Life and Career

In February 1990, Eremenko was playing for Moscow Dynamo when the team went on a preseason training camp in Spain. The coach, Anatoly Byshovets, offered him the opportunity to try his luck in the Spanish league. Eremenko agreed on the condition that he could take care of the paperwork to protect himself from injuries. As time went on, the season started and he found himself without a team. However, a request came from Finland for his services, and he decided to make the move.

Life in Finland

Eremenko first went to Finland alone to scout the situation. He signed a contract and then brought his wife and two young children to join him in the small Finnish town where they would be living. Adjusting to the quiet life in Finland after the hustle and bustle of Moscow was initially challenging for the family, but they eventually adapted. The children learned Finnish and Swedish, as Finland has two official languages, and they also received support from a translator provided by the country.

Football Career in Finland

Eremenko believes that the Finnish football has improved over the years, especially due to the construction of indoor facilities for winter football. The country now has stadiums with state-of-the-art artificial turf that allows players to train and play throughout the year. While the technical skills of Finnish players have improved, they have retained their explosive power and strength. Eremenko also mentioned the influence of Finnish player Jari Litmanen, who achieved success in clubs like Ajax and Barcelona. Litmanen's success inspired many Finnish players to believe in themselves and pursue careers abroad.

Observations of Russian Football

Eremenko follows Russian Premier League matches through satellite television and expressed his concerns about the excessive violence and hooliganism in Russian football. He believes that referees should be stricter and hand out more cards to combat the problem. He finds the fights and aggression on the field uninteresting and calls for stricter measures to maintain fair play.

Family and Future

Eremenko's older son, also named Alexei, recently scored three goals for the Finnish national team. His younger son, Roman, plays alongside his father in the Finnish club, Jaro, and has been selected for the Suomi youth team. Eremenko mentioned that his youngest son, Sergei, who is currently five years old, will likely follow in the family's footsteps and become a football player as well. Despite being born in Russia, Eremenko has no discomfort about his sons representing the Finnish national team, as they were raised in Finland and made their own choices. Eremenko remains active as a professional player and plans to continue playing for at least one more season. He reflects on his successful career in Russian and Finnish football, reminiscing about his time at Spartak and Dynamo Moscow, and the lessons he learned from the great players he played alongside.