Aleksandr Golovin

At 28 years old, Aleksandr Golovin has this physical status:

Aleksandr Sergeyevich Golovin (born 30 May 1996) is a Russian professional footballer who plays for AS Monaco and the Russian national team as a central midfielder.

Early life

Golovin was born in the small mining town of Kaltan in Southern Siberia, Russia, to a mining family. He was classmates with Aleksandr Plyasunov, a coach at the local youth sports academy, from childhood. Golovin started playing football under Plyasunov's guidance before going to the academy of FC Novokuznetsk (then called Metallurg-Zapsib) and the Olympic reserve school in Leninsk-Kuznetsky, six years old. After playing for Metallurg, he was invited to join the Siberian team's squad. It was during this period that Golovin attracted the attention of scouts and was invited to play for PFC CSKA Moscow.

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Club career

In the 1/16 round of the Russian Cup, Golovin made his debut for PFC CSKA Moscow against FC Khimik Dzerzhinsk on September 24, 2014. In the 88th minute of the game, he was in the starting lineup but was kicked out.

In the 72nd minute of the game, Golovin made his Russian Football Premier League debut for PFC CSKA Moscow on March 14th, 2015, against FC Mordovia Saransk as a sub. Subbing in for Alan Dzagoev on his UEFA Champions League debut against Sparta Prague on August 5, 2015. On Monday, he scored his first goal for CSKA against FC Mordovia Saransk.

Arsenal went from £8 to £10 million for Golovin in the summer of 2017, but CSKA turned down the offer.

Golovin's contract with CSKA Moscow lasted until the 2020-21 season on December 2nd.

Golovin signed an undisclosed contract with AS Monaco but a record-transfer fee from CSKA Moscow on July 27, 2018. Golovin made his professional debut for Monaco in a 1–1 Ligue 1 home draw against Nîmes on September 21, 2018 before being called a substitute in the 72nd minute. In a 0–1 home loss to Angers on September 25, he got off to a promising start in Ligue 1 on Friday. In a 2–1 home victory over Toulouse on 2 February 2019, he scored his first Ligue 1 goal.

In Monaco's 3–1 home win over Nice on September 24, 2019, Golovin scored two goals and assisted Wissam Ben Yedder. Golovin, who had just recovered from an injury, was brought on as a replacement and scored in less than a minute on 6 January 2021, in an away match against Lorient on Sunday and with the score at 1–1. As a replacement once more, he delivered two assists, one from a corner kick, to help his team come from behind and beat Marseille.

In a 4-3 away victory over Nîmes on February 7, 2021, Golovin scored his first hat-trick for Monaco. In doing so, he became the first Russian player to score a hat-trick in Ligue 1.

International career

Golovin was awarded the 2013 European Under-17 Championships with Russia's national under-17 team, with whom he also competed in the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Golovin continued to represent the Russia national under-19 team at the 2015 European Under-19 Championship, where Russia finished in second place. Golovin made his Russia national team debut against Belarus in the Arena Khimki on Sunday, replacing captain Roman Shirokov in the 61st minute and scoring Russia's second goal, a 4–2 victory 16 minutes later.

He was named in Russia's extended 2018 FIFA World Cup squad on May 11, 2018. He was selected in the finalized World Cup squad on June 3, 2018. In Russia's 5–0 victory over Saudi Arabia on June 14, 2018, he was instrumental in the country's 5–0 victory over Saudi Arabia, providing two assists and scoring the final goal, a free-kick in the 2018 World Cup's opening match.

He was selected in the initial extended 30-man squad for UEFA Euro 2020 on May 2021. He was drafted in the final squad on June 2nd, 2021. As Russia was eliminated after losing to Belgium and Denmark and beating Finland, he played every minute in all three of Russia's group stage games.

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