Nikolay Tarasov

Nikolay Tarasov came through the Zenit St Petersburg academy before finishing his youth years at Amkar Perm, and his path since has run almost entirely outside Russia's top flight. He started out at Dynamo-2 St Petersburg, then moved through Torpedo Vladimir and Olimp-Dolgoprudny. Every move on his record has been a free transfer, a pattern that has continued as he has worked his way across three different countries in three years.

After Veles Moscow, Tarasov left Russia altogether, playing for Atyrau in Kazakhstan and then Qizilqum in Uzbekistan. In early 2025 he joined Bnei Yehuda in Israel, where he scored twice in 17 appearances in the Second League. He returned to Russia last summer, signing with Spartak Kostroma until June 2027, and has already left his mark there: a goal against Fakel and a red card in the match against Tekstilshchik Ivanovo. In the current 2026/2027 season he has made eight appearances and scored once.

As a youth player, Tarasov was named best defender and top scorer at an interregional championship, and he was capped six times for Russia's U-17 side between 2014 and 2015. He has not been called up at senior international level.