Aleksandr Erokhin

Aleksandr Erokhin's route to Zenit Saint Petersburg ran through Moldova. He left Lokomotiv Moscow's youth setup for Sheriff Tiraspol in 2007, and it was there that he made his name: two Moldovan National Division titles, two Moldovan Cups, and the 2009 CIS Cup, where he finished as top scorer. That form took him back to Russia with Krasnodar in 2010, though the following years were a steadier climb through loans and permanent moves — SKA-Energiya Khabarovsk, then Ural Yekaterinburg, who later inserted a 20% sell-on clause when he signed for Rostov as a free agent in 2016.

Erokhin joined Zenit on a free transfer in June 2017 and has since become one of the most decorated players in the club's modern history, collecting seven Russian Premier League titles, two Russian Cups and six Russian Super Cups. He also holds the record for the most Russian Cup appearances for the club.

Internationally, he won his first Russia cap in August 2016 against Turkey and went on to feature at the 2017 Confederations Cup and the 2018 World Cup. At that tournament he made a piece of footballing trivia: coming on as Russia's fourth substitute in extra time of the Round of 16 tie against Spain, the first player ever to do so under that rule. He has since scored international goals against the Czech Republic and Cyprus in World Cup qualifying. In 2018, he was named an Honoured Master of Sport of Russia and received an Honorary Diploma from the President of the Russian Federation.