Vasili Kulkov
Kulkov in 2007
Personal information
Full name Vasili Sergeyevich Kulkov
Date of birth (1966-06-11)11 June 1966
Place of birth Moscow, Soviet Union
Date of death 10 October 2020(2020-10-10) (aged 54)
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Central defender, defensive midfielder
Youth career
Dynamo Moscow
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1985 Dynamo Kashira 52 (7)
1986 Spartak Moscow (reserves) 12 (2)
1986–1987 Krasnaya Presnya 51 (11)
1988 Spartak Ordzhonikidze 42 (3)
1989–1991 Spartak Moscow 75 (4)
1991–1994 Benfica 53 (6)
1994–1995 Porto 24 (2)
1995–1997 Spartak Moscow 18 (0)
1996 → Millwall (loan) 6 (0)
1997–1998 Zenit St. Petersburg 41 (2)
1999 Krylia Sovetov 7 (0)
1999–2000 Alverca 19 (0)
2001 Shatura
Total 400 (37)
International career
1989–1991 USSR 20 (0)
1992 CIS 1 (0)
1992–1995 Russia 21 (5)
Managerial career
2003 Marítimo (assistant)
2003 FC Khimki (assistant)
2005 Tom Tomsk (assistant)
2007 Lokomotiv Moscow (assistant)
2009–2013 Spartak Moscow (reserves assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vasili Sergeyevich Kulkov (Василий Серге́евич Кульков; 11 June 1966 – 10 October 2020) was a Russian footballer.

Either a central defender or defensive midfielder, he was best known for his spells at Spartak Moscow and Benfica. Having retired as a player, he continued his work in football as an assistant in various coaching and managerial crews.

Diagnosed with brain cancer in 2019, he died on 10 October 2020, aged 54, from COVID-19.[1]

Club career

Kulkov was born in Moscow, Soviet Union. From 1984 until the end of his career he played for a host of clubs in Russia, coming to prominence most notably with hometown's FC Spartak Moscow, from where he left in 1991 for a Portuguese league stint with S.L. Benfica (where he played with countrymen Aleksandr Mostovoi and Sergei Yuran). At Benfica, Kulkov scored two great goals in the 1994 Cup Winners Cup game in Leverkusen to pull Benfica into semi finals.

In the 1994–95 season, both Kulkov and Yuran joined FC Porto, being very important figures in the league's conquest.[2] Aged 29, the former returned to Spartak, only to move shortly after to Millwall in the English second division, where he failed to adjust immensely, appearing very rarely in a six-month loan.

After two years with FC Zenit Saint Petersburg and one at FC Krylia Sovetov Samara, Kulkov returned to Portugal, joining F.C. Alverca – Benfica's feeder club but also in the top flight. He closed out his career with amateurs FC Shatura, aged 35.

Kulkov then had some spells in coaching, notably assisting countryman Anatoliy Byshovets at C.S. Marítimo in 2003. Six years later he moved to Spartak Moscow's reserves, in the same capacity.

International career

Kulkov made his debut for the Soviet Union on 26 April 1989, in a 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifier against East Germany.[3] Despite playing regularly for the national team for several years, he did not participate in any major tournament: in 1990, he was not selected for the final stages in Italy, and missed UEFA Euro 1992 (with CIS) and 1996 due to injury.

Before the 1994 FIFA World Cup, several Russia players, including Kulkov, signed a letter demanding that team manager Pavel Sadyrin resign. The coach did not and the player refused to participate.

Honours

Spartak Moscow
Benfica
Porto

References

  1. ^ "Скончался бывший футболист "Спартака" и сборной России Василий Кульков" (in Russian). Championat.com. 10 October 2020. Archived from the original on 10 October 2020.
  2. ^ "100 anos: Vassili Kulkov: OUTROS GRANDES JOGADORES – XXV" (in Portuguese). Record. 2 February 2004.
  3. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (31 July 2008). "Vasiliy Sergeevich Kulkov – International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 12 October 2020.

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