Sergei Ignashevich

Sergei Nikolayevich Ignashevich (Russian: Сергей Николаевич Игнашевич, IPA: [sʲɪrˈɡʲej nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ɪɡnɐˈʂɛvʲɪtɕ]; born 14 July 1979) is a Russian professional football coach and a former player who played as central defender.

He began his career at Torpedo Moscow, going up through the club's academy before briefly moving to twin club Spartak Moscow's academy and then starting his professional career with Spartak Orekhovo.

He played for Lokomotiv Moscow and CSKA Moscow in his career, and has won Russian Premier League titles for both clubs, as well as the 2005 UEFA Cup Final with CSKA. Ignashevich is often considered one of the highest skilled defenders in the Russian Premier League while playing alongside fellow Russian international defenders and twin brothers Aleksei and Vasili Berezutskiy.

He made his international debut for Russia in 2002, and was selected in their squads for two European Championships and two FIFA World Cups, helping them to the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2008, earning his 100th cap at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, and as part of the host team reached the quarter-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. On 8 September 2015, he made his 110th international appearance and became the most capped player in Russia's team history, overtaking Viktor Onopko. On 17 November 2015, he made his 114th appearance, making him the most capped Russian player for any national team (again, overtaking Onopko who played 4 additional games for CIS).

On 2 April 2017, he played his 457th game in the Russian Premier League, setting a new record for most games played in the competition and overtaking the previous record holder Sergei Semak. He held the record for most games played in the Russian first tier with 489, until he was overtaken by his former teammate Igor Akinfeev on 21 August 2021.