Goalkeeper Kerzhakov said that he could get into the Russian national team even under Cherchesov

The goalkeeper of Zenit and the Russian national team Mikhail Kerzhakov said that he could be in the national team in 2020, when Stanislav Cherchesov was its head coach.

Kerzhakov is a four-time champion of Russia and a two-time winner of the Russian Cup as part of the St. Petersburg club. Last week, the 35-year-old goalkeeper was called up to the Russian national team for the first time in his career.

“Now is a special moment. I can’t say that I cried with happiness or didn’t sleep all night. I calmly accepted getting into the national team. I will not say that the crown of a career. But given that I was going to finish, I did not think that everything would unfold like this. I dreamed about it – the dream came true.

Could he have been in the national team under Cherchesov? Before the start of the pandemic, the head of the team called me and asked for a passport. This was right after the training camp in the winter of 2020. But I started that part of the season on the bench. So it’s not a fact that I would have been called in the end, ”Championship” quotes Kerzhakov.