Many of 's finest players have plied their trade among the European elite. Historical success from their Soviet times as well a semi-final appearance in 2008 all came before they hosted the World Cup in 2018, when they reached the quarter-finals. From 's superb solo run in the Euros to Igor Akinfeev's penalty heroics in the 2018 World Cup, Russia have had many modern moments to celebrate in recent tournaments.
During the Soviet era, the USSR made the semi-finals of the World Cup in England in 1966 and won the first ever European Championship in France in 1960. Taking into account historic successes and the unbelievable talent during a bustling USSR period, here are the ten best Russian football players of all time. Best Russian players of all time Rank Player 10 Grigory Fedotov 9 Andrey Arshavin 8 Roman Pavlyuchenko 7 Aleksandr Kerzhakov 6 Valery Karpin 5 Valentin Ivanov 4 Rinat Dasayev 3 Igor Netto 2 Albert Shesternyov 1 Lev Yashin Father of Vladimir, a player who holds the all-time appearance record for CSKA Moscow, Grigory Fedotov laid foundations in football not only for his family, but for his country too.
Fedotov senior was a mercurial force in the Soviet world of football in the 1930s and 40s, and although he was never internationally capped, he scored 124 goals in 155 appearances for CSKA Moscow. In 1948, Fedotov became the first player in the Soviet league to score 100 goals, and thus, 'the Grigory Fedotov Club' was born, with all the players who have scored 100 or m.
