Former captain of the Russian football team, Igor Vladimirovich Denisov is a fearless person. Or, in another way of thinking, a person without much love for life, despite having a wife and four children.
He declared, in an interview with the YouTube channel of sports journalist Nobel Arustamyan, that the War in Ukraine, which began on February 24 with the invasion of Russian troops in the neighboring country, is something “catastrophic”, clearly positioning himself against the action.
According to the United Nations, the war has already left more than 4,500 civilians dead in Ukrainian territory. Volodymyr Zelensky’s government estimates the deaths at at least 12,000.
“It’s horrible [essa guerra]”, sentenced the former player, who defended Dinamo and Lokomotiv, both from Moscow, and expressed concern about the possible consequences of his position in the regime of Vladimir Putin, rigidly averse to opponents.
“Maybe I’ll be arrested or killed for this, but I’m saying things as they are.”
Denisov’s fears are well-founded. It may even be that the concern with death is exaggerated, but the one with jail is not.
Recently, the Russian Parliament passed a law that condemns to prison – for a period of up to 15 years – anyone who spreads fake news or speaks publicly using words that discredit military actions.
Putin’s main opponent, lawyer and blogger Alexei Navalni, is in it and won’t be leaving anytime soon.
A midfielder, Denisov played for his country’s senior team 54 times from 2008 to 2016, and captained them for the past five years of service. He didn’t score any goals in those games.
One of the most famous names in Russian football this century, he won the national championship four times, three of them with Zenit, from Saint Petersburg (2007, 2010 and 2012), the team for which he stood out the most, and once with Lokomotiv ( 2018).
In the national team, he played as a starter at Euro 2012, in all three of Russia’s matches in the tournament hosted by Poland and Ukraine.
In the 2014 World Cup, in Brazil, he was a reserve and entered two games, the 1-1 draws against South Korea, in Cuiabá, and Algeria, in Curitiba.
On these two occasions, the Russians disappointed and did not make it past the group stage.
Denisov was noted in his career for being a strong-willed athlete, having clashed several times with coaches and receiving punishments due to lack of discipline.
He is 38 years old and hung up his boots in 2019.
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