Roman Pavlyuchenko

Roman Anatolevich Pavlyuchenko (; born 15 December 1981 in Mostovskoy, Krasnodar Krai) is a Russian Association football who currently plays as a Forward (association football) for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. of the English Premier League and for the Russia national football team.

Club career

Early career

Pavlyuchenko made Roman Pavlyuchenko first team debut for FC Dynamo Stavropol in 1999. Roman Pavlyuchenko moved to FC Rotor Volgograd in 2000 where Roman Pavlyuchenko stayed for three years. Roman Pavlyuchenko scored 14 goals in 65 games for Volgograd, with Roman Pavlyuchenko appearances being limited.

Spartak Moscow

Pavlyuchenko moved to FC Spartak Moscow in the spring of 2003. During Roman Pavlyuchenko time at Spartak, Pavlyuchenko was the club's most prolific goalscorer, scoring 77 goals in 147 games. Roman Pavlyuchenko goalscoring, together with Roman Pavlyuchenko loyalty to the rhombik (the club's emblem), earned Roman Pavlyuchenko much respect and appreciation from the "Army of Red-White Fans".

Tottenham Hotspur

On 1 September 2008, Pavlyuchenko officially signed for Tottenham Hotspur F.C. for a reported fee of £14 million. Roman Pavlyuchenko received the 9 shirt after Dimitar Berbatov signed for Manchester United F.C.. Initially, Roman Pavlyuchenko struggled to adjust to the new environment at the English capital. After the arrival of new coach Harry Redknapp, Roman Pavlyuchenko began to score on a more regular basis.
Pavlyuchenko made Roman Pavlyuchenko debut for the Spurs on 15 September against Aston Villa F.C.. Roman Pavlyuchenko scored Roman Pavlyuchenko first goal on 24 September 2008, in the 2–1 Football League Cup 3rd round win against Newcastle United F.C.. Pavlyuchenko went on to score Roman Pavlyuchenko first league goal for the club in the 2-0 victory against Bolton Wanderers F.C. on 26 October 2008. In the FA Cup third round, Pavlyuchenko scored two goals and was named man of the match against Wigan Athletic F.C. to put them through to the fourth round. The match ended 3–1. Roman Pavlyuchenko also scored once in both legs of the Carling Cup semi-final including a crucial goal to send Tottenham through three minutes from full time against Burnley F.C. in the second leg. Roman Pavlyuchenko also scored the first goal in the FA Cup match against Manchester United, which Tottenham lost 2-1, with a glancing header passing Manchester United F.C.'s Ben Foster. Roman Pavlyuchenko has scored in every English domestic cup competition game Roman Pavlyuchenko has played in, except for the 2009 Football League Cup Final.

International career

In 2003, Pavlyuchenko was first called into the Russia national football team and since 2005 has been consistently earning caps at the national level. As of August 2008, Roman Pavlyuchenko has made 24 appearances for the national team and scored 10 goals.

Euro 2008

Pavlyuchenko was in the spotlight when Roman Pavlyuchenko scored both goals in Russia's 2–1 victory in a crucial Euro 2008 qualification match against England national football team. Roman Pavlyuchenko was named in Guus Hiddink's 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2008.

Roman Pavlyuchenko scored a late consolation goal in Russia's loss to Spain national football team in their opening match of the campaign and the first goal in Russia's third match of the tournament against Sweden national football team to send Russia through at Sweden's expense. Roman Pavlyuchenko was declared man of the match after the 1–0 game with Greece national football team, although Roman Pavlyuchenko did not score in the game, and then scored the first goal of the match in Russia's 3–1 quarter final victory over the Netherlands national football team. After the tournament ended, Roman Pavlyuchenko was named in the 23-man Team of the Tournament.