Igor Lediakhov

Igor Anatolyevich Ledyakhov (Russian: Игорь Анатольевич Ледяхов; born 22 May 1968) is a retired Russian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, and the current assistant manager of FC Terek Grozny.

He played for almost a decade in Spain, mainly for Sporting de Gijón (eight years, amassing La Liga totals of 106 games and 17 goals in four seasons), later embarking in a managerial career in his country.

Lediakhov represented the CIS at Euro 1992 and Russia at the 1994 World Cup.

Playing career

Club

Born in Sochi, Russia, Lediakhov started playing professionally with modest FC SKA Rostov-on-Don. In 1990, he joined FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk.

After impressing with FC Rotor Volgograd, Lediakhov was bought by Soviet Union giants FC Spartak Moscow, being essential as the capital team conquered three consecutive league titles, which included the inaugural edition of the competition, as the player scored in double digits in two of the three seasons.

In the 1994 summer, 26-year-old Lediakhov moved abroad, signing with Spain's Sporting de Gijón. Even though he netted nearly 50 overall goals for the club (17 in four La Liga seasons) whilst showcasing good offensive skills, his eight-year-old stay in Asturias was an inconsistent one, marred by irregular performances and disciplinary problems: he received a six-match ban after a 22 February 2000 match at Albacete Balompié, after assaulting an opponent then repeatedly pushing referee Téllez Sánchez after receiving his marching orders.^[1] At the club, he teamed up with compatriots Dmitri Cheryshev (five seasons), Yuri Nikiforov (two) and Alexei Kosolapov (one).^[2]

Lediakhov also spent a few months in Japan (loaned by Sporting and coinciding with Paulo Futre), after which he returned – with the club now in the second level – having further disciplinary problems which led to a suspension.^[1] He eventually bought out his contract and retired in 2003 at the age of 35, after one season with SD Eibar also in division two.

International

Lediakhov gained 16 international caps for both the CIS and Russia, which he represented respectively at UEFA Euro 1992 (did not leave the bench) the 1994 FIFA World Cup (played one match, the 6–1 group stage routing of Cameroon^[3]).

Coaching career

In 2007, Lediakhov worked as sporting director at FC Rostov. On 6 June of the following year, he was assigned coaching duties at Spartak Moscow's youth teams.

From August to September 2008, Lediakhov served as caretaker manager of the club, later working as assistant under both Michael Laudrup and the Dane's successor, Valery Karpin.

On 22 December 2009, he was appointed head coach of FC Shinnik Yaroslavl, staying in charge for approximately five months. On 9 May 2011, he was announced as new director of football at FC Rotor Volgograd, for which he also acted as scout.

Lediakhov returned for a second spell as Spartak's assistant, on 6 September 2011.

Statistics

Club

^[4]

National team

^[5]

Honours

• Russian League: 1992, 1993, 1994
• CIS Cup: 1992
• Russian Cup: 1994

References

External links

• RussiaTeam biography and profile (Russian)
• KLISF statistics
• Igor Lediakhov profile at BDFutbol
• Igor Lediakhov at National-Football-Teams.com
• Igor Lediakhov – FIFA competition record

Igor Lediakhov – International tournaments
CIS squad – UEFA Euro 1992 1 Kharine 2 Chernyshov 3 Tskhadadze 4 Tsveiba 5 O. Kuznetsov 6 Shalimov 7 Mykhaylychenko (c) 8 Kanchelskis 9 Aleinikov 10 Dobrovolski 11 Yuran 12 Cherchesov 13 Kiriakov 14 Lyutyi 15 Kolyvanov 16 D. Kuznetsov 17 Korneev 18 Onopko 19 Lediakhov 20 Ivanov Coach: Byshovets Russia squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup 1 Cherchesov 2 Kuznetsov 3 Gorlukovich 4 Galyamin 5 Nikiforov 6 Ternavskiy 7 Pyatnitskiy 8 Popov 9 Salenko 10 Karpin 11 Beschastnykh 12 Tetradze 13 Borodyuk 14 Korneev 15 Radchenko 16 Kharin (c) 17 Tsymbalar 18 Onopko 19 Mostovoi 20 Ledyakhov 21 Khlestov 22 Yuran Coach: Sadyrin