Alexei Eremenko (born Aleksei Alekseyevich Yeryomenko; ; born 24 March 1983) is a former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He is from a footballing family, with his father,

Aleksei Yeryomenko Aleksei Borisovich Yeryomenko (; born 17 January 1964), also known as Alexei Eremenko Sr. is a Russian professional football manager and a former player who also holds Finnish citizenship. He last managed Estonian club JK Trans Narva. Playing ...

, and brothers

Roman Eremenko Roman Alekseyevich Eremenko (; born 19 March 1987) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Veikkausliiga club IF Gnistan. Born in Russia, he represents Finland at international level. Eremenko ...

and Sergei Eremenko also playing professionally. Eremenko was born in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, but grew up in Finland. He made his breakthrough with HJK in 2002, and became known as versatile

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

and a set piece specialist. A mediocre spell with Italian club

Lecce Lecce (; ) is a city in southern Italy and capital of the province of Lecce. It is on the Salentine Peninsula, at the heel of the Italian Peninsula, and is over two thousand years old. Because of its rich Baroque architecture, Lecce is n ...

followed, before he came to prominence at Russian club

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant, with an average radius of about 9 times that of Earth. It has an eighth the average density of Earth, but is over 95 tim ...

. He moved to Metalist Kharkiv in 2009, but was loaned out twice, especially impressing with

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

where he was nominated for the 2010–11 Players' Player of the Year award. He returned to the club on a permanent deal in January 2014. After failing to negotiate a contract extension, he played in Finland until retiring from football in 2017. Eremenko represented

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

between 2003 and 2013, and was a key player for the team in 2006 World Cup qualifying, scoring seven goals, four of which came from free kicks. He ended his international career with 57 caps in which he scored 14 goals.

Early life

Eremenko was born in

Russian SFSR The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

but moved to Finland with his family at the age of seven when his father, former

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footba ...

and

FC Spartak Moscow FC Spartak Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Having won 12 Soviet Top League, Soviet championships (second only to FC Dynamo Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv) and 10 Russian Premier League, Russian champ ...

player

, came to play in Finland with

FF Jaro Fotbollsföreningen Jaro (''Jakobstads Rostfria''), commonly known simply as Jaro, is a Finnish professional football club based in the bilingual town of Jakobstad. The club currently plays in Veikkausliiga, the top tier in Finland. History Ja ...

. He was granted Finnish citizenship in 2003, but still holds a Russian passport as well. He is the elder brother of fellow footballers

and Sergei Eremenko.

Club career

Eremenko spent some time with

Tromsø IL Tromsø Idrettslag () is a Norwegian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Tromsø. They play their home games at the Romssa Arena which has a seating capacity of 6,801. Tromsø play in the Eliteserien. Despi ...

in Norway (his father played for the senior team, he himself played for the under-fifteen team) and with the youth academy of

FC Metz Football Club de Metz () is a Football in France, French association football club based in Metz, Lorraine. The club was formed in 1932 and plays in Ligue 1, the highest division in the French football league system, for the 2025–26 Ligue 1, ...

in France, before returning to Finland to make his

Veikkausliiga Veikkausliiga () is a professional association football league in Finland and the highest level of the Finnish football league system. The league comprises the top 12 clubs of the country. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agenc ...

debut with FC Jokerit in 2001. A trial with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

followed, but in the next season he moved to HJK, and eventually became the league's top player. He won two Finnish championships and one

Finnish Cup The Finnish Cup (; ) is Finland's main national cup competition in football. This yearly competition is open for all member clubs of the FA of Finland and has been played since 1955. The winner qualifies for the UEFA Europa Conference League ...

with HJK.

Lecce and Saturn

In the summer of 2004, Eremenko moved abroad, joining Italian

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

club

U.S. Lecce Unione Sportiva Lecce () is a Football in Italy, professional Italian football club based in Lecce, Apulia. The club play in Serie A in the 2023–24 Serie A, 2023–24 season, the top level of the Italian football league system, Italian footb ...

for €250,000. He made 38 appearances with Lecce in all competitions, but after failing to make a major breakthrough at Lecce, he moved to

Russian Premier League The Russian Premier League (RPL; , ''Rossiyskaya premyer-liga''; РПЛ), also written as Russian Premier Liga, is a professional association football league in Russia and the highest level of the Russian football league system. It was establis ...

club FC Leon Saturn Ramenskoye on a four-year deal in January 2006

transfer window In association football, a transfer window is the period during the year in which a football club, club can add players to their squad who were previously under contract with another club. Such a Transfer (association football), transfer is comp ...

for a transfer fee of €1.5 million, becoming a key player for the Russian side.

Metalist Kharkiv

On 29 July 2009, Eremenko signed a three-year contract with the

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( ) or UPL is a professional association football league in Ukraine and the highest level of the Ukrainian football league system. Originally known as the Vyshcha Liha ( , ) it was formed in 1991 during the 1992 in ...

club

FC Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv, also known as Football Club Metalist Kharkov or FC Metalist Kharkov ( ), is a Ukrainian professional Association football, football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2023– ...

, and scored his first goal in his debut game against

HNK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Croatian First Football League, Supersport HNL, o ...

Jaro (loan)

On 12 March 2010, it was announced that Eremenko had been traded back to his first club,

, for the 2010 season (his father was the club's manager at the time). He managed to score on his debut, in a

Finnish League Cup The Finnish League Cup (in Finnish: ''Liigacup''), is a knock-out football competition contested annually during the pre-season in winter by teams from Veikkausliiga. The competition is notably the only football competition in Europe which is most ...

game against JJK on 20 March 2010. He also continued scoring in

's opening match against

FC Lahti FC Lahti is a Finnish professional football club based in the city of Lahti. It currently plays in the Finnish second tier Ykkösliiga, after relegating from Veikkausliiga after the 2024 season. The homeground of Lahti is Toolpoint Arena. La ...

, scoring on a rebound after his unsuccessful penalty kick.

Kilmarnock (loan)

On 30 August 2010, it was announced that Eremenko had been loaned to Mixu Paatelainen's

until the end of the season. He scored on his debut in a 2–1 victory over St Mirren. On 5 March 2011, Eremenko was given his second straight red card of the season against Hearts at Tynecastle after an off the ball altercation with the opposition captain Marius Zaliukas. On 11 April, Eremenko stated that he wanted to end his career at

Rugby Park Rugby Park, also known as The BBSP Stadium Rugby Park for sponsorship reasons, is a association football, football stadium which is the home of Scottish Premiership club Kilmarnock F.C. and is situated in the Scotland, Scottish town of Kilmarnoc ...

. Eremenko was nominated for the 2010–11 Players' Player of the Year award, losing out to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

Emilio Izaguirre Emilio Arturo Izaguirre Girón (; born 10 May 1986) is a Honduran former professional association football, footballer who played as a left-back. He is currently the sporting director of F.C. Motagua, Motagua. Izaguirre started his career at Mo ...

. After returning from his loan spell, Metalist Kharkiv told him he could leave, where he then stated that he had received bids from an English

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

club and a Russian club, with reports that Scottish

Old Firm The Old Firm is a collective name for the Scottish football clubs Celtic and Rangers, which are both based in Glasgow. The two clubs are the most successful and popular in Scotland, and the rivalry between them has become deeply embedded i ...

duo Celtic and Rangers were interested in signing him. The Championship club was later reported to be the Welsh club

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

Brighton & Hove Albion Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club, commonly referred to as Brighton, is a professional football club based in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. Their home gr ...

, a fellow Championship club, were also believed to be interested in signing him. On 15 July 2011, it was reported in a Finnish newspaper that Eremenko was signing for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

, but the transfer was delayed due to a cancelled flight, which prevented him from linking up with the squad in Scotland.

Rubin Kazan

On 30 August 2011, Eremenko signed a contract with Russian club

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (; ) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the Russian Premier League. Founded in 1958, Rubin played its first-ever top flight season in 2003. It has remained there through the 2021–2 ...

alongside his younger brother Roman, for a fee of €500,000.

Kairat Almaty

In June 2013,

Kazakhstan Premier League The Kazakhstan Professional Football League (, ''Qazaqstan Premier Ligasy''), commonly referred to as the Kazakh Premier League or simply the Premier League, is a professional association football league in Kazakhstan and the highest level of the ...

club Kairat Almaty signed Eremenko for a €200,000 fee from Rubin Kazan. He terminated his contract with Kairat on 26 November 2013.

Return to Kilmarnock

On 28 January 2014, it was announced that Eremenko had re-joined

until the end of the 2013–14 season. On 7 August 2014, he signed a new contract at Kilmarnock, keeping him at the club for the 2014–15 season. At the end of that season, Eremenko left the club after failing to agree to the terms on a new contract.

Return to Jaro

On 7 August 2015, Eremenko signed again for

, agreeing to a contract until the end of the 2015 Veikkausliiga season, with the contract also containing a clause allowing him to move abroad should he receive a suitable offer.

SJK

On 26 January 2016, Eremenko moved to SJK. After just over three months, Eremenko left SJK on 4 May 2016 for personal reasons.

International career

Eremenko made his debut for the Finnish national team on 11 October 2003 against

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. He was a key player for Finland in 2006 World Cup qualifying, scoring seven goals, four of which came from free kicks. He shared the third position among the top scorers in the group, along with Adrian Mutu, but behind

Jan Koller Jan Koller (; born 30 March 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was noted for his height, strong physique and heading ability. He began his career at Sparta Prague, then moved to Belgium, where he beca ...

and

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

who both scored nine goals.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

''As of 15 November 2011''.

Honours

Club

HJK Helsinki *

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

Rubin Kazan * Russian Cup: 2011–12 * Russian Super Cup:

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Individual

Top assist provider:

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

Scottish Premier League The Scottish Premier League (SPL) was the Scottish football league system, top-level league competition for professional Association football, football clubs in Scotland. The league was founded in 1998, when it broke away from the Scottish Foo ...

Player of the Month: November 2010

References

External links

* * * * * * * *
Finn

Iltalehti ''Iltalehti'' (literally "Evening newspaper") is a tabloid newspaper published in Helsinki, Finland. History and profile ''Iltalehti'' was established in 1980 as the afternoon edition of the newspaper '' Uusi Suomi''. The Helsinki-based Alma ...