Marat Nailevich Izmailov (, ; born 21 September 1982) is a Russian 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 ...

turned linesman. Mainly a

right midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, he could also appear as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

, being best known for his dribbling skills and pace while also possessing a good long-distance shot and accurate passing. He played most of his injury-plagued career with

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

. Izmailov represented

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

at the

2002 World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

and two

European Championships A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...

, earning 35

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

in 11 years.

Personal life

The ancestors of Izmailov come from

Nizhny Novgorod Oblast Nizhny Novgorod Oblast () is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Nizhny Novgorod. It has a population of 3,119,115 as of the 2021 Ru ...

Mishar Tatar Mishar Tatar or Western Tatar (Мишәр, ''Mişär / Mişər'', Мишәр Татар, ''Mişär / Mişər Tatar'', көнбатыш татар, ''könbatış tatar'') is a dialect of Tatar language, Tatar spoken by Mishar Tatars, mainly in Pen ...

village Semyonovka (Семёновка).

Club career

Lokomotiv

Born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Volga Tatar The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars (; ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of western Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are the second-largest ethnic group in Russia after ethnic Russians. ...

descent, Izmailov emerged through local

FC Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (, ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three occasions; the Soviet Cup twice; and the Russian Cup (football), Russian Cup a record ...

's youth ranks, making a lightning progression in a period of six months. He was already a very important first-team member when Lokomotiv won the

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 ...

titles in

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 ...

and

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, and the player received the 2001 award for ''Best Young Player''.Нигматуллин признан лучшим футболистом России, а Измайлов – лучшим дебютантом
However, early on, he also often suffered with injuries. On 24 October 2001, Izmailov was one of the players who helped crush

R.S.C. Anderlecht Royal Sporting Club Anderlecht, commonly abbreviated to RSC Anderlecht (, , ) or RSCA (, , ), is a Belgian professional football club based in Anderlecht, Brussels Capital-Region. Anderlecht plays in the Belgian First Division A and is the mos ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

, for the season's

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

(5–1).

Sporting

In July 2007, Izmailov was loaned for one season to

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

, making his official debut in the

Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira (; English: Cândido de Oliveira Super Cup, or simply Portuguese Super Cup) is an annual Portuguese association football, football match played since 1979 between the winners of the top-tier league (Primeira L ...

on 11 August, against

FC Porto Futebol Clube do Porto, Order of Prince Henry, MHIH, Order of Merit (Portugal), OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional association footbal ...

Leiria Leiria () is a city and municipality in the Central Region, Portugal, Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, after Coimbra, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat o ...

. The game ended 1–0, with the game's only goal being scored by him at the 75th minute, with a long-distance effort; he also played that match with an injury. On 6 October 2007, coming from the bench, Izmailov contributed with two late goals (his first league ones) in a 3–0 home win against

Vitória de Guimarães Vitoria or Vitória may refer to: People * Francisco de Vitoria (c. 1483–1546), a Spanish Renaissance theologian * Alberto Vitoria (1956–2010), Spanish footballer * Rui Vitória (born 1970), Portuguese retired footballer * Sofia Vitória (bor ...

, and eventually helped the side finish second in the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

, adding the

Taça de Portugal The Taça de Portugal (; ) is an annual association football competition and the premier knockout tournament in Portuguese football. For sponsorship reasons, it has been known as Taça de Portugal Generali Tranquilidade since the 2024–25 seaso ...

also against Porto. During the following summer he signed a permanent deal with the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

-based club, which paid Lokomotiv

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

4.5 million. In 2009–10, Izmailov's physical problems resurfaced, and he would spend more than three months in the sidelines with a knee condition. He returned to training following coach

Paulo Bento Paulo Jorge Gomes Bento (; born 20 June 1969) is a Portuguese Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. A Midfielder#Defensive midfielder, defensive midfielder with tackling ability and workrate ...

's dismissal, in late November 2009, but spent most of the following years on the sidelines nursing the same injury, and quarreling with Sporting's board of directors over the issue.

Porto

On 7 January 2013, after passing the pertinent medicals, Izmailov joined Porto on a two-and-a-half-year contract, with

Miguel Lopes Hugo Miguel Almeida Costa Lopes (born 19 December 1986) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Primeira Liga club Estrela da Amadora. During his career, he played for each of the Big Three of Portuguese football ...

moving in the opposite direction. He changed his jersey name from Izmailov to Izmaylov, and scored in only his second match, helping to a 2–0 home win over F.C. Paços de Ferreira. On 31 January 2014, after spending four months in his country due to family reasons, Izmailov signed for

Gabala FK Gabala SC (, ), also spelled Qabala, is an Azerbaijani professional football club based in Qabala, which have competed in the Azerbaijan Premier League since 2006. They will be set to play in Azerbaijan Premier League from 2025–26 season follo ...

in the

Azerbaijan Premier League The Azerbaijan Premier League (), also known as Misli Premyer Liqası for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Azerbaijan and the highest level of the Azerbaijani football league system. It is contested by twelve ...

on loan until the end of the season, rejoining former Lokomotiv coach

Yuri Semin Yury Pavlovich Syomin (; born 11 May 1947) is a Russian football coach. He has managed FC Lokomotiv Moscow for 4 different stints, for a total of over 23 years. The recent history of the Russian club has been associated with him, as he was also ...

who he worked with nine years ago. On 16 July he returned to his homeland and signed on loan for

FC Krasnodar FC Krasnodar is a Russian professional football club based in Krasnodar that plays in the Russian Premier League. They are the league's reigning champions. The club was founded in 2008. In 2009, the club was promoted to the Russian First Divis ...

, which had the option of making the move permanent at the end of the campaign. Izmailov scored his first goal in Russian football in seven years on 14 August 2014, netting his team's first in a 4–0 home win against

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 ...

. He left Porto at the end of his contract, in July 2015.

Krasnodar

On 20 July 2016, after one year out of football, 33-year-old Izmailov signed a one-year contract with Krasnodar with an extension option. On 15 March 2017, he and club parted ways by mutual consent.

Ararat Moscow

On 9 June 2017, Izmailov joined

Russian Professional Football League The Russian Second League (), formerly the Russian Professional Football League, are both the third (Division A) and fourth level (Division B) of Russian professional football. History In 1998–2010, it was run by the Professional Football Lea ...

club

FC Ararat Moscow FC Ararat Moscow (, ) was a Russian association football, football team based in Moscow that represented the Armenians in Russia, Armenian diaspora in Russia. It was founded in 2017 and joined the Russian Professional Football League replacing FC ...

, where he shared teams with fellow former internationals

Roman Pavlyuchenko Roman Anatolyevich Pavlyuchenko (; born 15 December 1981) is a Russian football coach and a former player who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He works as a forwards coach with FC Rodina-2 Moscow, Rodina-2 Moscow. H ...

and

Aleksei Rebko Aleksei Vasilyevich Rebko (; born 23 April 1986) is a Russian association football coach and a former midfielder. He is an assistant manager with Fakel Voronezh. Career He broke the record of youngest players record for Spartak in 2002, previou ...

. On 26 September, his contract was dissolved by mutual consent.

International career

Izmailov made his debut with

aged just 19, and was summoned for the squads at the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

and

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

, playing twice in each of those tournaments. On 25 May 2012, after an absence of six years, he was selected by manager

Dick Advocaat Dirk Nicolaas "Dick" Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former association football, football player and coach. He is currently the manager of the Curaçao national football team. Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a ...

for his

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

squad.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Izmailov goal''.

Honours

Lokomotiv *

* Russian Cup: 2000–01, 2006–07 *

Russian Super Cup The Russian Super Cup () is a one-match football (soccer), football annual competition. Its official sponsored name is ''OLIMPBET Russian Supercup'' (). The two participating clubs are the Russian Premier League champions and the Rambler Russian ...

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 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

CIS Cup The Commonwealth of Independent States Cup () is a defunct annual regional association football tournament, recognized by FIFA. The tournament was initially established for football clubs of the former Soviet Union republics in 1993 (a year late ...

: 2005 Sporting CP *

: 2007–08; runner-up 2011–12 *

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual club football competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the top two tiers of Portuguese football – the ...

runner-up 2007–08, 2008–09 Porto *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

: Runner-up

Gabala *

Azerbaijan Cup The Azerbaijan Cup () is a major association football competition in Azerbaijan. In its original form, it started in 1936, when Azerbaijan was a republic of the Soviet Union and it was not disputed by Azerbaijani teams in the Soviet league pyramid ...

runner-up 2013–14

Individual

Best Young Player:

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Izmailov, Marat 1982 births Living people Tatar people of Russia Footballers from Moscow Tatar sportspeople Russian men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Russian Premier League players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players FC Krasnodar players Primeira Liga players Sporting CP footballers FC Porto players Azerbaijan Premier League players Gabala SC players Russia men's under-21 international footballers Russia men's international footballers 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players UEFA Euro 2012 players Russian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal Expatriate men's footballers in Azerbaijan Russian expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Russian expatriate sportspeople in Azerbaijan FC Ararat Moscow players 21st-century Russian sportsmen