Depression, gambling, and a Man United goal: The career of ex-Rostov striker Bukharov

Alexander Bukharov is one of the most talented Russian footballers of his generation. He was a key player for the champion Rubin Kazan, but a transfer to Zenit derailed his career — leading to gambling addiction, depression, and alcohol problems. At Rostov, the forward found himself again and even returned to the Russian national team.

We tell the story of the striker whose career was full of ups and downs.

He didn«t fit in the south

Alexander was born on March 12, 1985 in Naberezhnye Chelny. He started playing football in his hometown but at 15 moved south to join the youth team Krasnodar-2000.

In 2003, Bukharov signed a contract with Chernomorets Novorossiysk, which was then playing in the Premier League. He failed to break into the first team and after that decided to return to his native Tatarstan. His subsequent career showed this was the right decision.

At Kazan«s Rubin, Bukharov came under the guidance of Kurban Berdyev. The striker later called him the best coach of his career.

«I saw him come to the stadium, watch our games when I was playing for Rubin-2. He seemed like a very angry, very strict man. At first, I thought how I could avoid meeting him at all. I was so scared! And the funny thing is that later, throughout my career, I was afraid to even talk to him about any topic,» Bukharov recalled his first meeting with Berdyev in an interview with Match TV.

The 2004 season the striker spent in the Second League with Rubin-2. There he toughened up and matured for the main team.

The new Pavlyuchenko

Bukharov made his debut for Rubin on July 13, 2005 in a game against Podolsk«s Vityaz. Berdyev did not rush the forward»s development, gradually bringing him into the first team. By the end of 2005, Alexander played eight matches in the Russian Premier League (RPL) and scored two goals.

In 2006, Bukharov played the same number of matches in the Russian championship but scored three more goals. The results could have been better, but an injury intervened — in June the forward tore his cruciate ligaments and missed six months.

At this point, the striker«s career was in jeopardy. Due to two recurrences of the injury, he missed the entire 2007. Not every footballer recovers from such a blow.

2008 became a turning point for Bukharov and all of Rubin Kazan. After a series of injuries, the team showed the striker they believed in him and extended his contract for three years. At the same time, Berdyev«s squad developed championship ambitions, and competition in attack increased. The team from the capital of Tatarstan then had the Ukrainian Serhiy Rebrov, the Turk Hasan Kabze, the Serb Savo Milošević, and in the summer one of the best scorers in the Russian championship, Roman Adamov, arrived from Moscow.

Bukharov got his chances and used them well. In 20 matches he scored six goals and helped Rubin win the championship gold medals. Moreover, Alexander won the competition against the other strikers.

In the 2009 season, Berdyev placed his bet on the 24-year-old forward. Bukharov did not let the coach down and became one of the main architects of Rubin«s second consecutive championship, scoring 16 goals. However, he did not play in the main match of the year, when Kazan beat Barcelona (2:1) in the Champions League.

«I also missed the winning match against Bayern when I was playing for Rostov. That»s my fate. Before Barcelona, I broke my arm in a home game against Amkar. Our doctors said it was just a dislocation. But it swelled up so much I couldn«t train normally. I went to Germany, they diagnosed a fracture — had surgery. And my arm is still broken, it hasn»t healed. I have a screw in there. It won«t fuse anymore, it hurts, the weather constantly affects it,» Bukharov recalled in 2023.

The 193cm (6«4») Bukharov was then a real headache for RPL defenders. At the same time, the Russian national team had plenty of big forwards — the top scorer of the 2007/2008 UEFA Cup Pavel Pogrebnyak and the hero of Euro 2008 Roman Pavlyuchenko. It was hard to displace them from the lineup, but Bukharov was considered a «player for the future».

On October 14, 2009, Bukharov made his debut for the national team in a match against Azerbaijan. His second match came a year later against Belgium. After that, there was a seven-year pause.

The main career mistake

The prolific striker attracted the attention of Zenit. The St. Petersburg team saw this transfer as solving two tasks: weakening a competitor and strengthening for the Champions League.

In the summer of 2010, Bukharov moved to the St. Petersburg team for €12 million. His first six months at Zenit were ambiguous. Luciano Spalletti«s team failed to qualify for the Champions League, losing to French Auxerre, but still won the championship gold. Bukharov himself won the RPL for the third time in a row, scoring four goals in ten matches.

That summer, Bukharov could have ended up in Europe — German side Wolfsburg were interested in him. They were looking for a replacement for the future Manchester City star Edin Džeko. But Alexander decided to first gain experience in St. Petersburg.

«I had a conversation with Igor Korneyev, who was then Zenit»s sporting director. He said: «You»ll play now, and then we«ll sell you to England, say, for €35 million.» So the move to Zenit was perceived as a stepping stone to Europe. I really wanted to play there because I looked at Pavlyuchenko, Pogrebnyak, who played in England. I thought Zenit would be my springboard there, but it didn«t work out,» Bukharov recalled.

Bukharov never became one of their own in St. Petersburg. Spalletti couldn«t integrate the forward into the team»s play — Alexander was a pale shadow of his Kazan self.

In the transitional 2011/2012 RPL season, which lasted a year and a half, Bukharov scored six goals in 31 matches, but added to his collection of Russian championship gold medals — he became a tournament winner for the fourth time in a row.

After that, Alexander«s statistics became quite sad. In a year and a half in the RPL, he scored only one goal. Bukharov started most games on the bench. Zenit fans even came up with a mocking chant: »Hey, Bukharov, how«s the bench? How steadily does the cash flow?»

Gambling addiction and depression

On September 2, 2013, Bukharov caused a drunken scene at Pulkovo Airport in St. Petersburg. Fontanka newspaper wrote at the time that he was smashing dishes, stubbing cigarettes out on the floor, and harassing airport staff. The striker spent the night in a transport police station and got off with a fine for petty hooliganism.

This was not Bukharov«s only problem, as he turned into one of the anti-heroes of Russian football. Legends circulated about his passion for poker. Later, the footballer admitted he suffered from gambling addiction. He fought it for three years — a year and a half of which he spent in rehab.

«I was into gambling since I was eight. As a kid, I stole money from my mom»s wallet. She worked at the market, and I waited every day for her to come home and go to the shower so I could go into her pocket and take her cash. I confessed later when I started earning well: «Mom, I»ve been stealing money from you all my life.« She didn»t believe me,« Bukharov said in 2023.

At Zenit, Bukharov«s problems were compounded by depression. He considered the championships won in St. Petersburg less valuable than the victories in Kazan.

«In Kazan, I felt I put a lot of effort into the gold: I scored 16 goals, so I deserved to get that medal. In St. Petersburg, I scored coming off the bench, but I wasn»t a solid first-team player. So mixed feelings arose. I didn«t fight the feeling of depression. More, I guess, I was just offended by everything. A child»s position — you bought me, so you should put me in the lineup. And people had a completely different opinion — they bought me for competition. That didn«t connect in my head: »How? They paid so much for me, they should play me, and I can do nothing at all. Well, okay, I«ll train at half strength then.» I started driving myself to the point where I gained weight, didn«t sleep before training… Some situations arose involving alcohol. That same drunken incident at Pulkovo was not an isolated one,» Bukharov admitted.

In January 2014, the footballer was sent on a six-month loan to Anzhi. In Makhachkala, he scored two goals in ten matches. In the summer, the Russian national team went to the World Cup in Brazil — Alexander«s candidacy wasn»t even considered.

Reunited with Berdyev

In four years, Bukharov went from being one of the country«s best strikers to a fallen ace. At 29, he became a free agent. In the summer of 2014, Rostov, after winning the Russian Cup, was preparing for a new season and playing in the Europa League. At the same time, the yellow-blues faced a difficult task — they needed to replace Artyom Dzyuba, who had returned to Spartak.

Rostov made their bet on Alexander Bukharov. He had similar physical attributes, and they didn«t have to pay for him.

The first six months were not easy for the forward. In the previous season, Dzyuba had become one of the championship«s top scorers, setting the bar too high. Bukharov couldn»t repeat his feats, but it«s worth noting the team»s play also left much to be desired — Rostov went into the winter break in the relegation zone. For the striker himself, the real test was the trip to St. Petersburg. There he was greeted with the chant: «Hey, Bukharov, how»s Rostov?«

They called Kurban Berdyev to salvage the situation. His arrival helped not only the team, which stayed in the RPL, but also Alexander Bukharov.

«Before Kurban Bekievich arrived, there was chaos at Rostov. I remember being at the base for six months without pay: I»m sitting with Torbinsky, eating shawarma, recording videos that we«re not getting money. Berdyev came, they started allocating funding for him. And he immediately said: »We will play in the Champions League.« He kept his word, and quickly,» the striker recalled.

The forward pulled himself together, started «fighting his inner demons.» Yes, his productivity was far from before, but he brought benefit to the team — in the 2014/2015 season he scored five goals.

Goal against Manchester United and national team recall

After that, the resuscitation of Bukharov«s career began. In the 2015/2016 season, Rostov sensationally finished second. Alexander scored three goals, but his main highlight was on social media. In the 29th round, Rostov beat Zenit. After the match, Bukharov posted a video on social media showing away fans chanting the offensive chant about him, and commented with an emoji of a raised middle finger — in the standings, the yellow-blues finished above Zenit.

In the 2015/2016 season, Bukharov played less due to injuries, but his productivity increased. In 18 RPL matches he scored six goals. In the European campaign, the striker scored one goal — but what a goal! — in the home Europa League match against Manchester United (1:1).

In March 2017, Bukharov returned to the Russian national team. In a friendly match against Belgium (3:3), the striker scored one of the goals. The striker«s play impressed Stanislav Cherchesov and he included Bukharov in the squad for the Confederations Cup. There Alexander participated in all matches but did not score.

In the summer of 2017, Rostov«s fairy tale ended. Important players and Kurban Berdyev left the team. Bukharov remained at the club for one more season, then returned to Kazan. Things didn»t work out there. In the 2018/2019 season, he didn«t score a single goal. After Kazan, Bukharov could have gone to Iran or Turkey, but couldn»t agree terms with local teams.

In the summer of 2019, the striker ended his career. After that, he devoted himself to fighting gambling addiction.

«I don»t gamble, I don«t drink alcohol, although I had problems with alcohol too. Now I am completely free. For that, you need to take certain measures. Let»s not talk about them. But now I have absolutely no desire to gamble. The only thing is, I can play chess or Counter-Strike. You need to work on yourself so it doesn«t progress. At any moment I could relapse and return to my old lifestyle. I don»t want that, it«s very scary there. I do everything not to go back there,» Bukharov admitted in 2023.

Coaching work helps Bukharov get new emotions — he is now the head coach of Rubin«s under-16 team. In his interviews, the striker admits he urges his players not to repeat his mistakes. He says he dreams of leading Rubin or the Russian national team.