Legendary Yaroslavl Footballer Artem Enin Passes Away at 49: A Tribute to His Impact and Legacy

Artem Enin / Photo: © FC Shinnik

Bad news came from Yaroslavl – the former football player Artem Enin died at the age of 49. During his career as a professional player, the Shinnik graduate earned the status of a legend of his native club and was the first Black and Blue player to receive call to the Russian national team.

Fans also remember how Enin took part in one of the main victories in the history of national sports.

“We will do with honor until Yenin tells his children”

The famous Italian coach Claudio Ranieri brought the mighty Valencia to Yaroslavl on July 25, 1999. It’s hard to imagine now, but then the leading Spanish club met Shinnik as part of the Intertoto Cup. Ranieri’s team failed in the 1997/98 season, finishing 9th in the competition, which forced the “bats” to make their way to the UEFA Cup in a roundabout way.

But the Yaroslavl team took fourth place in the national league, which allowed them to enter the playoffs of the Intertoto Cup. Under the direction of David Kipiani, Shinnik took out the Finnish TPS and ran to Valencia. Kipiani’s team started on the road, where the hosts were supported by more than 40 thousand spectators at the Mestalla.

Then Ranieri started almost the entire base: Claudio Lopez, Gaizka Mendieta, Miguel Angulo and others. The Yaroslavl team could not even come close to the names of the opponent, but no one was going to give up games just like that.

Shinnik’s student, Enin, was also included in the application for the historic meeting. But in the Russian tournament the football player played from the first minute, but for the match against the Spaniards he was no longer included in the starting lineup. However, Kipiani supported him at first and promised to let Artem prove himself.

“It so happened that Kipiani did not let me out right away, but at the installation he supported me in front of the whole team: “Let’s try with honor, so that Enin can tell his children that he played with Valencia himself, and he did not travel around Siberia,” Enin recalled in an interview “Yaroslavl sport”

Artem Enin / Photo: © FC Shinnik

As a result, Enin entered the final zone and not only seemed to serve, but could have changed the course of the meeting if he did not want to co- controversial closing of the main referee.

– Just think, at the end of the game I move the defender in the penalty area under him, and he blows me away like a scythe. One hundred percent penalty. One hundred percent! These are usually installed seamlessly. How the judge did not notice or did not want to notice! – Yenin recalled with anger.

As a result, Shinnik was defeated – 1:4. However, the Yaroslavl club not only sealed the gates of a strong opponent, but also surprised the Spanish media. After the game, the second coach of the Russian team, Alexander Pobegalov, whose student was Enin, said that his players would win three goals at home! In Spain, those words were taken as a joke, because the outcome of the conflict was clear to local journalists.

“It’s easier to fight on such a lawn”

But the weather in Yaroslavl on the day of the return meeting was not completely clear. It was raining heavily in the city, and in some places the game was more like water polo than football. Perhaps for this reason, only eight thousand fans came to watch the historic event. In the second half, it got even worse: the ball started getting stuck in puddles, and to take a corner, the players had to go deep into the water. However, such conditions only benefited the owners.

– “Valencia” became completely unknown. The advantage of the English in technique on such a meadow lost its meaning, but we were still very excited. “Naturally, it is easier to fight on such a lawn than to play mixed football and weaving sheets, which is typical for the Spanish,” said Yenin.

“Shinnik” – “Valencia” / Photo: © FC “Shinnik”

As a result, Shinnik unexpectedly defeated Valencia – 1:0. And after the meeting, Kipiani mourned, remembering the referee in the first game and the penalty that was not given after the fall of Enin. Artem himself, after the Yaroslavl team was kicked out of the competition, gradually became a first-team player and got on the radar of the main Russian clubs.

But before someone came to the football player with a special offer, he ended up in the Russian national team. At the same time, he was the first player in history to be called up to Shinnik’s national team. Enin played for the national team in a friendly match against Spain. In the away game, which ended with a victory for the Spaniards (1:0), he came on as a substitute in the 56th minute instead of Evgeniy Varlamov.

– I liked the Spaniards with their eternal control of the ball. But in general, we were not much inferior to them. If Alexander Mostovoy had received the penalty, we would have returned to Moscow with a 1:1 draw,” Yenin recalled.

Soon Artem moved to the capital of CSKA. He played 12 matches for the army team, and then returned to Shinnik. Then there was Spartak (Nalchik), Ural, and Enin finished his professional career as part of the “red and white” from Kostroma.

One of the most famous students of the Yaroslavl football school started his own coaching. His children’s teams won championships and won international games.

Enin’s death shocked all the fans, colleagues of the player and his students. TsPUF “Shinnik”, where he worked, sent condolences.

– The football club Shinnik, the sports community of the city and the region, all the fans of the team express deep and sincere condolences to the family and friends of Artem Valerievich Enin. Yaroslavl football has suffered a great loss … – says the club’s official website.