Football | Alexei Eremenko junior was seriously ill in Africa – “If you were in Nigeria now, you would be 90 percent dead”

in Pietarsaari grown up ex-footballer Alexei Eremenko junior turned 40 in the spring. He was lucky to be able to celebrate the anniversary healthy and fit.

In November 2019, death was close. At the time, Eremenko was working as the sporting director of Spartaks Jurmala and traveled the world raking in players for the Latvian club. He was on a long journey: first in Colombia, then on to Ecuador, from where he flew to Nigeria to watch the tournament.

“I returned from there to Latvia, where the last series match of the season was held,” says Eremenko about the events of four years ago.

A couple of days later, he traveled to Udine, Italy, where there was a test match for new players. In Udine, Eremenko noticed that he felt unwell. The team doctor gave him a thermometer.

“It read 39.3 degrees.”

Eremenko was immediately taken to the hospital for examinations.

“After the blood tests, the doctor announced that I had malaria. And not a light version, but the worst version on the scale, which had gone deep into the body,” says Eremenko.

He was taken by ambulance to a larger hospital with a unit specialized in the treatment of tropical diseases.

“I lay there for four or five days with a fever.”

According to the doctor, Eremenko was lucky when he had time to return from Nigeria to Europe.

“If you were in Nigeria now, there’s a 90 percent chance you’d be dead, the doctor said.”

In Italy, the patient received high-quality treatment.

Eremenko had to rest for a couple of months, but he recovered.

“After three months I was back in Africa.”

Eremenko His playing career ended in Seinäjoki in 2016, after which his agent Marco Trabucchi offered work in Jurmala.

“My task was to collect players from different parts of the world.”

That meant quite a bit of traveling in different continents.

“I calculated that in 2018 I spent three months in love and nine months on a trip.”

For the past two years, Eremenko has worked for the Ukrainian agency ProStar. An important region for recruiting players was Africa, where special skills are needed.

In January, the African under-20 championship tournament was held in Egypt. Eremenko found a Nigerian goalkeeper and a Gambian top scorer there. Both countries qualified for the World Cup, which was played in June in Argentina. Eremenko was at the tournament for two weeks, watching the progress of the players represented by ProStar.

Managing player transfers requires good nerves in addition to vision.

“One part of my job is finding players, but just as much time is spent on making the transfer and organizing practical things,” says Eremenko.

“No wonder the hair has turned gray,” the 40-year-old ex-gambler laughs.

One futista talent can be found in one’s own family. Eremenko’s 16-year-old son Daniil Eremenko is on his way to becoming a professional like his father, uncle and grandfather. Daniil spent a year at the football academy in Rostov, i.e. the same city where his father was born in 1983. After Rostov, Daniil lived in Moscow with his mother and sister. He played in the juniors of Himki and Torpedo.

A year ago, Daniil moved to Pietarsaari, where Eremenko’s family still has a gym.

“Partly because of the war and partly because in Pietarsaari, he was supposed to get into Faija’s coaching,” says the father.

Alexei Eremenko senior returned to Ostrobothnia from the position of coach of the JK Narva Trans club in Estonia last fall. He didn’t get anything from Jaro or JBK and ended up piloting Esse IK playing in Kolmose.

The third reason for Daniil’s move was related to training conditions.

“Petarsaari has really good opportunities to train both in summer and winter,” says Eremenko.

He “lived” in Tellushall himself. The place is still freely available for trains.

“You can train there on your own and it doesn’t cost anything.”

in Moscow going to practice took almost an hour and a half each way, when the pitches in Pietarsaari are a few hundred meters away.

In Eremenko’s opinion, Finns do not understand how good training opportunities they have. Winter or cold is not an obstacle to professional development.

“The most important thing is the head and the motivation to train on your own by the hour. Just ask From Mika Väyry, from Mikael Forssell or from my brother From Roman Eremenko.

With team training, you can become a good player at the level of First, but if the goals are higher, a huge amount of individual training is needed.

Daniil trains with Jaro’s B juniors three times a week, but much more on his own.

“At least once a day for 2-3 hours, often twice a day,” says Daniil.

He goes to the same Swedish-language elementary school where Alexei junior used to go. Today, the school offers the opportunity for morning training. Eremenko’s family is also involved in that activity, as the morning exercises are led by Alexei and Roma’s younger brother Sergeiwho played this season in Jaro.

Daniel has been abroad to sniff the winds. In January, he trained in Portugal at the Rio Ave academy.

“They weren’t as physical as the Finnish players, but technically very skilled,” Daniil describes.

In August, it was Italy’s turn and the prestigious Atalanta Academy in Bergamo. The club’s chief talent scout Alex Pinardi played with “Losha” at the same time in Lecce. He watched Daniil play and was of the opinion that he was created to be a player of the weaving position.

Father mentions the name Pirlowhen everyone who has followed fut understands what type of player it is.

“Daniil can put quality balls behind the line and he has a good game vision.”

Daniil is quite small (173 cm), but players with small arms have often been seen at the bottom of the midfield.

“In Italy, the tactical side was emphasized and it was talked about all the time,” says Daniil about the departure to Portugal.

It was almost 40 degrees warm in August in Bergamo.

“I was sweating just watching the training,” says the father.

On the field, the players really fought.

Daniil does not yet have a contract in any direction. In the winter, he goes to show his skills to a new club.

“It is important to go around the world and see where we are going. After that, you can return to Pietarsaari to develop your weaknesses,” says the father.

Alexei junior’s trademark was a thunderous shot and especially free kicks. According to his father, Daniil is constantly practicing his shot.

“He has a good kicking technique, but not yet as much power as I had.”

Small players have to work harder than big players. According to “Losha”, this will be fun later.

“When they have grown to their full size between the ages of 17 and 19, the situation turns in their favor because they have more training behind them and the right attitude.

Eremenko senior moved back to coach Narva Trans in August 2023. When the Estonian series ends in the fall, “Jere” may return to the Finnish club. One possibility is Jaro, where he played for a long time and coached between 2009 and 2016.

During Eremenko senior’s coaching years, players from “Jeppis” developed into youth national teams and professionals. For example Jens and Jonas Portin mixed Simon Scrabb learned from Eremenko.

Jaro was relegated from the Veikkausliiga in the fall of 2015 and has played in Ykkö since then. Pietarsaari is known as a futs town, where the sport has a solid position. There is a new stadium intended to graduate in 2025, when it is hoped that Jaro will play at the league level again.

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