German footballer Bernd Leno. Candidate for the Russian national football team

The first talks about the naturalization of foreign players for the Russian team appeared a few years ago, and then they seemed like only unrealizable projects invented by journalists. After all, in our championship, the limit on the legionnaires has been increasingly tightened . Everything was done to ensure that Russian players did not interfere with the practice of gaming in clubs. Therefore, attracting foreigners in the team seemed incredible.

Nevertheless, in March 2016 it happened: the thirty-year-old Brazilian goalkeeper of "Locomotive" Guilherme designed Russian citizenship and received a challenge to our team. He will be able to make his debut in the nearest control match with Lithuania. But it is likely that at the World Cup 2018 in the gate of the national team will play another foreigner - the German Bernd Leno.

New foreign candidates for the Russian national team

After Guilherme, the German midfielder "Shalke 04" (Gelsenkirchen) Roman Neustetter (28 years old) should soon be able to play for the Russian national team. With him is another story - he has Russian roots, and his relatives live in Russia. In the club Roman mainly plays in the position of the defensive midfielder, but he can also take a place in the center of defense, which will be very useful for our team if Neustetteder still obtain Russian citizenship.

Against the background of all these events it will be appropriate to recall other foreigners with Russian roots who can play for the Russian national football team. In this article we will talk about one of the most talented goalkeepers of the Bundesliga - Bernde Leno. Fans who are closely watching football, probably heard this name. But not everyone knows that Bernd Leno can become a Russian.

Leno and Russia

It would seem that there are no good goalkeepers in our national team, and it is much more important to consider options with the naturalization of players playing in the position of central defender or attacker, but hurriedly sweep the option with the German goalkeeper of Leverkusen "Bayer" is not worth it. Leno, perhaps, is the main talent among all foreigners who have a chance to play for Russia.

Bernd Leno in his 24 years is considered one of the best goalkeepers in Germany. For the main team "bundestim" Leno has not played: there is also a deficit of goalkeepers in Germany, but in the future Bernd Leno will surely get his chance. Goalkeeper, however, does not set as its main goal to wait for the call to the German national team. Leno has already stated that he does not mind playing for Russia. When Bernd was 17, representatives of the Russian Football Union held an informal meeting with his father , but the conversation did not go further than the conversation.

Unlike Roman Neustadter, fluent in Russian, Leno does not speak Russian, although he understands the individual words. As a teenager, Bernd visited Russia: then they visited Anapa and St. Petersburg with the whole family. Leno admitted that his brother and parents listen to a lot of Russian music, and the footballer likes some of Dima Bilan's songs.

Biography. Carier start

Bernd was born on March 4, 1992 in the German city of Bietigheim-Bissingen. Leno's parents - Russian Germans from Anapa - moved to Germany in 1989.

The young player's career took place in the academies of Bietigheim (1998-2003) and Stuttgart (2003-2009).

2 years Bernd Leno, whose biography by that time became the object of interest of many football fans, gained experience in the double of "Stuttgart", until in August 2011, after the extension of the contract with the club, he did not lease "Bayer 04". His first match at the adult level, Leno held just for the Leverkusen: on August 14, a few days after the arrival of the new team, the player took the place in the goal against the Bremen Bremen. Leno played zero in his first three games in the Bundesliga and entered the history of the championship, becoming the third goalkeeper who managed to do it.

Not far off was a new achievement. September 13 Leno became the youngest German goalkeeper ever to appear on the field in the Champions League match. At that time he was 19 years and 193 days, and the rival of "Bayer" was the London "Chelsea".

Already on November 30, 2011, "Bayer" bought a young goalkeeper from "Stuttgart". The contract with "pharmacists" is calculated until 2017. At the moment, Bernd Leno - iron first number in the team. He became to them in his first season for the "Bayer", knocking out the basis of an experienced René Adler, forcing him to leave "Hamburg".

Bernd Leno: rating, statistics

At the end of the 2012/13 season, Leno received the highest rating from the weekly Kicker among all goalkeepers of the Bundesliga. He took first place in the ranking, ahead of the goalkeeper of the "Bavaria" Manuel Neuer.

Statistics of performances of the player as of March 13, 2016:

• "Stuttgart II" (2009-2011) - 57 matches.
• "Bayer 04" (since 2011) - 158 matches.

In the German championships I played 27 games.