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- 2003.
- Yuri NOVIKOV (19.05.1972, Pavlodar).
- Yuri won the Union Championship, playing for his native FC Traktor. However, he started playing in the sovereign championship only in 1993 for FC Shakhter Karaganda. Why for Karaganda, and so late? Urgent military service! That and Serik Berdalin called him to Karaganda. Then he finally arrived at FC Irtysh, but Novikov was there in a supporting role.
- Yuri’s true goalkeeping talent was revealed only at the age of 28! In the 2000 season, those who saw Novikov’s game «in the frame» admired his sometimes incredible saves and confident play at the exit. And then he could safely be given the title of the best! It is no coincidence that the next year he became the main goalkeeper of the Kazakhstan national team. But, everything has its time. And it came three years later! Yuri helped his team win the championship title, not conceding in 18 out of 28 games. He kept a clean sheet in his debut Champions League qualifying match in Nicosia. And he didn’t miss more than one goal from Portugal on the opponent’s field.
