Introduction
Denis Dmitriyevich Cheryshev (Russian: Денис Дмитриевич Черышев; born 26 December 1990) is a Russian professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Villarreal CF as a left winger.
A youth product of Real Madrid, he also played on loan for Sevilla, Villarreal and Valencia in La Liga.
Having earned 45 caps and scored 23 goals in its youth categories, Cheryshev made his debut for Russia in 2012.
Club career
Early years
Born in Nizhny Novgorod, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Soviet Union, Cheryshev started his career at Sporting de Gijón, where his father Dmitri was playing at the time.
He soon followed him to his next club, Burgos CF, entering the team's youth system at the age of nine. During his spell, Cheryshev was selected to play for the youth levels of the Castile and León autonomous football team.
Real Madrid
Cheryshev joined Real Madrid in 2002, going on to complete his formation with the club. Still a junior, he appeared in nine Segunda División B games with Real Madrid Castilla in the 2008–09 season.
From 2010 to 2012, also in the third level, Cheryshev played 61 matches and scored 11 goals for the B's. He was an important offensive unit as the latter campaign ended in promotion to Segunda División, after a five-year absence.
Cheryshev made his debut in division two on 17 August 2012, playing the full 90 minutes in a 1–2 away loss against Villarreal CF. On 27 November he played his first official game with the first team, a 3–0 home win against CD Alcoyano for the season's Copa del Rey (7–1 on aggregate).
In September 2013 Cheryshev was loaned to fellow league club Sevilla FC, with the possibility of a permanent deal in June 2014 that finally did not come to fruition, as he joined Villarreal in the same predicament for 2014–15.
Cheryshev scored on his Villarreal debut on 24 August, netting the second goal in a 2–0 win at Levante UD. He recovered somewhat from his injury problems during his spell in the Valencian Community, subsequently returning to the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.
Cheryshev made his Spanish top flight debut for Madrid on 19 September 2015, playing 13 minutes in a 1–0 defeat of Granada CF. He scored his first competitive goal for the club on 2 December, featuring the first half of a 3–1 away success over Cádiz CF for the domestic cup. However, he was not eligible for selection after having collected three yellow cards in the previous edition of the tournament, resulting in Real Madrid's expulsion from the tournament; club president Florentino Pérez went on to challenge any action that would be taken against the team, claiming that the Royal Spanish Football Federation had not informed them that the player was suspended.
On 1 February 2016, Cheryshev was loaned to Valencia CF until June. He made his debut two days later, playing the second half of the 0–7 away loss against FC Barcelona for the Spanish Cup semi-finals (his team played the last 45 minutes with one man less). On the 13th, he headed his first goal for the Che in a 2–1 win over RCD Espanyol at the Mestalla Stadium.
Villareal
On 15 June 2016, Cheryshev signed a contract with Villarreal until 2021.
International career
Even though he stated in a January 2011 interview to sports daily Marca that he "felt more Spanish than Russian", Cheryshev was called up to the Russian national team for the first time on 6 November 2012, for a friendly game against the United States eight days later. He made his debut in the 2–2 draw, playing the same opponent as father Dmitri 20 years earlier.
Cheryshev played his first competitive game on 14 August 2013, when he came on as a half-time substitute in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland in Belfast. However, after just five minutes on the pitch, he had to be replaced due to injury, in an eventual 0–1 loss.
Cheryshev was called up to a provisional 25-man squad for the finals on 16 May 2014, being the only player present not playing his club football in Russia. He was, however, left out of Fabio Capello's final list, and also missed the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament due to injury.
Career statistics
- As of 21 September 2016
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Total | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Real Madrid B | 2008–09 | Segunda División B | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 |
| 2010–11 | 32 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 3 | ||
| 2011–12 | 34 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 8 | ||
| 2012–13 | Segunda División | 34 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 11 | |
| Total | 109 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 109 | 22 | ||
| Real Madrid | 2012–13 | La Liga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Sevilla (loan) | 2013–14 | La Liga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| Villarreal (loan) | 2014–15 | La Liga | 26 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 40 | 7 |
| Real Madrid | 2015–16 | La Liga | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 1 |
| Madrid total | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 1 | ||
| Valencia (loan) | 2015–16 | La Liga | 7 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 3 |
| Villarreal | 2016–17 | La Liga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Villarreal total | 29 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 44 | 7 | ||
| Career total | 151 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 173 | 33 | ||
Honours
Club
- Real Madrid Castilla
- Segunda División B: 2011–12
- Sevilla
- UEFA Europa League: 2013–14
- "El Real Madrid Castilla, campeón de Segunda B" [El Real Madrid Castilla, campeón de Segunda B] (in Spanish). ABC. 10 June 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- "Denis Cheryshev, del infierno al cielo entre Sevilla y Villarreal" [Denis Cheryshev, from hell to heaven between Sevilla and Villarreal] (in Spanish). Goal.com. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.