On This Day: 19-year-old Samedov scores hat-trick against Amkar

On 18 April 2004, Spartak scored six goals against Amkar, and Aleksandr Samedov was the author of three of them.

Oleg Romantsev first named the player in a matchday squad for the red-white match in May 2002, when he was still 17 years old. However, Samedov’s debut didn’t take place in that game against Sokol, but on 17 November in the 1-0 derby defeat against Torpedo, which Samedov liked as a child before moving to Spartak’s academy. Back then, he lived near Torpedo’s Eduard Streltsov stadium.

In 2003 he played six Russian Premier Liga games for Spartak, and the following year wanted to establish himself in the first team. "After all, it's time to turn 20 soon. I have played four matches under Romantsev and three under Chernyshov. But it didn't go any further. I finished the season in the reserve team again. I don't want to blame anyone; it’s my own fault. I was given a chance but I didn't manage to take it. Well, now I will try not to miss it," the midfielder told Sport-Express during pre-season training camps.

Samedov was very impressed with the new Spartak manager Nevio Scala. "He has very interesting training sessions. I discussed it with my teammates and everyone likes it. It is felt that we are starting to improve, especially tactically. It's also nice that everyone is equal to him. He doesn't have any favorites in the team."

The Italian picked the young midfielder in the UEFA Cup third round against Mallorca. Spartak lost 3-0 at home (one of the goals was scored by future Anzhi Makhachkala forward Samuel Eto'o), but won 1-0 in Spain thanks to a strike from a 19-year-old Samedov. The midfielder also brought Scala his first win in the RPL. On the third matchday, the Red-Whites beat Torpedo-Metallurg, and Samedov scored an 89th minute winner to make it 3-2.

He scored in the next game as Spartak defeated Rotor Volgorgrad by the same scoreline. The Muscovites were unbeaten through the opening five matchdays until they were beaten 2-1 by Torpedo. For the defeat, Spartak exacted revenge on RPL newcomers Amkar, who had only conceded three goals in the championship before that meeting.

Samedov scored the same amount against Amkar, and it was at the Torpedo Stadium so familiar from his childhood. He scored the first goal in the 31st minute, and two more in the middle of the second half. The midfielder added an assist to his hat-trick to help Pavel Pogrebnyak score his debut goal in the RPL.

"I experienced a lot of positive emotions," the player recalled 14 years later in an interview with the Spartak press service. “This is the only hat-trick in my career. And now it's nice to remember. It was a really good day."

After the defeat of Amkar began an unsuccessful run with Spartak; he did not score for four months, and the team fell into the relegation zone. On 28 August, Samedov scored a goal for the first time since the hat-trick, and the Red and Whites beat Krylia Sovetov Samara 3-1. Only a few days after the victory, Scala was sacked. The player worked with Aleksandr Starkov for less than a year, then in the summer of 2005 he moved to Lokomotiv, and Spartak bought Vladimir Bystrov from Zenit St. Petersburg instead.

Spartak tried to bring Samedov back five years later when FC Moscow withdrew from the RPL, but he chose Dynamo Moscow. In 2012, the midfielder returned to Lokomotiv, and five years later he became red and white again. "I hope - no, I am sure - that I will succeed at Spartak!” said the player after signing the contract. Six months later, he became champion of Russia for the first time in his career.

When Scala congratulated Spartak for the title, he specifically recalled Samedov. "Sasha started playing constantly with me," said the Italian coach to SE. "At that time, he was a very young promising football player who was distinguished by his upbringing. He was a pleasure to deal with."

The text uses material from interviews with Sport-Express and the official website of Spartak.