Irina Grigorieva

Irina Olegovna Grigorieva is a Russian former footballer who played as a midfielder. She played for FC Lyon, Spartak Moscow, CSK VVS Samara and Nadezhda Noginsk.

Internationally, Grigorieva represented three different teams. She first played for the Soviet Union in 1990, before the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. During 1992, she played for the CIS, a brief association of former Soviet republics. Subsequently, she represented Russia.

She captained Russia at the 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup, where she scored in the third match against Canada, as well as at the 1997 and 2001 editions of the UEFA Women's Championship.

The Russian Football Union has described her as: "the best football player in the history of Russia".

Early life Grigorieva grew up in Yasenevo District with her cook mother and mechanic father. She was a childhood figure skater, who later progressed to playing field hockey and bandy.

Club career After Grigorieva's works hockey team "Stankoagregat" were defeated by their rivals in a national Cup final, the team coach suggested forming a football team instead. The club underwent name changes due to sponsorship and quickly became competitive in the Soviet women's football championship. Grigorieva was sent off and banned when her retaliation to being fouled brought about a mass brawl in a game against Nyva Baryshivka. She added two decisive goals in the 1992 Russian Women's Cup final as her club secured a League and Cup "double". but otherwise remained with CSK until their dissolution in 2004. In total, she made 181 league appearances and scored 77 goals for CSK VVS Samara.

In summer 2004 Grigorieva joined FC Energy Voronezh and she represented the club in the 2004–05 UEFA Women's Cup. She appeared as a substitute for Bettina Wiegmann in the World XI's 2–1 win.

She had helped Russia qualify for their first FIFA Women's World Cup by scoring in the qualification playoff win over Finland. She was among several Russian squad members who had been converted to soccer from other sports.

In Russia's 5–0 Group C win over Japan at the final tournament, a notably unselfish display from Grigorieva saw her pass up goal-scoring opportunities for herself while serving three assists to team mates. She opened the scoring herself in the 4–1 win over Canada which secured qualification for the quarter-finals, after which she said: "Sydney is looming, dominating all our thoughts". The team's defensive approach in their 2–0 quarter final defeat by China nullified the attacking threat of "Russia's strongest attacker" Grigorieva.

Post-playing career

After retirement, she worked as a social worker.

Honours

CSK VVS Samara

Russian Women's Football Championship: 1992, 1994, 1996, 2001 Russian Women's Cup: 1994

Lyon

Division 1 Féminine: 1993