Irena Kuznetsov

Irena Kuznetsov
	Kuznetsov playing for Israel in 2021
Personal information
Date of birth	24 April 2002 (age 22)
Place of birth	Hadera, Israel
Position(s)	Defender
Team information
Current team	Turbine Potsdam
Number	4
Youth career
2010–2012	Ironi Sport Hadera (boys)
2012–2016	Maccabi Kishronot Hadera
Senior career*
Years	Team
2016–2019	Girls Football Academy
2019–2020	Maccabi Emek Hefer
2020	AEL Limassol
2020–2021	Maccabi Kishronot Hadera
2021–2022	Ramat HaSharon
2022–	Turbine Potsdam
International career‡
2017–2018	Israel U19
2020–	Israel
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 September 2023; ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 6 June 2024

Irena Kuznetsov (Hebrew: אירנה קוזנצוב, Russian: Ирена Кузнецов; born 24 April 2002) is an Israeli professional footballer who plays as defender for German club 1. FFC Turbine Potsdam and the Israel women's national team.

She also holds a Russian passport.^[1]

Early life

Kuznetsov was born and raised in Hadera, Israel,^[2] to parents who immigrated from Russia to Israel.^[1]

After having played in the boys' sections of the professional men's Israeli Premier League club of Ironi Sport Hadera, Kuznetsov was scouted in 2012 by the professional women's club of the Israeli Ligat Nashim's club, Maccabi Kishronot Hadera.^[3]

In 2012, she began her junior career in a club in the Israeli women's Premier League, where she played until 2016.

In 2016, she signed with the Ligat Nashim club of the Israeli National Women's Football Academy, and made her professional debut at the age of 14.

In 2019, she signed for the season and joined the Israeli club Maccabi Bnot Emek Hefer.

During the summer of 2020, at 18 years of age, she joined the Cypriot first division club AEL Limassol.^[4]^[5]

In November 2020, following poor working conditions, she terminated her contract to engage with Israeli club Maccabi Kishronot Hadera.

In January 2022, Kuznetsov joined German Bundesliga Turbine Potsdam, signing a 3.5-year contract.^[6] In May 2022, she played in the 2021–22 DFB-Pokal Final, which they lost 4–0 to VfL Wolfsburg.^[7]

Best revelation^{[clarification needed]} of the Israeli Women's Premier League 2016–2017
Best defender of Israeli Women's Premier League 2017–2018
Best defender of September/October Cyprus's Women's Premier League 2020-2011

^ ^a ^b "Irena Kuznetsov :: Irena Kuznetsov :: Turbine Potsdam". Playmakerstats. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
^ "Irena Kuznezov". Soccerdonna. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
^ Sharon, Liron (7 September 2020). "היפייפיה שעשתה היסטוריה בכדורגל הישראלי" [The beauty who made history in Israeli football]. Maariv (in Hebrew). Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ Shani, Roi (6 September 2020). "עושה היסטוריה: חתמה בקפריסין, בדרך לצרפת" [Making history: Signed in Cyprus, on the way to France]. One (in Hebrew). Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ Bartel, Lior (7 September 2020). "בדרך לצמרת: אירנה קוזנצוב ורעות מיכאלי חתמו בקבוצת א.א.ל. לימסול מקפריסין" [On the way to the top: Irena Kuznetsov and Reut Michaeli have signed with AEL Limassol of Cyprus]. Davar (in Hebrew). Retrieved 5 October 2020.
^ Bartel, Lior (29 January 2022). "מעבר יוקרתי: אירנה קוזנצוב מצטרפת לפוטסדאם מהליגה הגרמנית בכדורגל" [Prestigious move: Irena Kuznetsov joins Potsdam of the German football league]. Davar (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 September 2023.
^ Bartel, Lior (28 May 2022). "אירנה קוזנצוב שותפה בגמר הגביע הגרמני, וולפסבורג זכתה בדאבל" [Irena Kuznetsov played in the German Cup Final, Wolfsburg won the double]. Davar (in Hebrew). Retrieved 10 September 2023.