A new star has emerged in Russian football. 18-year-old Imran Firov delivered three crucial points for CSKA Moscow in his debut match in the Russian Premier League. Coming off the bench early in the second half, he provided an assist in the 89th minute and scored the winning goal just a minute later. The young midfielder made his first appearance in the top flight a memorable one.
Firov had previously played just a few minutes against Spartak in the Cup, but now he has burst onto the championship scene. The opportunity came from interim head coach Dmitry Igdisamov, who knew the midfielder well from the youth team.
What else should you know about Imran?
1. **Born in 2008** – Firov is only 18. To put it in perspective: when the Russian national team reached the semi-finals of the European Championship in 2008, he was just four months old. That’s how young this CSKA sensation is.
2. **Historic debut** – According to Opta, Firov is the youngest debutant in RPL history to both score and assist in his first match (since statistics began in 2009). Only three other players have achieved two goal contributions in a single game at a younger age: Sergey Pinyaev (who was 74 days younger), Alexey Miranchuk, and Zhano Ananidze (both 17 at the time).
3. **Hometown hero** – Firov was born in the village of Kakhun in Kabardino-Balkaria, a settlement of about 8,000 people. He is now arguably the most famous native of Kakhun, surpassing even the Soviet poet and writer Amirkhan Khavpachev.
4. **CSKA academy product** – Imran has been in the CSKA academy since childhood. At age 10, he even scored against Spartak’s second team in the Moscow Championship. In October 2024, at 16, he signed his first professional contract with the club.
5. **Youth international** – Last year, Firov played every match for the Russian U-17 national team, scoring four goals in 12 appearances.
6. **Physical standout** – Imran was one of the best in his age group at CSKA, not only in technique but also in physical tests: long jumps, dribbling at speed, agility, and explosiveness. He showcased that by beating two defenders before his assist in the RPL.
7. **Dominating the Youth League** – At the start of this season in March, he scored four goals in five matches. He remains one of the team’s top scorers even though he hasn’t played for a month due to first-team duties.
8. **Same agency as Golovin** – Firov is represented by the same agency that manages Alexander Golovin, as well as Artyom Karpukas, Nikolay Komlichenko, and Matvey Lukin.
9. **Winter Cup winner** – Firov was part of CSKA’s squad that won the RPL Winter Cup, coming off the bench in matches against Krasnodar, Dynamo, and Zenit, playing a total of 75 minutes. Former coach Fabio Celestini gradually integrated him into the first team.
10. **More productive than Luciano Gondou** – Imran already has more goal contributions this season than CSKA’s Argentine forward. Gondu has only one goal in the spring and no assists in 23 RPL matches (905 minutes) — almost 30 times more playing time than Firov. And Firov is a midfielder.
Will we be hearing more about Imran Firov? Absolutely. Keep an eye on this young talent.
