Vyacheslav Malafeev is a Russian football goalkeeper who played for Zenit St. Petersburg football club. He started his career at age 6 in the football school "Change". In 1997, he graduated from the football school and joined Zenit St. Petersburg. He became a member of the Russian national team in 2000 and made his debut for Russia in 2003 against Wales. Throughout his career with Zenit and the national team, Malafeev won several awards including being named Goalkeeper of the Year in 2003 and captaining Russia in 2011 matches against Qatar and Cameroon before retiring from the national team in 2012 to spend more time with his family.