JOE’s Forgotten Footballers: Dimitri Kharine

While Roman Abramovich is leading the Russian Revolution at Stamford Bridge, you could argue it was started much earlier by a man who made jogging pants acceptable.

By Declan Whooley

Dimitri Kharine was one of the most distinctive players in the Premier League during the 90s with a haircut that was stuck in a time warp, those jogging pants which broke the mould and his penchant for making routine saves look a little more spectacular than they needed to be. And he wasn’t half bad either.

The Russian shot-stopper was brought to Stamford Bridge in December 1992 for £400,000 from CSKA Moscow and is one of a select band of foreign players that played in the inaugural Premier League season. Man. Utd’s Andrei Kanchelskis beat Kharine to the chase as the first Russian to play in the league and since then only six of his countrymen have tasted Premier League action.

While he made just a handful of appearances in his first season, the 1993/94 campaign saw him assume the number one jersey at Stamford Bridge. He was particularly impressive in the club’s run to the FA Cup Final, though he conceded four goals to a United side that was to claim the Double.

While the league form was patchy at best, he was instrumental in helping Chelsea reach the semi-final of the Cup Winner’s Cup the following year, a significant achievement at the time for a club that had not reached such a stage in a European competition since the 1970s.

That was perhaps the highlight for Kharine at the Bridge as injuries and the signing of Ed de Goey restricted his game time. He made just 20 appearances in his final three seasons in London, and the cup success enjoyed by Gianluca Vialli at the time bypassed the Russian.

He was unfit for the 1997 FA Cup Final and did not make the squad for either the Cup Winner’s Cup or the League Cup Final victories the following year.

Surplus to requirements at Chelsea, he was signed on a free transfer by Celtic in 1999 under the ill-fated management team of Kenny Dalglish and John Barnes. While he lasted longer at Parkhead (three years) than the management, he only played 11 times for the Hoops.

He left Parkhead in the summer of 2002 and togged out for non-league side Hornchurch for two seasons, though his debut had a touch of the ‘Jonathan Woodgates’ about it; seeing red on his first outing was not the ideal start. Today he is a goalkeeping coach for Conference side Luton Town.

A headline maker's dream

As an international in the late 80s and early 90s, he was present for a turbulent period of Russian history and holds caps for the USSR, CIS and Russia, earning the final of his 23 caps in 1998.

Always colourful, but highly respected by his peers, Kharine was part of the early breed of foreign players that did not instantly disappear and is still remembered fondly by Chelsea supporters.

And for everyone else, he is a reminder that the fashion police weren't established until after he left Stamford Bridge.