The striker might have scored against Manchester United, but his dream of scoring for the Red Devils would never come to fruition.
And there was one trophy that would elude Sir Alex Ferguson during his final 15 years in charge of the Premier League giants.
After losing to Lazio in the UEFA Super Cup in 1999, Manchester United would find themselves on the wrong end of a 2-1 defeat to Zenit St Petersburg nine years later.
In a period of United dominance, both at home and abroad, that shock reverse at Monaco’s Stade Louis II would come to represent a rare blot on the Red Devils’ copybook.
Manchester United a dream Pavel Pogrebnyak would never fulfil
Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the opener that day, tapping in from close range before Portuguese wizard Danny doubled the lead with a stunning solo effort to render Nemanja Vidic’s late strike a mere consolation.
Now, Pogrebynak achieved a lot in his career.
The former Russia international won domestic and European silverware with Zenit St Petersburg. He would spend four years in England with Fulham and Reading. He scored against Man United in a continental final.
But, speaking to Russian publication Sport24, Pogrebynak admits that, if he had his time again, he would move heaven and earth to ensure he could achieve his ambition of scoring for Manchester United rather than merely against them.
“I dreamed of playing in England all my life. In terms of football, it is the number one country for me,” Pogrebnyak explains. “As for the weather, it did not scare me. I lived in St. Petersburg!
“I adapt to any conditions, and I like it. I always wanted to live in Russia and play in England. In the end, I ended up there, but not at the club I wanted.
“I dreamed of playing for Manchester United.”
Now 40, Pogrebynak left the professional game after a spell at Ural Yekaterinburg in 2021.
The 6ft 2ins centre-forward will be best remembered by Premier League supporters for scoring 11 top-flight goals in 41 appearances for Fulham and Reading a decade ago.
Pogrebynak also represented Spartak, Dinamo Moscow and Stuttgart, claiming the UEFA Cup’s Golden Boot after firing Zenit to glory back in 2008.
Now, his time on the pitch may have passed, but Pogrebnyak is keen to remain connected to his beloved Man United from the sidelines. He admits that he plans to return to England in two months’ time for the first Manchester derby of the current Premier League campaign.
“I want to attend a big English match,” the 33-cap Russia number nine explains. “On December 15, Manchester City and Manchester United will play.
“I plan to be there.”
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Sergei Pinyaev missed out on Old Trafford switch
Man United showed an interest in one of the rising stars of Russian football not so long ago. But, as HITC reports, a move for winger Sergei Pinyaev was denied due to his inability to claim a work permit.
Still only 19 and one of the first names on the team sheet for Lokomotiv Moscow, Pinyaev’s time could still come. But with Premier League clubs avoiding doing business with their Russian counterparts during the Ukraine war, former United wizard Andrei Kanchelskis is not exactly holding his breath.
“He doesn’t have any great chance of getting there,” Kanchelskis told Sport24 last year. “I would like a Russian footballer to continue my story at Manchester United, but this is unlikely.
“There will be no (Russian player) there for the next 25 years.”
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