Nikita Sergeyevich Krivtsov (born August 18, 2002, Volodarsk, Nizhny Novgorod Region) is a Russian footballer who plays as a midfielder. He has played for the club Krasnodar and is a product of Dzerzhinsk football.[1]
Childhood and early career
He was born in Volodarsk, a small town in Nizhny Novgorod Region near Dzerzhinsk. His father, Sergey Krivtsov, worked at a factory; it was watching football matches together that sparked the son's passion for the game. His first coach was Sergey Komanov, who worked with Nikita in a neighborhood club and was later invited to a leadership position at the Salyut youth sports school in Dzerzhinsk, taking his pupil with him. In Dzerzhinsk, Krivtsov trained under Oleg Shein.[1]
In November 2018, he moved from FC Dzerzhinsk Tosol-Sintez to Moscow's Sokol, then played briefly for Murom. In the 2020/2021 season, he made 16 appearances for Torpedo (Vladimir) in the Olimp-FNL II.[1]
Breakthrough and move to Krasnodar
In February 2021, Krivtsov went on loan to Tom, where in 15 Olimp-FNL matches he scored four goals and made four assists, drawing wide attention from the sports press.[1][2] In the summer of 2021, he returned to Torpedo Vladimir, with which he reached the main stage of the Russian Cup. The subsequent transfer to Krasnodar proved a high-profile one: the fee came to 55 million rubles — almost 20 times more than originally discussed — partly as a result of the personal intervention of Vladimir's mayor, Andrey Shokhin. The move was preceded by a conflict with the agent Aleksandr Manyakov, which ended in a complaint to the RFU's commission on intermediaries: the player received a one-month suspended ban and, according to Eurostavka, paid the agent 3 million rubles to terminate the contract.[1]
In late summer 2021, he made his debut for Krasnodar-2 in the FNL, scoring in his very first match against Baltika, and in September he appeared in the first-team squad for the game against Rostov. Krasnodar head coach Viktor Goncharenko described Krivtsov as "a fairly high-quality player," noting that he would still have to earn a place in the lineup.[2]
In May 2022, in a match against CSKA, Krivtsov struck an accurate shot from outside the penalty area in the 75th minute, beating Igor Akinfeev and securing victory for Krasnodar. He was named the best player of the match; CSKA head coach Aleksey Berezutsky praised the quality of the midfielder's strike.[1] In the Cup quarterfinal that season, Krasnodar routed Akhmat 3–0 in Grozny, with Krivtsov among the goalscorers.[1]
Nizhny Novgorod Roots
Krivtsov was born and spent his early years in Volodarsk, which he himself called "a big village." He received his football training in Dzerzhinsk — first in Sergey Komanov's section, then at the Salyut youth sports school under Oleg Sheyn. The first professional club he was associated with was FC Dzerzhinsk Tosol-Sintez.[1]
Sources
- 24smi.org — Nikita Krivtsov — biography, personal life, photos, news, footballer, wife, salary, Krasnodar, position, statistics 2026 — 24SMI
- sport-express.ru — Viktor Goncharenko on Krivtsov: "You have to earn a place in the squad." Sport-Express