Igor Akinfeev, Russia’s top goalkeeper of his generation and elder statesman, will be seeking redemption when he plays at home in what may be his last World Cup.
The Moscow native is the venerable captain of a ragtag team decimated by injuries and looking for guidance ahead of the June 14 kickoff.
The engaging 31-year-old with the winning smile would seem to be the calming presence Russia need.
He helped Moscow’s once middling CSKA Red Army club six championship titles and a UEFA Cup trophy in 2005.
His commanding presence saved Russia from added humiliation in a 3-0 World Cup warmup loss to Brazil on Friday.
And his cat-like reflexes have added confidence to a group that has little experience of going up against the likes of Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
But Akinfeev is still haunted by a speculative shot that softly hit his palms and slowly arched in over his head in…
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