MOSCOW, September 30. /TASS/. The Russian Football Union (RFU) has named Zenit St. Petersburg FC’s forward Artyom Dzyuba as the most valuable player of the 2019/2020 season of the Russian Premier League (RPL), the RFU press service announced on Wednesday.

Dzyuba, 32, who is also the captain of the Russian national football team, has been playing for Zenit St. Petersburg FC since 2015 and in the past season of the Russian Premier League (RPL) he chalked up 17 goals and 13 assists in 28 matches leading Zenit St. Petersburg FC to win the RPL Championship and to later clinch the Russian Cup.

During his stint with the national squad, Dzyuba scored 26 goals in his 44-match appearances, which is ranked as the second best result in the history of the Russian national football team.

He currently shares this 2nd place with Vladimir Beschastnykh, who also scored 26 goals in his 72-match appearances for the Russian national team, following Alexander Kerzhakov, who holds a record of 30 goals for the Russian national football team.

At the 2018 FIFA World Cup, hosted by Russia in 11 cities across the country, Dzyuba led his national squad to the quarterfinals stage of the global football championship, where Russia lost to Croatia in a penalty shootout (3-4) following a tense match, which ended with 2-2 draw in the main time.