Moscow-born star striker who and began his football career with the Spartak Moscow football school, progressing through the ranks and eventually playing for the first-team.
Went out on loan at various lower league clubs in Russia before FC Tom Tomsk, where he went on to make a name for himself after scoring 13 goals in 26 games.
Made his international debut for Russia against Latvia in August 2006, scoring in his first match, and now boasts a total of 33 caps and eight goals.
After impressing at Tom Tomsk, Pavel got his big move to Zenit St Petersburg in 2007 and went on to win the Russian Premier League and the Russian Super Cup.
Was a key figure in the club’s 2008 UEFA Cup triumph, scoring the joint highest amount of goals in the tournament. He then scored a vital goal in Zenit’s famous 2-1 win over Manchester United in the subsequent UEFA Super Cup.
Signed for Bundesliga club Stuttgart, where he made 68 appearances over three seasons before signing for Premier League Fulham on loan in January 2012.
In his brief spell at the Cottagers, Pogrebnyak scored six goals in 12 appearances, including a ‘perfect’ hat-trick against Wolves.
Pavel was part of Russia’s 23-man squad for Euro 2012 and made an appearance from the bench in the final group stage game. His contract with Stuttgart expired in the same summer and consequently signed for Reading.