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Dmitri Kharine

Dmitri Viktorovich Kharine (Дмитрий Викторович Харин), (born 16 August 1968 in Moscow) is a retired Russian footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

He played for Russian sides Torpedo Moscow, FC Dynamo Moscow and CSKA Moscow in the early part of his career, before moving to English Premiership club Chelsea in December 1992 for £400,000.

With Chelsea, Kharine impressed en route to the 1994 FA Cup Final - though he conceded four goals in the final itself - and then the club's Cup Winners' Cup run a year later. His later years at the club were blighted by injury problems and the signing of Dutch goalkeeper Ed de Goey, which limited him to 20 appearances in his last three seasons. In total, he played in 146 games for Chelsea. He joined Scottish side Celtic in the summer of 1999 on a free transfer.

Kharine arrived at Celtic Park as the first signing of new management team John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish, but injury problems ensured that he played just 11 games for the club. He was released in the summer of 2002 and signed for non-League side Hornchurch, where he was sent off on his debut.

Kharine was also an international; as a result of the political turmoil in his home nation, he ended up playing for three different teams. He won six caps for the USSR, eleven for the CIS and then 23 for Russia. He represented the Soviet Union at the 1988 Summer Olympics, winning a gold medal in the football competition. He played for the CIS at the 1992 European Football Championship, performing well in the 0-0 draw with Holland in Gothenburg; and for Russia at USA 94 and Euro 96, with his team going out in the group stages on each occasion. He won his last cap in September 1998 against Ukraine.