Valeri Karpin (born February 2, 1969 in Narva, Estonia) is a Russian football midfielder, who currently plays for Real Sociedad in Spain.
This is Karpin's second tour with Sociedad, having previously played there from 1994 to 1996. He also played for Fakel Voronezh (1989), Spartak Moscow (1990-94), Valencia (1996-97), and Celta Vigo (1997-2002). Karpin was named Russian Footballer of the Year in 1999.
For Russia, Karpin has been capped 72 times, scoring 17 goals (he was also capped once for the USSR). He scored Russia's first goal after the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a 2-0 win against Mexico on August 17, 1992. Karpin played for his country at the 1994 World Cup, Euro 96, and the 2002 World Cup.
