“I will come to my senses after the season and decide what to do next.” Interview with Vitaly Fridzon

People like him are called “perpetual motion machines.” Fridzon, 38, has been in form at the highest level for many seasons and, when he enters the field, delights the viewer with spectacular long-range strikes.

The current season in the VTB United League for the 2012 Olympic bronze medalist only started in winter. Then Saratov Avtodor turned to an experienced veteran for help. Surprisingly, the lack of training did not negatively affect Fridzon’s game. As Vitaly says, all this is the result of careful daily work on oneself.

After the end of the season for Avtodor, Fridzon returned to Moscow and decided what to do next. From an interview with with the oldest and one of the most successful basketball players in the league, you will learn:

“Zenit and UNICS will meet in the final of the VTB United League”

— Avtodor failed to advance to the playoffs through play-ins. Are you very upset?

– What can I say ? Of course we wanted to get into the top eight, but it didn’t work out. Nevertheless, I think MBA deserved a chance to compete for the playoffs with Samara, even though the strongest, Samara team, won this match.

— Is the play-in a successful experience for the VTB United League?

— I think it’s a great idea. For teams, an extra chance to qualify for the playoffs. It appears to me that the play-in format will continue in subsequent seasons of the United League.

— Which team do you sympathize with in the playoffs?

– How can I say this when I have played for three of the four clubs mentioned? He spent two seasons with Loko, five with CSKA and three with Zenit. Who should I root for? The strongest will win. According to many indicators, Zenit is the favorite. In addition, they strengthened the team with new good players. Same big chunk of “Darushafaki” – (Josh Carlton – Note: ) – great. He should be a great fit for the team.

At the same time, I am very happy that my old friend Andreas Pistiolis has now arrived at CSKA. He is a very good coach and a very good person. I think he has a wonderful future ahead of him. He knows the essence of the game, how to competently lead the team until the match. So I am looking forward to an interesting confrontation between Zenit and CSKA in the semi-finals.

But it will be difficult for Lokomotiv. He’s going to UNICS and Kazan looks great now. And getting from Krasnodar to other cities today is incredibly difficult. However, the railway workers recruited several additional players at the end of the championship; they have a good rotation.

Nenad Dimitrievich from Kazan just shows crazy basketball. It’s very difficult to stop him. They recovered from their injuries and strengthened the UNICS squad: Andrei Vorontsevich returned, the young Mikhail Belenitsky arrived: he integrated very well. I didn’t even expect Belenitsky to be such a good fit for the Kazan team. If I were UNICS management, I would simply buy this player’s contract from PARI NN.

In the semifinals there will already be a series of up to four victories, and very interesting battles are expected here, everything will be different.

—How do you see the end?

– Zenith – UNICS. In the semi-final, both teams will have home field advantage. Although I have a very good attitude towards the Army team, it will be difficult for them to beat Zenit in the semi-final. In general, the ideal would be to see Zenit and CSKA in the final, but unfortunately this does not work out in the tournament bracket. The finalists will therefore be residents of Saint Petersburg and Kazan

— Many note that the level of the United League championship has increased over the past two years. Do you agree?

– He really grew up. Previously, the championship was essentially a competition between three top teams, with players from across Europe, and the results were predictable. And now it is very difficult to predict them. Maybe only four semi-finalists are possible, that’s what I said before. But then everything will be very interesting and tense.

— Some players from teams that did not reach the playoffs were loaned by our basketball giants until the end of the season: Gankevich, Belenitsky, Vorontsevich. Have you received any such offers?

– No, what are you talking about!.. I’m the oldest in the United League. Where will they take me now?

– Come on. Championship teams, including the leaders, have always shown interest in you.

– Well, I will be 39 years old. Honestly, no one attracted me (laughs). They attract young people ready to help. I probably can’t help as much anymore.

Where am I going to go? At Zenith ? There is a very well equipped group, a long bench. Should I come and sit down? There have been changes in the CSKA coaching staff recently. The youngest came to UNICS. There are a lot of young people in Loko. “Parma” by Zhenya Pashutin? I treat him very well, and he treats me too. Pashutin knows basketball. But he has his own system.

No, I haven’t had any offers. Therefore, I was happy to finish the championship in Saratov. Unfortunately, we failed to reach the playoffs. In addition, there is another nuance: before April 13, you could theoretically join another team, but after that – no. So what to talk about?

“Kirilenko said: “We are going to our headquarters. “

— Has your contract with Avtodor already ended?

– Yes all. You talk about me like you’re at the peak of your career. I’m already several years old. I think, “Maybe we should finish it?” Maybe that’s enough?

– It’s impossible ! You are a perpetual motion machine in our basketball.

— Yes, everyone already tells me: put an end to your playing career. Andrei Kirilenko said: “Let’s go to our headquarters. »There is a lot to do there. In the Bryansk region, where I was born, for example, there are a lot of interesting things. If we succeed, we will expand all of this.

We can already do something for basketball, for sport, without being on the field. Because it’s very difficult to play at that level all the time. You have to recover a lot after matches and take this process very seriously.

In fact, we now offer many interesting tournaments and events. The same “IES Basket” is a competition between schools: all of Russia plays from September to April. I was there as a guest. It’s a very interesting topic, on a large scale. In our time there was no such thing. In general, there are many different ideas, both outside and around basketball. There were also various show-type basketball events. Our basketball stars and representatives of show business – Klava Koka, Yana Koshkina – took part in it.

—Where is Kirilenko calling you anyway? Have you been offered a position in the Russian Basketball Federation?

“I won’t say anything about that for now.” In a way, you are way ahead of yourself (laughs). I said there were a lot of interesting things. It’s only been a week since the season ended for me. Let me come to my senses, rest and think about what I should do next.

It has now been four years since I finished my basketball career. Why not play a little more?

– So you are at a crossroads?

– Yes, it’s just perfect wording. In general, play or go to the Bryansk region – there, by the way, there will be a team in the major league. In Bryansk, a huge sports base was built, with many halls. Now I won’t go into details: as soon as I have decided everything, I will tell you right away what is happening. Don’t worry. I can’t say yet what I will do, but there are options.

“I’m waiting for Ovechkin to teach me hockey”

– Now, as I understand it, your main task is to rest. Where are you going on vacation?

— When Sanya Ovechkin returns home after the NHL season, we will go on vacation together. We are planning to go to Türkiye in June. Most likely in Kemer.

— I know that you follow the national football championship closely.

– Well, I wouldn’t say that. I take a look. I know the players of my generation better: Yura Zhirkov, Sasha Samedov, Fedya Smolov… Most of the guys have already finished their careers. Fedya still plays. Yura Zhirkov sometimes plays hockey at the amateur level. I managed to move on to this sport.

— You don’t want to follow Zhirkov’s example?

– Yes, I’ve never skated before! I’m waiting for Ovechkin to teach me, but so far we haven’t gotten to that point. Sanya gave me the material, but hasn’t taught it to me yet (laughs).

— How do you like the general level of RPL?

– Good in principle. I just watched the match between CSKA and Spartak, which ended in a goalless draw. Zenit unexpectedly lost to Rubin. You see, the surprises begin. It’s very good for the league. The intrigue in the championship is growing.

— How are you coping with the fact that we no longer compete on the international stage in most sports?

— First of all, I worry about our youth, about the boys. After all, it is for the sake of the national team that you work and train so hard for so many years. You wanted to be there, you did your best to defend your country’s flag at the Olympics…

Now, as I understand it, someone will compete in an event at the Games under a neutral flag. There, people are forced to sign all kinds of different papers. It’s something… But I don’t blame these athletes. I have participated in two Olympic Games, seven European Championships and two World Championships. This is of course an unforgettable competition, feelings cannot be expressed in words. And winning a medal at the Olympics is divine.

— In your opinion, how soon will we return to the international scene?

– A complicated problem. It’s definitely not for me. Of course, I hope we can come back as soon as possible.

During the competition, we will show what we are capable of. We have a very strong men’s basketball team. In character, in skill – in everything! There are a lot of talented guys there. I hope we see all this in practice soon.

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