Former sports minister Pavel Kolobkov explained in a interview why authority in sport shouldn’t be judged by popularity and income, but by skill and results.
According to Kolobkov, the skepticism of representatives of non-combat sports towards football players is based on the old words of Oleg Romantsev.
– Athletes in non-sports sports, especially those with badges like yours, are often skeptical of football players, comparing their popularity and financial status to titles won. Is there a twist here?
– Football is objectively the most popular and competitive sport, it is played all over the world. As a child, I also dreamed of becoming a footballer first, then a hockey player. Winning in any sport is very difficult, the question is different. The skepticism is sometimes directed not at the players, but at their attitude towards the question. If an athlete is killed, dies on the field, behaves with dignity, progresses, what are the claims against him? Semak, for example, is a modest, knowledgeable, intelligent and professional person. His career and biography do not give the slightest reason for criticism.
At the same time, the reaction of the players is sometimes mutual. Sometimes they position themselves as if sporting achievements are only measured by money and popularity. It is important that the level of ambition and vanity match the skill. It depends a lot on the character.
I remember Romantsev’s phrase, said with the implication that any Spartak substitute in Russia is much more famous than a non-world football champion. These words are many years old, but someone still considers them to be true, although the thesis is offensive and unfair. They told a story. Moscow 1980 Olympic champion pentathlete Anatoly Starostin was at the Novogorsk training camp. There is also a football team. Tolik sat in the dining room in his usual place, a very famous football player from Dynamo Kyiv came over and said, “I’m sitting here.” – “And who are you? Starostin replies. “I am the world champion, so when you become, then come.”
– Conflict.
– It ended peacefully, the player left, although Tolik was mistaken. The bottom line is different: before, authority was not measured by money and fame, but by competence, place in the sports hierarchy and results.
Was Oleg Blokhin a presidential candidate?
“I didn’t want to talk, but they figured it out,” Kolobkov told .
Anatoly Starostin is a double Olympic champion and five-time modern pentathlon world champion. Oleg Blokhin – double Olympic bronze medalist, winner of the Golden Ball, record holder for the number of matches for the USSR national team.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ben Stock and I work in Athletistic as an author. My specialty is covering football news and other related topics. I have been writing for this website since the past 2 years, crafting compelling stories with the latest updates in the sports world. My articles have gained widespread appreciation amongst readers due to their accuracy and depth of research.
