Athletistic/Football. One of the famous journalists and commentators of the 21st century is Vasily Utkin. He became famous at the beginning of the century thanks to his work on the NTV and NTV Plus television channels. Later, Vasily Utkin worked for Match TV and the Eurosport channel. Recently, Utkin has become more involved in journalism and blogging activities and has actively maintained his Youtube and Telegram channels. He also headed the media football club “Egrisi”.
Today, March 19, a tragic event occurred. Vasily Utkin died at the age of 52. Recently he has experienced serious health problems. In October 2023, he was diagnosed with atherosclerosis. The preliminary cause of death was pulmonary embolism. Vasily Utkin was hospitalized, but the doctors could not save him.
The death of Vasily Utkin could not leave the sports community aside. The RPL clubs expressed their condolences. The RFU (Russian Football Union) also published a message on this subject.
– Sports journalist, commentator and blogger Vasily Utkin died at the age of 52. We express our condolences to Vasily’s family and friends,” the statement said.
Former world number one tennis player Yevgeny Kafelnikov reacted to the death of Vasily Utkin.
– Of course, it’s a big loss. First of all, for loved ones. Suddenly. His strong point is football. Everyone will remember Vasily for his wonderful “Football Club”, which he led with great enthusiasm. And with everything he tried to convey to the fans,” Kafelnikov said, as quoted by Match TV.
Head coach of the Russian national football team Valery Karpin spoke about Vasily Utkin. He admitted they were friends.
– How can you react? I’m shocked. We talked and were friends. They were exactly friends. “I can call him a friend,” Karpin said, as quoted by Match TV.
I couldn’t do without pleasant memories of my colleagues. Commentator Georgy Cherdantsev spoke about Vasily Utkin and his influence on national journalism.
– There are creative people who change jobs. Only a few actors, directors and representatives of other creative fields are capable of this. They come and do something that no one has done before. They destroy the stereotypes of the profession and push its limits. Vasya Utkin did it as a sports commentator. He changed the language of the commentary. In fiction, only great writers are capable of this. Vasya loved literature and knew it very well. And he became the first to comment on the post-Soviet era in clear, modern and sophisticated Russian. Vasya changed the language of the sports commentator profession. And he left a big mark on that,” Cherdantsev said, as quoted by Match TV.
Honored figure skating coach of the USSR Tatyana Tarasova also reacted to what happened.
– Utkin spoke very often, a lot and very well. He’s a real person, a real commentator. He had what defines a profession. He was a very great commentator in his profession. Thanks to him, for some reason, he always supported me. Even though we barely knew each other,” Tarasova said, as quoted by Match TV.
Former head coach of the Russian national football team Oleg Romantsev also admitted that Utkin’s death was a big blow for him.
– For me it’s a hard blow, a big hard blow. I am deeply hurt ! I didn’t even come to my senses. Very unexpected. Vasily was my good friend. He and I often argued, we often disagreed. But they always listened to each other, they always listened to each other. And, generally speaking, we reached consensus. Utkin is an era. An era in journalism, in the commentary business,” Romantsev was quoted as saying by Match TV.
Yaroslav Piatykh, Athletistic
Source: Sport
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
