“Kharlamov: I speed up, I think, well, that’s it – I’ll kill you”
“The first time I saw Kharlamov was when he was playing for Chebarkul, and I was still in Kirovo-Chepetsk,” Krikunov recalled. – First they came to our game, then we went to them. But I didn’t play the second game. I ate something in Chebarkul and poisoned myself.
But in Kirovo-Chepetsk they played against us with Sasha Gusev. Later I started playing for Saratov, and Kharlamov and Gusev for CSKA. There we met again. And here we had a story, in my opinion, it was in the 1974/75 season. And then Kharlamov himself told me about it when we flew somewhere together to play for the national team. We sit together – me, Petrov and Kharlamov. And Valera said to me:
I ran into your penny, then you gave it to me. I did not expect it, fell, the puck went into the corner. I see you running after her. I think: well, everything, I’ll split it now nafig. I accelerate, I think: I’m going to kill. And there, you’re just picking up the puck. And suddenly, at the very last moment, you walked away. And I, with all my madness, will crash sideways. You stole the puck, you passed it and you tapped me on the shoulder: “Valerik, it’s your fault. I thought I’d kill you, but now I’m sitting on the ice and I can’t get my legs off the board.
The runners were metal, not plastic, as they are now. And the sides are made of wood, adds Krikunov. – And they dug into the board in Kharlamov and got stuck there. Here Valera tells me further:
I sit down, pull my legs up and you’re gone. And suddenly I felt so funny. He got his legs out somehow. I go to the bench and the laughter chokes me. I went to the side, sat down and just choked on laughter. Everyone asks me, “What makes you laugh?” “. And I said, “Let go.” And I keep laughing…
All this comes from the words of Valerka. He told me himself on the plane, – ends the story of Krikunov. – Somewhere we flew before the World Cup …
“Valerka was healthy. It’s now that the players have legs, like the Indian peasants”
– In Chebarkul, Kharlamov already stood out? It was clear that he is a future star?
– Well, like a star … He was only 20 years old then, and I was even younger, 18. We only knew that two from CSKA were sent there. And so they played in the street. There is not much ice there, especially in Chebarkul.
Then there were different cases in the games. I remember going to beat Kharlamov. It seems to be there, right in front of me, and suddenly… evaporated! I fly, and in front of me is the void, I missed. Valera, of course, skated very well. It was very crisp, fast, directly responsive.
– Faster than current players?
“I would say much healthier. Now I look at the players: some have legs, like Indian peasants. And before, we all had huge knives. Not a single panty fits Skvortsov, they were specially embroidered for him. He didn’t have his size. It was a little different job. Before, after all, we trained more, we played less. Now the KHL players are all stylish.
“On the bench, Petrov, Kharlamov and Mikhailov swore so much it was just fear of God”
– Have you ever played with Kharlamov in the same five?
– Played for the national team in a tournament in Finland. They were all different. Somehow I didn’t give the pass to Mikhailov, he immediately asks: “Why didn’t you give me the pass?” I, I said, saw that a defender hit you from behind. And he: “Yeah, I don’t care, you just give it back to me faster, and I’ll cheat on him anyway, I’m leaving.”
And they also had such an interaction in the first three – two passes and they were already in a foreign zone. The defenseman only gave them the puck, immediately – pike! Diagonally there, then in the other direction and they are already at the doors of the others, fast everything. And they forced the defensemen to give them the puck right away. No lead there, hold … The first pass – immediately on the attack. You just walk up to the puck and immediately push it forward. There were a lot of one-touch passes.
Now the attack develops differently. Although the average speed of hockey has become faster. When they played against the Canadians, they also didn’t follow Petrov, Mikhailov and Kharlamov – chik, chik and that’s it. The main thing is to pass the pass accurately.
– When you played for Kristall or Dynamo Riga against Kharlamov, was there a task to take care of him personally?
– It was difficult to do, because they weren’t playing individually, but as a linked whole. And Kharlamov, in addition to that, also skated very well, changed direction very well. It seems to roll straight and suddenly sideways it goes sharply. But the main asset of this military troika is the colossal interaction. They were always open to each other, they felt very good. It was impossible to close them. Although on the bench, Kharlamov, Petrov and Mikhailov swore at each other so much that it was only fear of God.
– Why?!
– God forbid, something went wrong on the ice or someone did not give a pass, how they will scribble – ta-ta-ta, they did not give themselves a descent. When the game is over, they stick together, friends again, and on the pitch they glue each pass. Awesome!
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
