On Friday, the 41-year-old striker, six-time national champion Danis Zaripov announced his retirement and played a farewell match with “Ak Barsa” . “” decided to discuss this event with a well-known specialist, the former coach of the Russian national team Vyacheslav Bykov . It was in his team that Zaripov became world champion twice – in 2008 and 2009, returning our team to the top step of the podium after a 15-year break.
The conversation focused on the role of the player’s strong personality in building the team and popularizing hockey in general. After all, Zaripov has become a truly cult figure in Tatarstan, the Urals and in the national team. At the same time, we talked with Bykov about the successes in KHL clubs of his former CSKA partners – Sergey Fedorov and Igor Larionov. And the return to the KHL of another famous player – born world champion and leader Alexander Radulov.
“Players like Danis create a climate in the team”
“It’s sad that players like Zaripov are leaving our hockey,” said Bykov. – Following the example of Danis, several generations of children have grown up. Hockey players like him are the standard bearers for the promotion and popularization of hockey.
Moreover, Zaripov, in addition to his athletic qualities, is also generously endowed with human qualities. After all, thanks to hockey, children develop properties that will be useful to them later in life. Hockey makes them harmonious members of our society. Because people involved in this sport know from childhood what work, pain, defeat and victory are. They know how to succeed when they work as a team. They can teach it to others. Zaripov is an example because he built his career through hard work.
– Rate Zaripov as a player.
– Danis is a very talented hockey player who clearly and subtly feels the essence of the game and the situation on the field. Technically, he is very gifted and his talent has been perfected over many years of work. He is a versatile player, always more attracted by the qualities of a goalscorer. But at the same time, Zaripov is also a skilled playmaker, this is an important component of his talent. It has eight eyes on its head – two on the front, two on the back, and a pair on the sides. This immediately enriches his game, embellishing it with passes and situations that Danis creates on the ice.
Moreover, he improved his skills throughout his career, never stopping. So he stayed at the highest level for so long both at the club and the national team. This is what distinguishes the great masters. They are never okay with what they have, they are always trying to do more.
– You mentioned that Zaripov also has rich human qualities.
– I was lucky that life pushed me against such guys in hockey. Players like Danis are a great joy for a coach. It is thanks to them that the team obtains results. They decorate the hockey, attracting the boys to the sections, and now the girls too. It was the human qualities that allowed Zaripov to become not only a famous player, but a great personality. He is a very nice person, friendly, open, very pleasant in communication. Scholar, literate, literate, family… Such guys are gold, our genetic heritage.
– As a coach, did you appreciate Zaripov not only as a goalscorer, but also as a person who builds a team? Bring the players together?
– Without a doubt. Such players create an internal climate in the team. On the one hand, hard work and discipline. And on the other – the desire to support each other, to rejoice. If necessary, do it with humor, with a kind of cheerful criticism. Cool players are often very humorous. Because the essence of our game is creativity, impromptu. Here they do on ice. At such times, we want to call them artists and poets. As long as there is creativity in the team’s play, the opponent will not face it, it will always be a step, a centimeter or a fraction of a second late, because creativity is unpredictable. It will give advantage, result, victory and joy to the fans.
– The phenomenon of players like Zaripov is that, being the soul and pranksters in the locker room, they are also brilliant leaders on the ice. Do you agree?
— Yes, at the same time they are so authoritarian that they don’t have to raise their voices. Thanks to such players, powerful teams are created. Then they make the fans believe in the team, and you get a whole community of people united by one goal. The team is built on strong personalities ready to put their “I” behind the interests of the team. Thanks to them, an internal amalgam is created, forcing you to lie down under the puck to help a friend. I’m sure Danis will be successful in whatever he does after his playing career is over. Our country needs leaders like him, both in sports and in other industries.
“Radulov will always be in sight. In the Gagarin Cup, he will show himself even better”
– How do you find the current KHL championship?
– The playoffs promise to be very interesting, since the teams are vying for participation in the Gagarin Cup until the very end of the regular season. I am very happy that CSKA is with my friend Sergei Fedorov works confidently at the regular season finish line and aims to win.
– In the last games, the army team strikes with super performance.
— It is important to keep this load. This is a signal from CSKA for the opponents: “We are back and we are ready!” It is interesting to watch their cup matches.
– Especially since not only at the bottom, but also among the leaders of the conferences, one fights to the end for the high places of the table.
— The teams have equalized, and that’s great! When there is no clear leader, fan interest immediately increases. Candidates for the Gagarin Cup have become much more. And the appetite of the teams has increased.
– What can you say about Torpedo, who is coached by another old friend of yours from CSKA and the USSR national team, Igor Larionov?
– Game for fans “Torpedo” I like it and it’s great. The tactics that Larionov instilled in the team, gives the result. But before the team from Nizhny Novgorod is a serious test – the playoffs. But we remember how Sergei Fedorov came to CSKA and won the Gagarin Cup in the first year. Phenomenon!
It’s great that my CSKA partners, colleagues and friends are coming back to big hockey and sharing their experience. And especially trying to give, like Larionov, some kind of new direction in the game. Let’s see how the Gagarin Cup will go for his team, but the intentions are clear and the fans are eagerly awaiting what will happen in relegation. Such increased public interest also distinguishes the current championship.
– Do you have your favorite in the next Gagarin Cup?
– First I was brought up by Chelyabinsk hockey, then army hockey, to a greater extent. So, in essence and in life, I am a soldier and I will deal first with CSKA. But I will also follow S.K.A. and for “Salavat Yulayev” , to whom Igor Zakharkin and I also devoted part of our lives and with whom we won cups. It was a pleasant experience, in these clubs we still have a lot of friends. I can’t wait to see how things develop.
– By the way, another good friend of yours, Alexander Radulov, returned to the KHL and, as before, turned out to be a real leader. Although many doubted it.
– Such players cannot and do not know how to go below their level. It is not in their temperament or in their upbringing. Radulov will always be in sight. I’m not surprised that Alexandre showed himself well in the regular season. And I’m sure he’ll do even better in the playoffs. Players like Zaripov and Radulov lead by example and captivate partners with their dedication. They show how much you have to give of yourself to get a result. There are very few players with such energy and such excitement, with such a desire to win, it’s a rarity! This is where young people need to be educated.
I wish the fans to feel all the joy and excitement of the playoffs. And our players – to show their best qualities.
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Watch live broadcasts of KHL matches on the federal channel , thematic channels of the holding, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
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.
