I haven’t seen you in a long time Valeria Belova , although the coach is noticeable. Worked extensively at the Moscow headquarters “Dynamo” And “Ak Barsa” , was Zinetula Bilyaletdinov’s right-hand man. He was a member of the Olympic headquarters of the Russian team in Sochi 2014. And he led Ak Bars for two years when Bilyaletdinov left the KHL, preparing for the Olympics as a released specialist.
And you won’t believe it, we met on a charter that transported us from Moscow to Taimyr. A charity match between the Legends of Hockey and the NHL team from Norilsk took place there. The veterans won with a score of 11:6. Belov himself has worked in the VHL in recent years. And if he manages one of the best clubs in this league, I won’t be surprised at all. But now this coach is open to suggestions.
“Throwing up hockey?” It’s hard work, experts! »
— Why was Ak Bars eliminated in the first round of the Gagarin Cup, losing to Avtomobilist (1-4)? But Kazan was considered the main favorite for the playoffs.
— Of course, I communicate with Zinetula Khaidarovich. But not so often. We spoke several times during the season. So I won’t tell you the details from the locker room.
But like any team, if leaders don’t capitalize on their strengths, it affects everyone. The same thing happened with Ak Bars.
— Some experts even said that Ak Bars played “vomit” hockey. He is too closed and not very creative.
– Well, it’s hard work, dear experts. When they say that Ak Bars played defensively, you know, Yekaterinburg showed no less closed hockey. On the contrary, it is “Avtomobilist” which has not been revealed. And it was “Ak Bars” who always had to break through in their defense, where goalkeeper Evgeniy Alikin also plays very well.
By the way, the same thing is currently happening with SKA, which is trying to break through the redoubts of the Avtomobilist. The score in the series is again 3-0 in favor of Yekaterinburg, and it is not like that.
Zinetula Khaidarovich said that it was not a question of pressure. The whole question is to win, because the opponent played like that. So there is no need to distort here.
And the rest of the nuances – the majority didn’t work well, something else, the leaders weren’t as brilliant… It’s one thing after another.
— When was the last time you communicated with Bilyaletdinov?
“I called him recently to congratulate him on his birthday. We agreed to meet upon his arrival in Moscow. We didn’t speak for long, his phone was ringing without answering.
But I repeat once again that there is no need to blame Ak Bars for poor tactics. Well, how else should you have played against Avtomobilist, who prepared very well for the playoffs? He dismantled his opponents so much that he didn’t really let Kazan do anything.
— If we take away the abnormal 5:0 in the fourth match, Ak Bars has scored only three goals in this series.
– It is not enough. You can’t beat Avtomobilist that way. Implementation was weak. And of course, Ak Bars himself didn’t play that hard, something to discuss. There were few scoring opportunities.
Yes, Ak Bars still hasn’t played as well as he should have on offense. It’s clear to everyone. And for the most part, they didn’t really score anything. One game in the series worked for Ak Bars, but the rest didn’t.
“Bilyaletdinov could stay, but in a different role”
— There are no details yet about Alexander Radulov, is he staying? The contract is coming to an end. What will Ak Bars lose if Radulov leaves?
— According to statistics, Radulov, like Dima Yudin, became the top scorers of Ak Bars in these playoffs, each scoring 4 points (1+3). In other words, Sasha scored one point per game.
But in my commentary I would not like to make any assessment of Radulov – whether to leave him or not. An honored guy, we worked together at the World Championships and the Olympics. I understand that Ak Bars is facing restructuring and rejuvenation. Some veterans will leave. But these are questions that concern management.
— Did you understand from the conversation with Bill that he will leave Ak Bars?
“I didn’t have that feeling.” The only thing is that Zinetula Khaidarovich said that he would devote his near future to himself, his health and a little rest. In any case, he can stay in hockey and in the same Ak Bars, but in a different role. He is unlikely to leave hockey himself. He is in good shape. And if he had understood that he could no longer stand age, Bilyaletdinov would not have accepted the role of head coach before this season. I would not take on such responsibility as a great professional.
Hockey is not a burden for him, especially since he recently took a three-year break. As I know, Bilyaletdinov could have stayed at Ak Bars in 2019, even though he lost the series against Avangard in the first round (0-4). It’s absurd when they say they don’t want to offer Zinetula Khaidarovich a new contract. But he himself decided to take a break, and his decision was decisive.
If last offseason he was persuaded to participate in the new season, it means that he was ready to take on such responsibility.
“I would like to continue working as a head coach”
– What’s happening to you now? What stage of your career are you at?
— This season I worked as head coach of Novokuznetsk Metallurg (VHL). But at the end of December, I left this position for family reasons.
– For what?
— Just one fact: from July to December, four defensive coaches were replaced there. And there was no longer any mutual understanding. More of a family situation. We decided to separate by mutual agreement.
— What are your plans now?
— I would like to continue working.
– An assistant?
“I have not yet considered such a position.”
— You had a solid tandem with Zinetula Bilyaletdinov.
— I left Ak Bars in 2016 to work as a head coach in the KHL. For three seasons he led Vityaz, with whom we reached the playoffs twice.
— And both times in the first round they lost to the future champions: SKA (2017) and CSKA (2019).
– That’s right. Did I do a bad job? I haven’t thought about the assistant position yet. And there – God willing. I’m open to suggestions.
“I guess Lokomotiv will win the Gagarin Cup”
— What can you say about how the KHL playoffs are going?
— This is happening in a very interesting way. Already in the first round, two of last year’s Gagarin Cup finalists were eliminated. Now in the second round, Dynamo Moscow and SKA finished 0-3 in the series.
I see that the measures taken in the KHL are working – with the salary cap and floor. The teams in the league are being equalized. The rise of Avtomobilist and Traktor is linked to this. The playoffs have become much more intense now.
Yes, even in the first round, I would not be surprised if Dynamo Minsk had stayed in the series with Capital Dynamo longer. The Belarusians should have won one of the two matches in Moscow. Well, that’s how they played. They performed well in the series.
In general, Dmitry Kvartalnov at the head of Dynamo Minsk received not only a club, but a national project. In fact, if Dmitry is given time there, he should make for an interesting team. Yes, he already does. And this will lead to the growth of all Belarusian hockey. I really liked this Dynamo in the playoffs.
Yes, there are no limits for foreign players. But they must lift up the team, their students. It is the core team of the country. They do not work for foreigners, but above all for their own people. And we see how many interesting Belarusian hockey players appear in the KHL.
— According to your premonition, who will win the Gagarin Cup?
— Very unpredictable playoffs, you have to play a guessing game here. There is no obvious favorite. If I take a risk, I would choose Lokomotiv. In principle, Yaroslavl has everything – a strong goalkeeper Isaev, a powerful defense, four equal lines where everyone can score. And do not forget that in the second round, among the coaches, only Igor Nikitin won the Gagarin Cup. This happened in 2019 with CSKA. He has such experience, and this is also an important thing.
Watch live broadcasts of the Fonbet KHL Championship playoff matches on the channel, as well as on the matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru sites.
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.
