“I love water polo, but it’s not a fact that I could also love hockey. » We spoke with Shepelev, he returned from Germany to KOS Sintez

Romain Shepelev After a winning season with KOS Sintez, he managed to play in Germany, but returned to Kazan and played again for his native club.

We talked with him about choosing a sport, the place of water polo among the playing disciplines, the “water” family and Holland in a water polo cap.

— After winning the championship and the Russian Cup with KOS Sintez, I decided to try my hand at the European Championship. I was offered a contract in Berlin with the possibility of extension, and I went there,” Roman told . — We won the championship, the Super Cup, had a good match in the Champions League, but at 30 I decided to return to Kazan. My local club “KOS Sintez” is celebrating its anniversary and I decided that this year I should be here with the team, and then I will act according to the situation .

— How are things going in water polo in Germany?

— The national championship in terms of the number of strong teams and the level as a whole is not much different from the Russian championship. One of the advantages, the most important, for which I went there, is the possibility to play the Champions League, to play and compete with the strongest clubs in Europe.

— What does the average German citizen know about water polo?

— I think pretty much like the average Russian.

— Are there people in the stands?

— If there are important games, yes. The stands are full. But here’s the thing: I played for Spandau, but we played in a different part of Berlin. In Germany, people still mostly support their local team. It didn’t work out that way for us, so we gathered an audience interested specifically in water polo.

— In other words, not at the expense of “supporting your home team”.

— It didn’t work at all, yes. People were not prepared to travel to matches in traffic jams.

— Was it not possible to stay in the German championship?

“Everything was great: the coach, the team, the atmosphere, all our sporting needs for quality work were met. The salary was on time, the sponsorship. Everything was fine. But sometimes you have to make decisions, make difficult choices. The president of the team invited me to stay this winter, but then I said that I could not give an answer, because something interesting was also planned in Kazan. As a result, I made a choice in favor of Kazan.

— What changed at KOS Sintez during the year you left?

— We could say that there was a restart. The coach changed, a specialist arrived, whom we, the guys from Kazan, know well, we trust him. We are trying to play well now, we have a good team. The core is the same, more promising good guys have been added, players have come from Volgograd. We can only move forward in a good mood, even if things don’t always go well.

— Were you born in Kazan?

— I was born in Chelny, we moved to Kazan when I was seven years old. Everything for our family started from scratch. Without housing, without work. Hard times.

— Is water polo, the sport, a family affair?

— My parents are “water” people. My father was involved in water polo from the first grade. My grandfather was involved in football; he knew that sport could build character and eliminate any influence from the streets. I had a swimming pool within walking distance. I learned to swim in Chelny – my parents worked in the pool. But I also went to other sections. Football, basketball, karate, but it turned out that all this was just the path to water polo.

—And which sport helped you the most in your water polo career? Karate?

– Yes (laughs).

— I heard that some foreign women’s teams are taking martial arts and boxing classes.

— I don’t know about boxing and some other martial arts, but I can say that when I was at Dynamo, we had special training with a judoka. We practiced all these techniques, grabs, dodges, somersaults… All of this is used very, very often in water polo. But we can’t fight.

— Do you regret becoming a water polo player? Kazan is full of other sports that are more prestigious and developed at a good level.

— When we talk about more popular sports, we must take into account the fact that the level of competition is much higher there, the more children come. In my case, the choice fell on water polo, because my father went to work as a coach. I was under surveillance.

— So you don’t envy more successful sports in Kazan?

— I really like water polo. I don’t know if, for example, I could fall in love with hockey as much. I watch hockey and football, but I don’t envy them. And the measure of success can also be different. I like going to training. For me, that’s the main thing about my work: I love what I do.

— Name three reasons why you should send your child to water polo.

— Water is a good environment for a child to develop. Additionally, water polo is an intellectual sport. Here, everything is very dynamic, you have to make decisions quickly.

— What do classic water polo players think of mini water polo?

– Why not? I myself have not participated in such competitions, but I know that, for example, the stands are always full. Maybe I’ll try it one day.

— What do you think of the new water polo rules? Are you not the one who will say: was it better before? Questions about innovations?

“Nothing comes to mind in this regard.” A large group of specialists works on the rules, analyzing, for example, the rules of handball, with which we are similar. We need to look at the most popular sports, learn from them and incorporate that into water polo.

— Why is water polo unpopular around the world? Well, if you do not take Hungary and a number of Balkan countries.

“I think this is because water polo requires a swimming pool. It’s easier in football and basketball – you can play outside. Fewer and fewer children are learning water polo. Additionally, we share the pool with swimming and other water activities.

— Why are there fewer famous people in water polo, but there are also a lot of cool people? Again, if you don’t take Hungary into account, they probably know everyone there.

— If we compare, for example, with swimming, it is an individual sport. In gaming sports, the focus is even more on the team.

– And then everyone said: “And what about football, hockey and basketball?

“We are very, very far from them.”

— Could you comment on water polo? If so, what would you talk about more on the show?

— First, in front of a large audience, I would talk about the rules, explain some basic things, talk about combinations and some individual actions. Then I would talk about individual players. About their sporting journey.

— In water polo, are there social networks where everyone discusses posts?

– Hard to say. But recently the Italian club went to a meeting with Haaland – and posted it on social media. If stories like this appear more often, it will be very cool. Holland wearing a water polo cap was very funny. It was perhaps the first time in my memory that there was something so bright.

https://t.me/water_match/1571

— Where are we with such collaborations?

— It was good training at Dynamo: when we played in Moscow, we also went to the hockey matches. We need to look for such stories and pay more attention to them. In general, we need to work more on social media in water polo. We have a very interesting sport that we must be able to “pack” well and cover well.

— We are now isolated when it comes to club tournaments and national team matches. Doesn’t competition decrease because of this? No clear favorite?

— It is now impossible to predict who will win the championship. It forces you to work even harder, to train with even more dedication. Several legionnaires have returned and are sharing their experiences – this increases the level and interest. Moreover, the new rules also play a role. Some teams that felt comfortable with the old rules still aren’t playing as consistently under the new ones. All this makes the fight for the top places even more open.