A pupil of the Svetlogorsk Children's and Youth Sports School-2, the first coaches were A. E. Kuchinsky and V. V. Belyai.
He began his sports career in the mini-football team of the Central Control Commission. In 1999 he signed his first professional contract with the football club Gomel. After that he played for Sokol Saratov, BATE, German Frankfurt.
In May 2009, he terminated the contract with Frankfurt by mutual agreement of the parties. In early July, he signed a contract with the Siberia club. In his debut match for Siberia against SKA-Energia, he scored a goal in the 2nd minute of the match.
Per football club Belshina has been performing since August 2010 (with a break).
Achievements
- Champion of Belarus: 1995/96
- Silver medalist of the championship of Belarus: 1996/97
- Bronze medalist of the championship of Belarus: 1997/98, 1998/99
- Belarus Cup finalist: 1998
- Best forward of the Belarusian championship: 1996/97
- Best Player of the Belarusian Championship: 1997/98
- Top scorer of the Belarus Cup: 1997 (10 goals)
- Champion of Belarus: 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008
- Bronze medalist of the Belarusian Championship: 1999
- Winner of the Belarus Cup: 2001/02, 2005/06
- Silver medalist of the first Russian division: 2009 (advance to the Premier League)
- Russian Cup finalist: 2009/10
- The best scorer of the Belarusian championship: 2003 (18 goals, together with Sergei Kornilenko), 2008 (16 goals, together with Vitaly Rodionov)
- In the major league of Belarus, as of April 1, 2012, he scored 100 goals, is one of the ten best scorers in the championship in history.
He can be safely called the Belarusian Veretennikov: more than a hundred goals in official tournaments, a short and not the happiest career in the national team, attachment to his home. This fast forward, who knows how to punish a defender for negligence and carelessness, left Belarus only for one year - the first Russian league, to Saratov, from which he returned to his homeland in the summer of 2005, accepting the proposal of BATE.
At one time, you went to our country, accepting an offer from a club that promised you a quick date with the Premier League, but eventually went bankrupt. Are you still hoping to get into the Russian championship or can you put an end to such plans?
- Why is it so categorically - "cross" ?! Maybe I can also play in Russia. It would be a worthwhile suggestion.
By and large, your first Russian experience was unsuccessful. Do you agree?
- I poorly chose my team, although I had several options on hand. "Falcon" was going through a bad time, surviving with difficulty. But it turned out later. There was no money in the club, but I came to earn money and go to the Premier League. This does not happen, but I did not know anything about the problems in Saratov. I just wanted to play, to prove myself.
Today you have a different life, much more interesting. Your team will face two matches in a row in the Champions League with Zenit. Agree, this is a good chance for all BATE players to get a job in Russia.
- Yes, but believe me, we think about it last.
What are you thinking about? What result will suit BATE in the dispute with Zenit?
- We about good football we think. I would like the game to look, to be remembered. Fortunately, we have almost solved our problems at home - our club will certainly retain the title.
You are one of the leading footballers of BATE, and you haven’t played in the Champions League yet. Why?
- In Madrid I could not play because of the disqualification, and on the eve of the match with Juventus I got sick. Now everything seems to be fine with my health, so I expect to be in the squad and finally make my debut in the Champions League.
Do you, as a scorer, have any success in other European competition?
- Yes, in my opinion, seven goals have already been scored.
How many goals are scored on your account?
- 115, I guess. I closed a hundred last year, and now I'm raising the bar.
Is it a dream to score in the League?
- And for any football player. I'm not an exception. I have two gaps - I have not scored in the Champions League and in your Premier League.
After a brilliant game with Juventus, your team was remembered in Europe. No one will be surprised if you in Minsk can once again take points away from your group rivals. What did you personally expect from the opening match in the League?
- Your debut! It didn't work out. And the team hoped to show the kind of football that could allow us to score the first points in the League. Of course, we were already glad that we got into this tournament, but deep down we hoped to score a few points in the group. After all, it's money - the League pays for the points. Well, the sporting principle. If you don’t count on local success, then why take part in competitions at all ?!
Were BATE footballers very worried when they debuted in the League with a match at the Santiago Bernabeu?
- There was no trepidation - everything passed calmly enough. The game is still exciting. And we don’t worry, to be honest, unnecessarily. The necessary experience has come. We were rather happy that the team was playing at such a level. It was a very enjoyable moment.
Where exactly did your club get the necessary experience?
- In recent years we have regularly participated in European competitions, competing with teams such as Anderlecht, Villarreal, Steaua. Learned something ...
Which of the three rivals in the group seemed more comfortable to you?
- Definitely not Zenith, if you are hinting at it. Two European cups in a year - what an ease here… And “Juventus” and “Real” are European grandees with a long history, great opportunities. There was no such option, in a word. More precisely, we did not calculate it.
But it’s probably easier for your team to play at home ...
- In Minsk, to be precise. It is nearby - only 60 kilometers or an hour by bus from Borisov. We are not going to the capital even in the hotel on the eve of the match - we are preparing at home. Here everything is familiar to us, but we come to Minsk directly to the game.
Do you think Zenit closely followed BATE in recent matches?
- The Petersburgers must have sent a scout to us, but to keep an eye on…. I don’t think that Zenit has thoroughly analyzed our game.
Why?
- Because your champion prefers to play number one. He is more concerned with his own game.
On the contrary, you must have carefully disassembled it. Are there any subtleties in it?
- On the eve of the match, no one will tell you about it. I can only say that Zenit plays very brightly and spectacularly.
And who, in your opinion, is more important for this team - Tymoshchuk, Arshavin or Danny?
- Yes, there is such a composition today that every footballer can strengthen any Belarusian club and almost all Russian ones. And they all play their part.
But surely there is someone who is noticeable even against this background.
- There is. Arshavin. It's very difficult with him.
"Can you imagine how you went on vacation, things were piling up - you can't breathe", - this is how Gennady BLIZNYUK explained the change of the planned meeting place, inviting inside his "Audi", parked near the Moscow bus station of the capital, where the correspondent "A" arrived on the "minibus". The BATE forward was clearly in a hurry, so he asked to limit the communication time to fifteen minutes. Which, however, lasted a good half hour.
The formal reason for the conversation was your third place in the list of the best players of the Borisov team-2007 according to the results of the traditional poll. What is your general attitude to this kind of plebiscites?
- I would not say that they are very important to me. The third is the third. I do not attach much importance to this. The main thing is for the team to give results, and its performance is pleasing to the eye.
- Then, maybe you can offer your version of the troika?
- It is difficult to single out only three. Many guys played at a high level and made significant progress compared to the previous championship. For example, Igor Stasevich added a lot, I think he had an excellent season. Vitaly Rodionov has got used to the team, as evidenced by his effectiveness. Yegor Filipenko joined the roster well. It is impossible not to mention the veterans: Ermakovich, Likhtarovich, Fedorovich. Looked good Radkov, Krivets, Khagush.
- You, too, were a notable figure in the Borisov ensemble ...
- Well, it's difficult to assess yourself - let others do it. But on the whole, as usual, there were both successful segments and not very successful ones. First of all, I will refer to the latter the final of the Cup of the country, in which they were offended by the Dynamo team from Brest. An unpleasant residue remained.
- In your league asset - 18 goals. You scored the same amount only in 2003 - back for Gomel.
- Yes, and then, by the way, I also became the winner of the national championship. Finally, we managed to repeat that achievement. Moreover, he almost did not play a pure striker - more than a drawn one. I don’t know, probably some kind of white stripe has gone. True, only in the first round. Then the goals were given with a creak.
- That's for sure. Only four goals, and the seventeenth and eighteenth are generally divided by two months.
- I am at a loss to find the reason. Probably unlucky, because he created the chances regularly.
- Do you associate such a drop in performance with an underlying confidence in the inevitability of the championship?
- In no case. We all understood that we had to finish the championship with dignity, that every victory was important. I wanted to keep a solid lead over my pursuers. Well, financial incentives should not be discarded.
- But even the premiums failed to motivate you properly for the matches with “Neman” and “Minsk” ...
- I will call the defeat in Grodno a coincidence. But before the final round, we seemed to be adjusting, however, there was probably a certain relaxation ... The first half was ruined, after the break we managed to adjust the game, but there was not enough time.
- Personally, how did you like to formalize the championship more: as it is now or as a year earlier?
- Of course, winning the championship five rounds before the end is better, quieter. But the current emotions of a year ago, of course, cannot be compared: then, having lost in Soligorsk, we waited for news from Brest, called there almost every minute. And then the news came about a goalless draw - joy was overflowing. Now, before the fight with MTZ-RIPO, in principle, it was clear: if not in this match, then in the next one we will surely get the necessary point.
- From the second round, BATE climbed to the top of the table, and never got out of there. Were you actually an order of magnitude stronger than your competitors?
- It turns out so. We were in the lead throughout the entire distance, they did not let anyone close to us. Well, since we won the championship twice in a row, it means that our team is of a good level, in which highly qualified specialists work: club management, coaches ...
“… And the players too. Your bond with Rodionov looked great this season. Do you think it is possible to compare you in terms of coordination of actions with the Gomel duet Vasilyuk - Stripeikis?
- I don’t know, after all, they have been a couple of attacks for many years, and Vitaly and I have been playing together fully for only a year. But the fruits of cooperation are already visible: they scored 32 goals for two in this national championship, often differed from each other's passes.
- I’m glad that after BATE it was Gomel, who raised you, finished?
- Undoubtedly, especially since several rounds before the end, Anatoly Yurevich's wards were dangling in the fourth or fifth positions, and it was impossible to declare with certainty that they were in the top three. But the circumstances turned out well: the silver and the ticket to the UEFA Cup went to the city above the Sozh.
- Will you single out your most successful and unsuccessful match in the ended season?
- Standing apart, of course, is the return match against the Cypriot “Apoel”, in which they managed to score the winning goal. But in the league there were also good matches: away matches with Shakhtar, when they were inferior along the way and eventually took the upper hand, with Gomel and Dynamo Minsk. There were probably no completely unsuccessful, disastrous ones, causing devastation and a desire to quit football (laughs). Unless we played badly with “Darida” at a party.
- Let's smoothly throw a bridge to the theme of European cups ...
- In them, I think, we performed successfully. We had a real opportunity to get into the group stage of the Champions League - we were quite capable of that. But in the confrontation with Steaua, the implementation failed, plus the lack of international experience affected.
- What can you say about the fights with Villarreal?
- Here, as they say, there is no chance. It is still too early for us to fight on equal terms with such clubs.
- What exactly is our lag?
- They have higher performing skills, probably ... Yes, and they think on the field much faster. This is logical considering the level of the Spanish championship. I think any player who gets drunk in such a championship will start doing everything much faster.
- Don't you think that Belarusian club football moves in a kind of vicious circle? In order to repeat the European successes of this year next year, BATE needs at least to keep its roster, right? ..
- Yes, if you strengthen a couple of positions, I believe, and the next Eurolet may well spill over into the Euro fall.
- But how in such a situation can you keep talented players who want to improve their skills in stronger championships? Where, moreover, wages are higher ...
- Here, of course, a lot depends on the financial capabilities of the club. If a person has become the champion of the country twice in a row and won the Cup, there is a demand for him. And his appetites - both material and in terms of reaching a new level - cannot be satisfied in Belarus ...
- In an interview four years ago with the Pressball newspaper, you said that at that time you had not yet reached the age when you can start playing solely for the sake of money. Has the situation changed much since then?
- To give a clear answer to this question, as you understand, is difficult - you have to consider each specific situation. I will say this: if an offer came with good financial conditions, I would probably go. Like this…
- Rumors circulated that you were already in some Turkish club with one foot ...
- To be honest, I myself learned this information, in my opinion, from the press. Rumors are rumors, nothing more.
- Your brilliant performance for BATE did not go unnoticed by the coach of the national team Bernd Stange ...
- It turned out to be interesting to work under the guidance of a German specialist. I think Stange - good coach and will be able to create a decent team here. A match with Luxembourg? Everyone has dark days, what can you do? .. (The conversation with Gennady Bliznyuk took place on November 14. - "A".)
- If you would, where would you move to play?
- To Spain. I really like the local football, not tough and technical. I root for Barcelona, but I also sympathize with Real Madrid.
- Let's try to look into the future. Do you see yourself as a coach after finishing your career?
- Maybe yes. I have tied my fate with football, and I would like to stay in it as long as possible - especially since I have a coach's diploma from Gomel State University. But you never know what will happen next. In any case, I'm going to play for a long time.
- Please tell us more about the earliest stages of your career.
- I began to study at the Svetlogorsk CYSS under the supervision of Viktor Vasilyevich Belyai and Anatoly Evgenievich Kuchinsky. In the summer we ran on the street, in the winter we switched to the parquet floor. At the age of 14 he made his debut in mini-football as part of the Central Control Commission, then he scored the first goal - to the Zaslavl “Onyx”. In the next championship - 1994/95 - they won gold medals. This is an interesting sport that requires quick thinking and working with the ball. I liked it. And in 1999 he was invited to “Gomel”, and with a part-time job (at the same time he played for “Chemist” in Svetlogorsk in the second league of the “big”) he had to give up.
- Do you continue to follow the mini?
- Yes, I keep in touch with the Mapidians Bichenkov and Savintsev, with whom I defended the colors of the Central Control Commission. Whenever possible, I attend their matches.
- The current helmsman of Borisov-900, Vladimir Levchenko, once told me that if you stayed in mini-football, you would have no equal in the country ...
- I remember Vladimir Vladimirovich well and I am glad to hear such a high assessment from a respected specialist. Say hello to him when you meet.
- And finally, I can't help but ask about the sensation - the departure of Igor Kriushenko from the post of the head coach of BATE.
- From a purely human point of view, I understand him. The man gave years of his life and work to the Borisov club, twice became the champion of the country, won the Cup, and made some noise in European competitions. Therefore, I would not condemn Igor Nikolaevich. He made his choice.
In the first months of the off-season, the champion's army has considerably thinned out. Responding to the demand from abroad, many of the Gomel residents went on legionary routes. And already today the city clearly understands: the team, which has taken it into its head to defend the golden conquests and has been forced to take the path of renewal, will have a difficult time in the new season. However, the scale of personnel losses of “Gomel” is still far from critical. And most importantly, his first scorer is in no hurry to part with his native club.Gennady BLIZNYUK ... At the recent Commonwealth Cup, the 23-year-old forward was one of the most prominent figures in the Belarusians. Even without showing the expected performance, he came to the attention of the coaches of the national team.
FROM THE DOSSIER "PB"
Gennady BLIZNYUK. Was born on July 30, 1980 in Svetlogorsk. Attack. A pupil of the Svetlogorsk Children's and Youth Sports School-2 (coaches - Anatoly Kuchinsky and Viktor Belyai). He played for the teams “Energy” (Zhlobin, D3) - 1996, “Kommunalnik” (Svetlogorsk, D2) - 1998, “Gomel” (D1) - since 1999. Champion of Belarus-2003, bronze medalist-99. Winner of the Cup of Belarus-2002. In the major league of the championships of Belarus - 111 matches (39 goals, 12 assists). The best scorer of the championship of Belarus-2003. In the youth team of Belarus - 5 matches (1 goal). Average rating (version "PB") - 5.14.
- It’s not enough, Gena, you scored in Moscow. One ball in four games ...
Of course, this is not an indicator for a striker. Moreover, there were enough chances: either past or in the post ... And he screwed up a penalty in the match with CSKA. The implementation is lame so far.
- Are you worried?
Not particularly. The offseason has just begun. How can you get in decent shape in two weeks? The Commonwealth Cup was just a stage of preparation for the season for us. Nobody set super tasks for the team. And we performed, I think, with dignity. This opinion is shared by football players, coaches, and club bosses. The benefits of the tournament are obvious. At this time, we cannot get normal gaming practice at home. At least we do not have such conditions on the basis of such conditions. In winter, we are forced to limit ourselves to cross-country runs, workouts in the gym, on simulators. For us, “Commonwealth” was like an absorbing training camp: we scattered, played, felt confident. And they got good practice: after all, they fought against the champions, and this is the level.
As for the implementation, today it is not the main thing. It is clear that I want to score in every match, regardless of the rank of the competition, but the lack of fitness makes itself felt. This is nothing new to me. A year ago, I also, to put it mildly, did not shine. For the entire offseason, he scored only one goal, and that one from the penalty spot. And the championship began - and it went. Who knows, maybe history repeats itself ...
Did you consider the "Commonwealth Cup" as an opportunity to show yourself to foreign merchants, to attract the attention of breeders?
I did not set such a goal for myself on purpose. And in my thoughts there was no way to stand out: to take the game on myself, drag the ball around the field, they say, look, what a handsome man I am. First of all, I played for the team, for the result, and in those days I did not think much about a hypothetical overseas contract. It seems that during the tournament some people were interested in me, but these are rumors. Personally, no one came to me. Well, okay, why worry?
- But Anatoly Baydachny liked your game. He promised to give you a chance on the national team.
I have already received a call to the Cypriot tournament. The other day the club received a fax from the federation, in which I was ordered to arrive in Minsk on February 16 to the location of the national team. How do I feel about this? Of course it's positive. Who doesn't want to try their hand at the national team? I will try. By the way, on the 7th “Gomel” will fly to Turkey for two weeks, and I will go straight from there, without waiting for the end of the training camp, to Minsk. The national team is the national team.
And in order to become its main player, it is desirable to have a job somewhere outside Belarus. Let's continue the topic of your probable transition to a foreign club. Haven't you sat in Gomel?
I've been here since 1999. At first glance, a long time ago. Five seasons is a time limit. But only in the last two did I have a stable place in starting lineup, often took to the field and played a lot. And before, I was mostly hanging out in stock, growing up. I have just started to get something done, progress has begun, and in “Gomel” I have not yet reached the ceiling. I am sure that you can grow to a certain level here too, and then it will be seen.
- Y-yes, God obviously deprived you of ambition ...
Nothing like this. I have the desire to leave. And the experience of employment in Russia is also available. True, unsuccessful. I visited Uralan twice. First, in the inter-circuit break of the 2002 championship, we went to Elista together with Maxim Razumov. We went through the training camp, everything is fine. And the next time - after the end of the season, in December - we went to sign a contract. But in “Uralan” in those days there were just global changes in the coaching staff. Shalimov came to the team, who had his own views on recruiting. In general, Max and I were in flight. And in addition, we missed the first stage of preparation. We had to regret the lost time later, when we came to Perm, for the bride show in “Amkar”. The local coaches looked at us, disassembled, and said, they say, excuse me, guys, some other time ...
Now I am in no hurry to get lost anywhere. I have a valid contract with Gomel, I'm interested here. And there will be a worthwhile foreign option - I will consider it with pleasure. I think the management of the club will not mind my departure abroad.
- By the way, Belarusians are slowly mastering the Kazakh open spaces. Football there onrise, and money - which is important - gives good ones. Would you go?
It is unlikely. Material benefits, of course, are far from the last thing in sports. But no matter how boom Kazakh football is experiencing, the level of the national championship there is no higher than ours. And I don't want to go solely for the sake of earning money. Age is not the same. After all, they usually go there at the end of their careers to improve their financial situation. At 23, it's too early to think about it. Better to wait for the time and give up to Russia or Ukraine.
- 2003 - the most successful season in your career?
It would be foolish to argue with that. The gold of the championship and the title of the best scorer - all this is my first time.
- Do you consider your scoring achievements a regularity?
Do not know. It is difficult to be objective in assessing your own game. However, I can only say one thing: 18 goals, given the number of chances that my partners created for me in each match, is a minimum. If I had been a little luckier, more calculating, more cold-blooded, I would have scored a lot more.
- Do you appreciate beauty in goals?
I don't play in public. The best balls for me are the winning ones. Two spectacular goals in a lost match would have been preferred by one clumsy, scored anyhow, but bringing the team three points. In our time, rationality is held in high esteem. And I've never been a dude.
- You are a regular penalty taker in “Gomel”. Before, if I’m not mistaken, you didn’t notice such inclinations.
Why? A couple of years ago, Borel was in charge of this business. And I was listed as a “deputy” - I went to the “point” when Vitya was absent from the field. When he left the team, his powers were automatically transferred to me. It wasn't even discussed.
- How do you hit penalty kicks: for strength, accuracy, cunning?
So I told you everything. These are my business.
- Okay, then tell me why CSKA didn't score in Moscow?
I did everything right. Beat for sure in the corner. I didn't even look at my feet, I watched the goalkeeper. But the ball suddenly flew up into the crossbar. Bad luck.
- I know that you came to big football from “small” - you started playing mini ...
I started, like everyone else. In the Svetlogorsk Children's and Youth Sports School-2. In the summer we played on a large field, went to the “Crystal Ball”, and in the winter we moved to the hall. In 1995, I was invited to the Central Control Commission, a mini-football club. I agreed. In the same year we won the championship of Belarus. I scored five goals, which was a good result for a 15-year-old debutant. I didn’t leave the halls until 1998, when I received an invitation from Svetlogorsk “Kommunalnik”, which was later renamed “Chemist”. I was declared in the first league in the second round. I thought I'd play for six months, help the guys, and then - back to the floor. But I didn't have to return. As the season ended, offers poured in: from “Gomel”, Minsk “Torpedo”, Mozyr “Slavia” ...
- Have you thought for a long time?
It was a sin not to take such a chance. All the same Major League... And I chose “Gomel” because it is just a stone's throw from the house, to Svetlogorsk. Time shows that I was not mistaken. There has always been a good team and a healthy atmosphere.
- Did you instantly get used to the new sport?
I would not say. In big football, there are completely different loads. And in the gym, everything is much simpler: one or two minutes running around - and the shift. It was very hard right away. I couldn't even stand the time, I was suffocating. But over time I got used to it, gained strength. Now for me an hour and a half of playing is not a problem. A serious match, of course, is exhausting to the limit, and an easy one is nonsense. Sometimes the final whistle will sound, and you stand and think: how quickly it all ended, I didn't even have time to get tired ...
- Does the futsal past help?
Doesn't harm - for sure. Mini-football teaches technique, quick decision-making, the ability to beat an opponent on a small section of the field. All this came in handy. But other skills are already hopelessly lost. Recently, by the way, Belarusians met with Ukrainians in the playoffs of the world championship. So, according to unverified information, they allegedly wanted to declare me for the national team for these matches. Not stated. And they did the right thing. I'm not sure if I could be useful in a business that I have not been doing for five years. Yes, and it is risky. Changing coatings is fraught with injury. And I have experience of playing in the national team. In 1997, he held a qualifying round in Italy, then there was some kind of commercial tournament in Ukraine. In total, I think there will be twenty matches.
- They say that your Svetlogorsk is a specific city. Drug addiction, AIDS - "paradise" ...
Such conversations strain me. Yes, the percentage of drug addicts is possibly the highest in the country, but nobody specifies that the city is very small. And the fact that we have syringes lying right on the street is a lie. I, at least, have never seen anything like it. Everything is clean, neat and beautiful.
- I wonder, have you ever faced the temptation to “get high”?
Never. There were no dubious personalities among my friends. There is nothing unusual here. All my time as a child was occupied by football. There were no other interests. Even other sports were not attractive.
- Where is your home today?
Probably stayed in Svetlogorsk. From there comes, by the way, and the wife. But in Gomel we don't feel like strangers either. There are so many friends and acquaintances. My daughter was born here. She is already like a Gomel resident. And I successfully graduated from the physics department of the local university. I am in no hurry to become a coach, but in the future, I think, the diploma will still come in handy.
- For your height, you play well with your head.
Yes, I score two or three goals in a season easily. This is an innate quality. Jumping ability, positioning and more. I don't do anything specifically in training.
Before the final round of the last championship in the scorer race, you were in second position, two goals behind Sergey Kornilenko from Minsk. Ahead was a match in Mogilev that meant nothing for “Gomel”. V many did not participateThe players of the first team, but you ran all 90 minutes. Chasing sniper laurels?
Exactly. The day before head coach asked the guys who was ready to go to the field, and who would not mind taking a break. I decided to play the championship to the end and, of course, knew about two goals behind Kornilenko. Let me, I think, I'll try to catch up. One of “Dnipro” scored, the second ... But after that it cut off. Moments, as always, were in abundance, but something suddenly went wrong.
At the end of the season, the federation has identified the best players in each of the roles. Gomel residents were not among the laureates. Isn't it offensive?
If there was any regret, it was not for myself. I'm not the only sniper leader. Another thing is Anton Ivanov, our goalkeepers ... But on the other hand, I have nothing against the choice of the BFF. Both Alexey Naumov and Yuri Zhevnov are worthy candidates.
- What do you think, what audience will gather at home matches of “Gomel” in the next season?
Yes, rather big. After all, we new stadium promise. However, everything will depend on us - our game and results. If we do not drop the raised bar, I am sure people will go to the stands. On the "Central" and before often the apple had nowhere to fall. Ten thousand were collected. And taking into account last year's championship success and the reconstruction of the arena, this figure should not be considered a threshold. In any case, I will not be surprised to 15-20 thousand fans.
- Hockey is a serious competitor to football in Gomel.
It was not possible to get out to the recent matches of the Intercontinental Cup. We just stopped at Stayki for a training camp before the “Commonwealth Cup”. But we watched hockey - on TV. And once again we were convinced that the Gomel team plays leading roles not only in Belarus, but also in Europe. In general, I am not a frequent visitor to hockey, I have been only a couple of times. In principle, the spectacle is impressive. But not enough to devote everything to him free time... I am much more willing to spend my free time with my family.
- Now that Gomel is training at home, what is your daily routine?
We are now working at the base. I come home only for the night, and I leave early, when everyone is still asleep. Nothing can be done, we are preparing for the season ...
Despite your age, you are an old-timer on the team. To teach life to young people, to give orders, to shake the rights in your character?
No, absolutely. On the contrary, I do not consider it shameful myself to sometimes remember my youth - bring stuffed balls, mats ... Although others are more involved in such matters. Guys from the double, newcomers to the team.
So, they are coming ... As soon as I appear in Svetlogorsk, my friends and acquaintances are constantly calling. Until now, congratulations on gold. And oddly enough, it doesn't get boring. But I have no euphoria on this occasion. If you think about it, are we not enough champions, scorers? I'm just one of them.
