Alan Kusov's life is strange. First, take off from a short run - the champion of Russia at 22, the national team ... Then several clubs are not of the highest standard. Then he suddenly disappeared for more than two years and returned just as unexpectedly. This winter, Kusov showed up in the second division - in FC Dolgoprudny. SSF met with Alan to find out how life is.
It was difficult to meet - "Dolgoprudny" disappeared at the training camp, and in short intervals between them, Alan wandered between Moscow and Vladikavkaz. I caught him at a hotel in Otradnoye, Kusov stayed there for a couple of days with friends. We sat down in the corridor.
Malignant calf
- What is the fate of Dolgoprudny?
- I was on vacation in Moscow, and it turned out that I have a common acquaintance with the management of the club, and he brought me together. We talked, signed the contract until the summer. And there it will be seen.
- You have a decent gang!
- Our president focuses on the young, educates his own, but how to do this without the experienced? I, Seryoga Puchkov, Eric Korchagin, Zhitnik Lech. The goalkeeper is good, Andryukha, Ryzhikov's brother ...
- Where will you live?
- There are many places. Now I am here with friends, they came from Vladikavkaz. But I want to rent an apartment closer to the stadium so that the children come for the holidays, I have three. They study at school in Vladikavkaz.
- Your place on the field?
- Opornik. As a child, he began as a striker, then - as a right midfielder, and as he got into Alania's double at the age of 16, he became a pivotal one. Gazzayev asked to attack more. It also depends on age, at 32 you defend yourself more. It's not that your health isn't right, but you still run less.
- Before Dolgoprudny we played in Tashkent ...
- A year ago I came there in the winter - to Lokomotiv. He was the only legionnaire there. I went through the training camp, coach Khakim Fuzailov (at one time worked as an assistant to Semin at Lokomotiv) said that he sees me in the squad. But just before the start of the season, I tore my calf muscle. Recovered, in the first match came out for 15 minutes, immediately scored. He started the next game with the main team and again tore the same muscle, only stronger. It happens that you can't heal, you leave earlier. But then I was recovering for a month and a half! We talked with the management and immediately after the first round we dispersed peacefully. I would love to play in Tashkent again. We took the second place - we were one point behind Bunyodkor. They are now being trained by Mirjalol Kasimov. In 1995 I served him balls, and in 2004 I was lucky to play in the same team.
- Did you ask to visit him at Bunyodkor?
- I am not the kind of person to turn to someone. Although we are on good terms.
"THERE IS SUCH DISEASE - CASINO"
- Injuries follow you ...
- After CSKA I played for a year in Alania, then six months in Chelyabinsk and went to Terek, where Tarkhanov was a coach. We agreed on a three-year contract. And on the fourth or fifth day, I got a knee injury. During training, I did not feel anything, but woke up in the morning - my knee was swollen. I flew to Moscow, did an MRI, it turned out - a meniscus. And during the operation, it turned out that the cruciform was also torn. They performed one operation for me, and a month later another. And then the doctor decided to check the other knee. And it turned out that there is the same thing - the cruciate ligament and the meniscus.
- What, and did not hurt?
- No. I did two more operations and was left for two and a half years. I didn't tell anyone, no one knew what the matter was. Everyone thought he went on a spree, took a drink.
- What were you doing this time?
- By and large, nothing. Had a rest with friends. I visited the casino.
- That is, there was money?
- Whoever plays in the casino does not care whether there is money or not. It's a disease. Played roulette.
- Did you win?
- Sometimes. After all, you have to give to win so that you still come. But there is not a single person in history who has beaten the casino. They cheat there. You, too, have to deceive friends, relatives, loved ones. To get money, you sell apartments, and cars - that's all!
- Have you not reached this stage?
- I got to everything - I lost both apartments and cars!
- And how did you get out?
- Once stopped. Thank you friend - helped. An authoritative senior comrade.
- Did you hypnotize it, locked it with a key?
- No. He asked: "For the sake of your children, stop playing." And I gave it up forever.
- Why haven't you played football for so long?
- After such operations, it heals for about six months, then you get in shape ... I could have returned earlier, but it was delayed. Dirty life, one might say.
- Did you somehow keep in shape during these two and a half years?
- No, no football, did nothing.
- And weight?
- He is always the same with me, so he returned to football without any problems, went to Azerbaijan - to "Standard" Baku.
"RESTING MAN"
- Did you run in front of Baku, did you tighten your uniform somehow?
- No, I came and started training on a par with everyone else.
- Did your legs hurt?
- No. I never really trained (laughs).
- What is it like?
- I don’t bother too much now. Of course, training is needed, but I can be said to be such ... a little resting person. Such an organism! I always felt good at the training camp, even after huge breaks. It's not a problem for me. Problems arose more often than not because of a violation of the regime ... The regime could be disturbed, but in poor condition I never came to training. I might not have come at all. Like this!
- Who are you so hardy?
- My father was very developed physically - he pulled himself up on one arm! Probably went to it. The brothers are not as tall as me.
- The youngest is a football player. How is he doing?
- Now playing for the Krasnodar Territory, it does not work out higher, because on one knee I broke a cruciform twice. And so he played for Alania, Kuban, SKA Rostov. The second brother is in St. Petersburg, he has four higher education.
BASKETBALL PLAYER
- You, probably, like everyone else in Vladikavkaz, tried yourself in freestyle wrestling?
- At the age of six I came to enroll in the section. The coach says, "Repeat what this guy does." The kid comes out and started this! Flip, flask, pull-up, push-up ... How to repeat it? Turned around and walked away. I went, signed up for basketball, played until I was 12. He even played for the Vladikavkaz national team at the republican championship.
- Were you already above everyone else then?
- Later I grew up. Then he was small - playmaker. Out of ten, I scored ten three-pointers, out of ten, I scored free throws. And at the age of 11 he started going to football in parallel.
- And now the moment has come - either-or ...
- No, or-or was not. Basketball and football in Vladikavkaz could not be compared. In addition, “Alania” became the champion of Russia in 1995, all the guys were turned into football. Wherever we played - in the yard, in the next kindergarten, in the nearest school. Day and night! Until it gets dark. Mom worked as a head teacher at the school. Every summer I went to the mountains to get treatment for asthma. And when she was in the mountains, I signed up for football at Yunost, because she would not let me in. The first coach is Igor Vitalievich Osinkin, the same as that of Dzagoev. Soon he moved to Spartak, as did Venya Mandrykin, and to the same coach - Gorokhov. I, too, like Vienna, they said: "You will go to America." And that decided everything. We flew to the America's Cup three months later. Many teams from all over the world have gathered there. We won against someone in the final - 4: 1, I played a right half, scored two goals. Then we went to this Cup again, but lost in the final to the Canadians - 0: 4. We've been to many places ...
HEART DISEASE
- You also had the World Youth Games.
- Yes, we won in Moscow. We were promised masters of sports of international class, and they just gave us masters, but at the age of 17 it was not bad either. They handed over a golden watch from Yeltsin - "Flight", and from Dzasokhov also "Flight", only a little more. But I suddenly started having heart problems. I played three matches, and all - shortness of breath. I run 50 meters - and I can't go on, I'm suffocating. They were forbidden to play football. But then I was already playing in Alania's double.
- Disaster!
- No, I was calm. I am always calm.
- What did you do without football?
- Never mind. Then he did not drink, did not walk. Therefore, I did nothing - I was resting.
- Did you kick the ball?
- Did not do anything! And suddenly, six months later, everything went away. It turns out that this was due to the transitional age, when I grew up dramatically. But there are still rumors that I have heart problems.
"UNCONVENIENT BEFORE GAZZAEV"
- Wikipedia says: 6 matches for the youth team ...
- Much more. Under Gladilin, I played almost all the matches, although I was born in 1981, and there were the guys in 1979 - Bulykin, Bezrodny. I remember one moment. We played with the Slovenian national team under Gazzaev. And he always has such requirements: if there is a long pass to the attacker and he loses, then the central midfielder must definitely pick up the ball. If he didn't make the selection, he could have fined and replaced. And now by the 5th minute I had two moments when I could not make a rebound. Valery Georgievich called Evsikov over to change his clothes and replaced me.
- What is your relationship with Gazzaev?
- Normal. I am grateful to him. Only very inconvenient - he was counting on me, and I let him down. And in CSKA, and in general in life. He always tried to explain, help, guide me, but I did not behave as I should.
I want to apologize to Valery Georgievich and Evgeny Lennorovich Giner. I let both of them down. But more than Gazzaev, he counted on me strongly.
"I REMEMBER ALL GOALS!"
- Let's go to the clubs. How well it all started - Alania, first team, four goals ...
- For the first time, Averyanov released me against Uralan in 2000 instead of Alexander Chaika (his back hurt) for 20 minutes. And the next game, in Voronezh, was played entirely. I remember all the goals. Zenit, Dynamo Moscow, Sokol, Rostov.
- In 2003 at CSKA under Gazzaev - 11 matches.
- Problems with Achilles started. Because of this, I played so little. In the same 2003 he returned to rent in “Alania” to help, she was in last place. This is only my decision, not what Gazzaev removed.
- Are casinos infected in Moscow?
- Yes. I went there in 2003, left ... in 2008 (laughs).
- Did Gazzaev know?
- He's always up to date!
- We've probably heard a lot from relatives.
- There was always pressure, but I don't want to talk about it.
- When did you get married?
- In the same 2003. 1400 people attended a wedding in Vladikavkaz.
- In the Caucasus, weddings are ruin.
- It's still cheaper in Ossetia than in Moscow. And not twice, but many, many times.
Fracture - in "Torpedo", GOLENOSTOP - in "Anzhi"
- Why didn't it work at Anji?
- I invited Omari Tetradze there. I managed to play with him in 2002 in “Alania”, we became friends. And so we phoned, he took me to the second round. He came, played three matches, and then an injury - an ankle. He recovered, but the team was doing well, and they did not change the line-up. We took 1st place, advanced to the Premier League. Tetradze left, and so did I.
- What prevented the "Torpedo"?
- Pavlov called there. Won the Russian championship in the second league. It turns out that he was a champion in all three leagues. Everything was fine at Torpedo. Only at the beginning of the second round we played with Saturn-2, went into a tackle and broke his leg. Because of this, the season did not finish. And then Pavlov left, and so did I.
- Four goals in half a season is not bad for a defensive player.
- One - in Gubkin from thirty-five meters hit, one - from the penalty spot, two - with his head. I scored two more for the Cup.
–What problems were there in Luch?
- None. I went to Vladivostok again to see Pavlov. The team is good. Just a little unlucky, we flew out. And he left because the knee hurt, and the contract ended. In addition, there was a variant with Tashkent.
"LIFE IS FUN"
- What after football?
- There is an incomplete higher education - three courses in law. Two left. Someday I will definitely finish. I haven’t decided yet what I will do, but something related to football. Maybe I'll become a coach. Or an agent.
- Football gave a lot of friends, enemies?
- Friends - yes, enemies, I think - no.
- Did you save something - real estate, cars?
- I left everything in the casino.
- But is there an apartment in Vladikavkaz?
- No comments.
- The happiest day?
- The birth of the first daughter. Although two more children were born afterwards, let them not be offended, most of all I love the eldest daughter.
- Is the birth of a daughter in Ossetia also 1400 people?
- No, this day is not particularly celebrated. Well, we sat a little with friends ...
–How much - a little?
- Only three days.
- The worst day?
- This was not and, I hope, will not be. This is if I disappointed the children.
- And the most fun?
- (Laughs.) All life is fun. So funny, very few people have such. Consider that you have rested your whole football life!
A pupil of the Vladikavkaz sports school "Yunost" and "Spartak". The first coaches were Igor Osinkin, Gennady Lyubochkin and Valery Gorokhov. He played for the teams of the team "Alania" Vladikavkaz (2000 - 2002, 2003 - 2005), CSKA (2003), "Spartak" Chelyabinsk (2005), "Terek" Grozny (since 2006). Champion of Russia in 2003. For the Russian national team played 1 match. He played 6 matches for the Russian Olympic team, scored 1 goal.
"Hey boy, come on faster!" - Omari Tetradze and Artur Pagaev were rushing when he and his peers from the sports school "Spartak" served balls from the out-of-bounds at the overcrowded Vladikavkaz stadium. It was the championship season for “Alania” -95. He looked at the idols, not assuming that he would one day play next to them. Play well. Last year he was among the best in “Alania”, becoming one of the discoveries of the 2002 championship. And the new season will start at CSKA.
A FAMILY
- Alan ... With this name, apparently, God himself ordered to play for "Alania"?
When I was born, the main team of North Ossetia was called "Spartak". Parents were cool about football. But maybe they had a presentiment that I would tie fate with this game? (Smiles.) A joke, of course. The name that they gave me is very common with us. Alans are the ancestors of today's Ossetians, people are proud and courageous. But please do not write "Alans", as they often do in the press. This is wrong, and the inhabitants of the republic are offended. They honor the history of their people, so they call the kids that name.
- Freestyle wrestling is very popular in Ossetia. Your parents were cool about football - and they didn't want to see you on the wrestling mat?
No. They generally did not persuade children to play sports. They just wanted us to study well, grow up to be honest people, and choose a profession to our liking. My father worked as a driver for many years, he drove KamAZ, but it seems he never dreamed that his sons would follow in his footsteps. In the end, it turned out, almost like in that joke. (Laughs.)
- In which?
And remember: the father had three sons ...
- ... two are smart, and the third is a football player?
Exactly! Only in our family it is a little different. Football was chosen by two of three sons. This year my younger brother Artur graduated from secondary school and sports school "Spartak", recently began to train with a double of "Alania". And the elder brother Oleg has nothing to do with football. But we have him not just smart, but very smart. At 23, he has two university degrees: he managed to simultaneously unlearn law and history. In person and in absentia. Now he is looking for a suitable place for the legal part, and history, so to speak, is for the soul. This subject was among his favorites even at school.
- What school subject did you like?
Little bit of everything. Of course, I could not keep up with my older brother in comprehending knowledge - he has not a head, but the Lenin Library. But somewhere before the ninth grade I also studied well. First, it was interesting to learn something new. And, secondly, the status obliged.
- ?
Mom is the head teacher of the school where my brothers and I studied. Plus, she taught the Ossetian language in our classes. You understand that to be sloppy, having the status of the head teacher's son, would be at least incorrect. In general, for the time being, I gnawed on school subjects for fours and fives, but then football began to take too much time, and my academic performance declined. Mom, of course, was unhappy, but she had to put up with it. Arthur was more fortunate.
- In what sense?
When he went my way, my mother was already used to the fact that serious football requires sacrifice in the form of lower school grades. And her attitude to the football hobby of her youngest son was completely different. And I suffered in due time. In our yard every evening they played holes-holes. I didn’t think about the sports school at that time, but I wanted to run. Sometimes you would learn the lessons, but “for dessert” my mother will put in an original requirement: to read 30 pages of text, memorize well and retell it to her. Only then - walk calmly.
- Were you offered any difficult texts?
At your own discretion. But when I wanted to go outside, it was all the same what to read and retell - even "Mumu", even an article from a reference book on cybernetics.
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
- So, by today's standards, you came to “civilized” football late?
At 12 years old and completely by accident. A friend once went to enroll in the Youth Sports School and invited me along. They looked at me there and left me. I studied with two coaches: first with Igor Osinkin, then with Gennady Lyubochkin. About a year passed, he moved to the sports school "Spartak" to Valery Gorokhov.
- How did the new school "bribe" you and new coach?
At the Spartak school, Valery Viktorovich organized a children's football club"Forward", whose plans included participation in major international tournaments. Before, I did not go further than Mozdok (the regional center in North Ossetia. - Approx. SK), and then only a month passed - and a trip to the USA! It was in the summer of 94th.
- Well, how, conquered America?
Conquered! We were given the corresponding prize for winning the America's Cup. By the way, over 1000 children's teams from all over the world took part in this tournament. “Forward” turned out to be the strongest in his age group. When we flew home and waited for boarding a plane, everyone at the Chicago airport looked at us with great interest - so small, and the cup is so huge. We considered and, apparently, considering that we had done a great job, began to applaud in unison. It was a pleasure.
- Have you been welcomed at home too?
They praised and wrote out a cash prize. They say that Valery Georgievich Gazzaev himself tried, the head coach of Spartak Vladikavkaz, the future Alania. Gorokhov was supposedly told to save the money for the next trip, but he decided otherwise: we divided everything equally among ourselves. This is how I got my first football salary. I brought the money home and gave it to my parents.
- And what success did Forward have in the future?
Solid. The bonuses, however, were no longer paid to us - they decided, apparently, that this was self-indulgence. Maybe they decided correctly. And now the kids are signing up for the football section with one thought: a football player earns a lot. And they want money as quickly as possible, as much as possible and at the least expenditure of physical and mental strength. To be honest, we at Forward thought about distant countries. And, of course, how to win in these countries. The team got together quite good: from 94th to 98th we all the time became winners or prize-winners of various tournaments. Again in the USA, several times in Scotland, Wales, Italy, Spain. We beat peers from famous European clubs - Celtic, Blackburn, Dundee United, Aberdeen, Napoli, Middlesbrough ...
- What position did you play in Gorokhov's team?
Right midfielder. However, the matter is not in the position, although I really liked the place of the extreme midfielder. Several years spent with Valery Viktorovich taught me to really love football, to put all the strength that you have into it. Our coach always told us not to stop at momentary successes, to constantly work on ourselves.
- Was it strict?
Why was it? He is still strict. We call each other after each match of “Alania”, and he gives an assessment of my game. He cuts the truth off the shoulder. His opinion is of great importance to me.
- Were you a favorite with Gorokhov during Forward?
He had no favorites. And most of all, perhaps, he drove his son, Sergei. But it was Valery Viktorovich who opened the door for me to the youth national team of Russia, for which I will be grateful to him for a century.
TEAM
- The team in which you became the champion of the World Youth Games in Moscow?
About a year before the Games, the 1981 national team was at a tournament in Spain, where I played, to put it mildly, unconvincingly. The team was led by Alexander Kuznetsov, and Gorokhov was his assistant. They found a good line-up. Competition. Already when I was "unhooked", the team held a qualifying tournament for the European Championship and got to the final. In the fall of 1997, a selection meeting was held in Novorossiysk, and Gorokhov persuaded Kuznetsov to invite me to him. Apparently, he showed himself well: he re-established himself in the national team and a few months later participated in the final part of the continental championship in Scotland. There we, however, performed unsuccessfully: we did not leave the group, losing to decisive match Ukrainians.
- So, your team rehabilitated in full by winning the World Youth Games?
We played really well in Moscow. These competitions have become an unforgettable event. All of Russia looked at us, and we had no right to let the fans down. Unfortunately, due to injury I missed the final match with the Turks, when Ruslan Pimenov scored the only winning goal. But I took part in all the previous meetings.
- And you returned to Vladikavkaz as a hero?
I'm not alone. Veniamin Mandrykin, Alan Sakiev, Sergey Gorokhov and Hamlet Siukaev also received congratulations at home. Of all, only the last one was not in Forward: he was a pupil of the Youth Sports School. For the victory in Moscow, all the players of the national team received the title of masters of sports, and as a gift from the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin - a personal watch. The players from Vladikavkaz received the same gift from the President of North Ossetia Alexander Dzasokhov at home.
- But then you stopped getting into the youth team. Why?
The reason is not in the game, but in the state of health. For some reason, I began to get tired quickly, and during one of the examinations, one of the doctors suggested that I had heart problems. In general, unpleasant memories.
- And the thought that you will have to part with football did not flicker?
No. My heart never hurt. I realized that there was some kind of misunderstanding. It soon became clear: the reasons for the strange fatigue are in the transitional age and in the characteristics of the body. In just over a year, I grew by 15 centimeters at once, and I quickly began to gain weight. In Vladikavkaz he continued to play for his team, but while everything was brought to the correct denominator, he left adolescence.
- And you have already been drafted into the youth team?
For the first time I was invited there by Valery Gladilin, but he started playing under Valery Gazzaev. With Yugoslavia, Luxembourg, Slovenia ... We began to win, and there was a real chance to get into the final of the European Championship. But, unfortunately, we drew with the Swiss and missed the chance. I'm in last game did not participate in the qualifying round due to disqualification. I almost cried: winning two goals, we could not keep the advantage!
- How did you feel when Valery Gazzayev, appointed head coach of the Russian national team, included you in the extended list of candidates for the national team?
It was very pleasant, but I understood perfectly well that before the main team I had to grow and grow, that I would be given a chance to prove myself in the youth team.
- And in the match with Ireland they tried, as they say, to take the bull by the horns - and they scored a goal, and generally played very well ...
The whole team was successful in that match. Main coach Andrei Chernyshov set us up for a stubborn struggle, reminded us that young Irishmen are very dangerous. It seems that we coped with its installation and deservedly won.
- Your team and the Georgian national team in Tbilisi confidently beat the Albanians in Volgograd with great difficulty ...
Yes, if it were not for Trifonov's goal at the end of the match, they could have lost points ... We won, of course, in the case: to inflict about three dozen shots on goal and not score is the height of injustice. So Trifonov's ball became the logical conclusion of our efforts. And Kuzmin, who, by the way, was, like me, the champion of the World Youth Games four years ago, made a pass to him from a free-kick. On the other hand, let no one be confused by our minimal victory. Albanians are not whipping boys. In any case, they looked much stronger than the Georgians.
- Is it interesting to train with Chernyshov?
Highly. Perhaps I am not yet entitled to give such assessments, but this is a European-style coach who professes modern football.
- What do you think his team will be able to achieve?
To start the main thing is to win group stage... And whose "youth" is stronger, the final part of the European Championship will finally judge.
"ALANIA"
- You got to “Alania” when the stellar years of the Vladikavkaz team were already over. Did you regret not being born seven years earlier?
Why should I regret it? In 1995, my peers and I, by the way, also contributed to the championship of “Spartak-Alania”.
- ?
I'm kidding, of course. Although I had to be almost a direct participant in the team's home matches. Children from the sports school "Spartak" were placed on the treadmills to serve the balls that flew out-of-bounds. Arthur Pagaev or Omari Tetradze are running, hurrying: "Hey, boy, come on faster!" Give them the ball and happiness - in seventh heaven. As if he himself came a step closer to the gold medals of the Russian championship. In Vladikavkaz, long before the end of the 95 season, they were confident that Spartak-Alania would not miss the lead. Naturally, we served balls to the opponents of our team. There was a case when they did it so quickly, and they attacked so swiftly and scored a goal against Khapov that Gazzaev, they said, “pissed off” after the match the coaches of the Spartak Sports School for our excessive activity.
- When you served the balls to the future champions, did you ever dream of playing next to them?
Sweet dreams, of course, warmed the soul. I think, like every Vladikavkaz boy. However, you never know what one could dream of in those years! But fortune was favorable to me: I ended up in the same team with Pagaev, Agayev, Tetradze, Sikoev, champions of Russia. And the captain of the golden Vladikavkaz squad Bakhvu Tedeev last season was appointed the senior coach of “Alania”, and he became Bahva Otarovich for everyone.
- How did your career in “Alania” begin for you?
As expected at the time - from "Alania-2". It was a kind of double for the main team, because then there were no reserve squad tournaments. First appeared there in 97th. Played two seasons - in the third and second leagues. In 1999, I played for the Vladikavkaz "Iriston", from there I was invited, as they say, "under the base."
- Do you remember the first game in the main squad?
To the smallest detail. It was on June 18, 2000, when "Alania" was headed by Alexander Averyanov. He released me as a substitute in a duel with Uralan 25 minutes before the final whistle instead of Chaika. In that match, our team looked unconvincing, having played a draw with an outsider who was relegated to the first division at the finish line. And I spent completely 90 minutes three weeks after my debut - in Voronezh with Fakel. Then there was also a draw.
- In “Alania” you spent three seasons, and fought for survival in all three teams. Agree, not a very pleasant experience ...
Of course, there is nothing attractive about it. But in 2000, we secured ourselves from relegation long before the finish line, in the past and this seasons, too, figuratively speaking, we did not breathe. I think that among the fans of North Ossetia there were hardly any pessimists who predicted a sad fate for us. If this had happened, the Republican stadium would not have been the most visited in Russia in the last championship. And in 2001, it was filled with constancy, which, say, any Moscow stadium will envy. And if the fans believed in us, then what to say about the players of “Alania”?
- But the nerves of "Alania" their fans still pretty much ruffled.
It is difficult to disagree with your statement. Moreover, we ourselves created difficulties for ourselves in order to overcome them later. For example, in the past season, when the team was led by Boris Ignatiev and Bakhva Tedeev, instilling confidence in her, we could leave the danger zone at a respectful distance in the summer. However, having issued a six-match unbeaten run, then they could not win in four matches in a row. And it all went down the drain.
- Where did the belief in a successful outcome of the championship come from?
Firstly, “Alania” had an excellent coaching tandem. Secondly, our team had a real leader - Omari Tetradze. Thirdly, during the period of additional applications in Vladikavkaz, a hammering duet of forwards Demetradze - Ashvetia appeared.
- Apparently, the latter turned out to be very useful for you personally?
And don't speak! In the last two seasons, I have had to play as a striker many times - we simply did not have nominal forwards. It's nice to score, of course, but this is not my place. I feel much more comfortable in the center of the field with an aim to attack.
A four with a minus. Good matches alternated with rather expressionless ones.
- So Boris Ignatiev was right when he told me once: "Today Kusov acted well. But please, don't praise him in SE", otherwise you won't recognize him in the next game "?
You can't argue with Boris Petrovich - it was like that. But, believe me, this is not at all from arrogance. This happened by some fatal coincidence. I understand that this does not make it easier for the team, so I tried to draw the necessary conclusions. But, unfortunately, they did not always help.
- Do you agree with the opinion of many experts: Kusov - one of the discoveries of the past championship?
Maybe the specialists know better, but if I myself give myself a four with a minus for the championship, then my attitude to their point of view is skeptical. Self-esteem, I think, in a person's life has the main meaning.
DREAMS
- Do you remember childhood dreams?
I did not think about a possible future profession. I didn’t want to be a policeman, excuse me, a lawyer, like an older brother. I wasn’t attracted to my father’s chauffeur work either; my mother’s school pedagogy didn’t seduce me at all. In general, I grew up without any special aspirations, until I seriously looked at the soccer ball. But I always wanted to have a lot of friends.
- And this wish came true?
Fortunately, yes. Even when I walked under the table on foot, one might say, I had devoted comrades. I still communicate with some "classmates" from the kindergarten. What then can we say about classmates or children with whom he grew up in the same yard!
Well, football has brought new friends - Sports School "Yunost" and "Spartak", "Forward", "Iriston", "Alania" double, the main team, youth and youth teams ...
- Do you celebrate your victories with your friends?
Of course. Only without a drop of alcohol. Believe it or not, I have never drunk a single gram of wine in my life, never smoked a single cigarette. The soul does not lie for this even on holidays. Sometimes I drink Ossetian beer. Non-alcoholic.
- Do you like to eat?
This is all right. Ossetian cuisine, I think, is the best in the world. Levzha is the favorite - soup with meat and various spices.
- And the famous Ossetian pies?
Well, it goes without saying! Not a single feast is complete without them. Three cakes are served at the table. They symbolize earth, air and water. In short, life. All my friends who play in other teams like Ossetian pies. He supplied Kerzhakov, Kudryashov, Pimenov and others with them on the way back when they arrived with their teams to the matches in Vladikavkaz.
- With Ruslan Pimenov you, they say, are generally inseparable friends?
Inseparable? A little bit wrong - we play in different teams after all. We talk on the phone - yes, often, we talk about this and that. I recently congratulated him on the Lokomotiv championship. True, a little earlier, “Alania” took away two points from the railroad workers and could well ruin their golden holiday.
- There is an opinion that it was best match Vladikavkaz team last season ...
Eh, if we always played like that, we would definitely compete for a prize place. Loko footballers were very upset, but this, of course, did not affect our relationship with Pimenov. I gave him the pies for the trip. It is a pity that we were not able to sit at the same table: the railway workers immediately flew to Moscow. Otherwise I would treat him at home with other dishes of Ossetian cuisine.
- And, apparently, it would be ideal if your beloved wife served these dishes to the table ...
I have no wife. I do not welcome early marriages: you need to stand firmly on your feet in order to feed your family.
- And I heard that another circumstance keeps you from getting married. Your older brother is not yet married, and according to Ossetian law, the younger in this case must wait ...
There is such a law. However, not everyone observes it now, and I would not wait for Oleg to choose his betrothed either. I just have different principles: although Engels argued that the family is a unit of society, I am in no hurry to please her. Now all thoughts are occupied with football.
- The new year has come. What toast did you raise at the festive table?
- It is not customary for us to "toast" with a glass of non-alcoholic beer. But I made wishes, of course, on New Year's Eve. Too many misfortunes have befallen North Ossetia in the past year - terrorist attacks, floods, glaciers that have claimed lives. So: let this never happen again.
Club
A pupil of the Vladikavkaz sports school "Yunost" and "Spartak". The first coaches were Igor Osinkin, Gennady Lyubochkin and Valery Gorokhov. In 1997-1998 he played for the second squad of the Alania club, in 1999 he spent one season in the Vladikavkaz club of the second division Iriston. In 2000 he made his debut in the top division of the Russian championship as part of Alania, where he played for the next 3 years. In 2003 he moved to CSKA Moscow, in which he played 11 matches in six months, after which he returned to Alania on loan, and played for the Vladikavkaz club until the end of the 2003 championship and in the 2004 championship. From July to November 2005, also on loan, Kusov played in the first division club "Spartak" from the city of Chelyabinsk. In January he went to Grozny. However, for the 2006 season, "Terek" Kusova did not announce, and for the next two seasons, as the footballer said, he was being treated for an injury that he does not want to talk about. By the 2008 season, the player, whose contract with CSKA ended at the end of 2007, first trained as part of the first division club Siberia from Novosibirsk, but in the end he ended up in another Siberian club of the first division Irkutsk Zvezda. In May, he was expelled from the team due to frequent absences for training. In the summer of 2009 he moved to Anji, in whose application he was submitted on August 20. In March 2010, the official website of the Moscow Torpedo announced the signing of a one-year contract with Kusov. In 2011 he returned to North Ossetia, having signed a contract with Alania-d. On June 24, the contract was terminated by mutual agreement of the parties.
In the national team
Played one match with the Russian national team:
- 13 February 2003 Romania 2-4 Russia 71 minutes, 1 assist, has been substituted
In 2002-2003, he played 6 matches and scored 1 goal as part of the Russian youth team.
Achievements
- Champion of Russia: 2003
- Participant of the match for the Russian Super Cup in 2003
- First Division Winner: 2009
Personal life
- Alan's younger brother, Arthur, is also a professional footballer.
"Hey boy, come on faster!" - Omari Tetradze and Artur Pagaev were rushing when he and his peers from the sports school "Spartak" served balls from the out-of-bounds at the overcrowded Vladikavkaz stadium. It was the championship season for “Alania” -95. He looked at the idols, not assuming that he would one day play next to them. Play well. Last year he was among the best in “Alania”, becoming one of the discoveries of the 2002 championship. And the new season will start at CSKA.
A FAMILY
- Alan ... With this name, apparently, God himself ordered to play for "Alania"?
When I was born, the main team of North Ossetia was called "Spartak". Parents were cool about football. But maybe they had a presentiment that I would tie fate with this game? (Smiles.) A joke, of course. The name that they gave me is very common with us. Alans are the ancestors of today's Ossetians, people are proud and courageous. But please do not write "Alans", as they often do in the press. This is wrong, and the inhabitants of the republic are offended. They honor the history of their people, so they call the kids that name.
- Freestyle wrestling is very popular in Ossetia. Your parents were cool about football - and they didn't want to see you on the wrestling mat?
No. They generally did not persuade children to play sports. They just wanted us to study well, grow up to be honest people, and choose a profession to our liking. My father worked as a driver for many years, he drove KamAZ, but it seems he never dreamed that his sons would follow in his footsteps. In the end, it turned out, almost like in that joke. (Laughs.)
- In which?
And remember: the father had three sons ...
- ... two are smart, and the third is a football player?
Exactly! Only in our family it is a little different. Football was chosen by two of three sons. This year my younger brother Artur graduated from secondary school and sports school "Spartak", recently began to train with a double of "Alania". And the elder brother Oleg has nothing to do with football. But we have him not just smart, but very smart. At 23, he has two university degrees: he managed to simultaneously unlearn law and history. In person and in absentia. Now he is looking for a suitable place for the legal part, and history, so to speak, is for the soul. This subject was among his favorites even at school.
Best of the day
- What school subject did you like?
Little bit of everything. Of course, I could not keep up with my older brother in comprehending knowledge - he has not a head, but the Lenin Library. But somewhere before the ninth grade I also studied well. First, it was interesting to learn something new. And, secondly, the status obliged.
- ?
Mom is the head teacher of the school where my brothers and I studied. Plus, she taught the Ossetian language in our classes. You understand that to be sloppy, having the status of the head teacher's son, would be at least incorrect. In general, for the time being, I gnawed on school subjects for fours and fives, but then football began to take too much time, and my academic performance declined. Mom, of course, was unhappy, but she had to put up with it. Arthur was more fortunate.
- In what sense?
When he went my way, my mother was already used to the fact that serious football requires sacrifice in the form of lower school grades. And her attitude to the football hobby of her youngest son was completely different. And I suffered in due time. In our yard every evening they played holes-holes. I didn’t think about the sports school at that time, but I wanted to run. Sometimes you would learn the lessons, but “for dessert” my mother will put in an original requirement: to read 30 pages of text, memorize well and retell it to her. Only then - walk calmly.
- Were you offered any difficult texts?
At your own discretion. But when I wanted to go outside, it was all the same what to read and retell - even "Mumu", even an article from a reference book on cybernetics.
DISCOVERY OF AMERICA
- So, by today's standards, you came to “civilized” football late?
At 12 years old and completely by accident. A friend once went to enroll in the Youth Sports School and invited me along. They looked at me there and left me. I studied with two coaches: first with Igor Osinkin, then with Gennady Lyubochkin. About a year passed, he moved to the sports school "Spartak" to Valery Gorokhov.
- How did the new school and the new coach "bribe" you?
At the Spartak school, Valery Viktorovich organized a children's football club "Forward", whose plans included participation in major international tournaments. Before, I did not go further than Mozdok (the regional center in North Ossetia. - Approx. SK), and then only a month passed - and a trip to the USA! It was in the summer of 94th.
- Well, how, conquered America?
Conquered! We were given the corresponding prize for winning the America's Cup. By the way, over 1000 children's teams from all over the world took part in this tournament. “Forward” turned out to be the strongest in his age group. When we flew home and waited for boarding a plane, everyone at the Chicago airport looked at us with great interest - so small, and the cup is so huge. We considered and, apparently, considering that we had done a great job, began to applaud in unison. It was a pleasure.
- Have you been welcomed at home too?
They praised and wrote out a cash prize. They say that Valery Georgievich Gazzaev himself tried, the head coach of Spartak Vladikavkaz, the future Alania. Gorokhov was supposedly told to save the money for the next trip, but he decided otherwise: we divided everything equally among ourselves. This is how I got my first football salary. I brought the money home and gave it to my parents.
- And what success did Forward have in the future?
Solid. The bonuses, however, were no longer paid to us - they decided, apparently, that this was self-indulgence. Maybe they decided correctly. And now the kids are signing up for the football section with one thought: a football player earns a lot. And they want money as quickly as possible, as much as possible and at the least expenditure of physical and mental strength. To be honest, we at Forward thought about distant countries. And, of course, how to win in these countries. The team got together quite good: from 94th to 98th we all the time became winners or prize-winners of various tournaments. Again in the USA, several times in Scotland, Wales, Italy, Spain. We beat peers from famous European clubs - Celtic, Blackburn, Dundee United, Aberdeen, Napoli, Middlesbrough ...
- What position did you play in Gorokhov's team?
Right midfielder. However, the matter is not in the position, although I really liked the place of the extreme midfielder. Several years spent with Valery Viktorovich taught me to really love football, to put all the strength that you have into it. Our coach always told us not to stop at momentary successes, to constantly work on ourselves.
- Was it strict?
Why was it? He is still strict. We call each other after each match of “Alania”, and he gives an assessment of my game. He cuts the truth off the shoulder. His opinion is of great importance to me.
- Were you a favorite with Gorokhov during Forward?
He had no favorites. And most of all, perhaps, he drove his son, Sergei. But it was Valery Viktorovich who opened the door for me to the youth national team of Russia, for which I will be grateful to him for a century.
TEAM
- The team in which you became the champion of the World Youth Games in Moscow?
About a year before the Games, the 1981 national team was at a tournament in Spain, where I played, to put it mildly, unconvincingly. The team was led by Alexander Kuznetsov, and Gorokhov was his assistant. They found a good line-up. Competition. Already when I was "unhooked", the team held a qualifying tournament for the European Championship and got to the final. In the fall of 1997, a selection meeting was held in Novorossiysk, and Gorokhov persuaded Kuznetsov to invite me to him. Apparently, he showed himself well: he re-established himself in the national team and a few months later participated in the final part of the continental championship in Scotland. There, however, we performed unsuccessfully: we did not leave the group, losing to the Ukrainians in the decisive match.
- So, your team rehabilitated in full by winning the World Youth Games?
We played really well in Moscow. These competitions have become an unforgettable event. All of Russia looked at us, and we had no right to let the fans down. Unfortunately, due to injury I missed the final match with the Turks, when Ruslan Pimenov scored the only winning goal. But I took part in all the previous meetings.
- And you returned to Vladikavkaz as a hero?
I'm not alone. Veniamin Mandrykin, Alan Sakiev, Sergey Gorokhov and Hamlet Siukaev also received congratulations at home. Of all, only the last one was not in Forward: he was a pupil of the Youth Sports School. For the victory in Moscow, all the players of the national team received the title of masters of sports, and as a gift from the President of Russia Boris Yeltsin - a personal watch. The players from Vladikavkaz received the same gift from the President of North Ossetia Alexander Dzasokhov at home.
- But then you stopped getting into the youth team. Why?
The reason is not in the game, but in the state of health. For some reason, I began to get tired quickly, and during one of the examinations, one of the doctors suggested that I had heart problems. In general, unpleasant memories.
- And the thought that you will have to part with football did not flicker?
No. My heart never hurt. I realized that there was some kind of misunderstanding. It soon became clear: the reasons for the strange fatigue are in the transitional age and in the characteristics of the body. In just over a year, I grew by 15 centimeters at once, and I quickly began to gain weight. In Vladikavkaz he continued to play for his team, but while everything was brought to the correct denominator, he left adolescence.
- And you have already been drafted into the youth team?
For the first time I was invited there by Valery Gladilin, but he started playing under Valery Gazzaev. With Yugoslavia, Luxembourg, Slovenia ... We began to win, and there was a real chance to get into the final of the European Championship. But, unfortunately, we drew with the Swiss and missed the chance. I did not participate in the last game of that qualifying cycle due to disqualification. I almost cried: winning two goals, we could not keep the advantage!
- How did you feel when Valery Gazzayev, appointed head coach of the Russian national team, included you in the extended list of candidates for the national team?
It was very pleasant, but I understood perfectly well that before the main team I had to grow and grow, that I would be given a chance to prove myself in the youth team.
- And in the match with Ireland they tried, as they say, to take the bull by the horns - and they scored a goal, and generally played very well ...
The whole team was successful in that match. Head coach Andrei Chernyshov set us up for a stubborn struggle, reminded us that young Irishmen are very dangerous. It seems that we coped with its installation and deservedly won.
- Your team and the Georgian national team in Tbilisi confidently beat the Albanians in Volgograd with great difficulty ...
Yes, if it were not for Trifonov's goal at the end of the match, they could have lost points ... We won, of course, in the case: to inflict about three dozen shots on goal and not score is the height of injustice. So Trifonov's ball became the logical conclusion of our efforts. And Kuzmin, who, by the way, was, like me, the champion of the World Youth Games four years ago, made a pass to him from a free-kick. On the other hand, let no one be confused by our minimal victory. Albanians are not whipping boys. In any case, they looked much stronger than the Georgians.
- Is it interesting to train with Chernyshov?
Highly. Perhaps I am not yet entitled to give such assessments, but this is a European-style coach who professes modern football.
- What do you think his team will be able to achieve?
For starters, the main thing is to win the group stage. And whose "youth" is stronger, the final part of the European Championship will finally judge.
"ALANIA"
- You got to “Alania” when the stellar years of the Vladikavkaz team were already over. Did you regret not being born seven years earlier?
Why should I regret it? In 1995, my peers and I, by the way, also contributed to the championship of “Spartak-Alania”.
- ?
I'm kidding, of course. Although I had to be almost a direct participant in the team's home matches. Children from the sports school "Spartak" were placed on the treadmills to serve the balls that flew out-of-bounds. Arthur Pagaev or Omari Tetradze are running, hurrying: "Hey, boy, come on faster!" Give them the ball and happiness - in seventh heaven. As if he himself came a step closer to the gold medals of the Russian championship. In Vladikavkaz, long before the end of the 95 season, they were confident that Spartak-Alania would not miss the lead. Naturally, we served balls to the opponents of our team. There was a case when they did it so quickly, and they attacked so swiftly and scored a goal against Khapov that Gazzaev, they said, “pissed off” after the match the coaches of the Spartak Sports School for our excessive activity.
- When you served the balls to the future champions, did you ever dream of playing next to them?
Sweet dreams, of course, warmed the soul. I think, like every Vladikavkaz boy. However, you never know what one could dream of in those years! But fortune was favorable to me: I ended up in the same team with Pagaev, Agayev, Tetradze, Sikoev, champions of Russia. And the captain of the golden Vladikavkaz squad, Bakhva Tedeev, was appointed the head coach of Alania last season, and he became Bakhva Otarovich for everyone.
- How did your career in “Alania” begin for you?
As expected at the time - from "Alania-2". It was a kind of double for the main team, because then there were no reserve squad tournaments. First appeared there in 97th. Played two seasons - in the third and second leagues. In 1999, I played for the Vladikavkaz "Iriston", from there I was invited, as they say, "under the base."
- Do you remember the first game in the main squad?
To the smallest detail. It was on June 18, 2000, when "Alania" was headed by Alexander Averyanov. He released me as a substitute in a duel with Uralan 25 minutes before the final whistle instead of Chaika. In that match, our team looked unconvincing, having played a draw with an outsider who was relegated to the first division at the finish line. And I spent completely 90 minutes three weeks after my debut - in Voronezh with Fakel. Then there was also a draw.
- In “Alania” you spent three seasons, and fought for survival in all three teams. Agree, not a very pleasant experience ...
Of course, there is nothing attractive about it. But in 2000, we secured ourselves from relegation long before the finish line, in the past and this seasons, too, figuratively speaking, we did not breathe. I think that among the fans of North Ossetia there were hardly any pessimists who predicted a sad fate for us. If this had happened, the Republican stadium would not have been the most visited in Russia in the last championship. And in 2001, it was filled with constancy, which, say, any Moscow stadium will envy. And if the fans believed in us, then what to say about the players of “Alania”?
- But the nerves of "Alania" their fans still pretty much ruffled.
It is difficult to disagree with your statement. Moreover, we ourselves created difficulties for ourselves in order to overcome them later. For example, in the past season, when the team was led by Boris Ignatiev and Bakhva Tedeev, instilling confidence in her, we could leave the danger zone at a respectful distance in the summer. However, having issued a six-match unbeaten run, then they could not win in four matches in a row. And it all went down the drain.
- Where did the belief in a successful outcome of the championship come from?
Firstly, “Alania” had an excellent coaching tandem. Secondly, our team had a real leader - Omari Tetradze. Thirdly, during the period of additional applications in Vladikavkaz, a hammering duet of forwards Demetradze - Ashvetia appeared.
- Apparently, the latter turned out to be very useful for you personally?
And don't speak! In the last two seasons, I have had to play as a striker many times - we simply did not have nominal forwards. It's nice to score, of course, but this is not my place. I feel much more comfortable in the center of the field with an aim to attack.
A four with a minus. Good matches alternated with rather expressionless ones.
- So Boris Ignatiev was right when he told me once: "Today Kusov acted well. But please, don't praise him in SE", otherwise you won't recognize him in the next game "?
You can't argue with Boris Petrovich - it was like that. But, believe me, this is not at all from arrogance. This happened by some fatal coincidence. I understand that this does not make it easier for the team, so I tried to draw the necessary conclusions. But, unfortunately, they did not always help.
- Do you agree with the opinion of many experts: Kusov - one of the discoveries of the past championship?
Maybe the specialists know better, but if I myself give myself a four with a minus for the championship, then my attitude to their point of view is skeptical. Self-esteem, I think, in a person's life has the main meaning.
DREAMS
- Do you remember childhood dreams?
I did not think about a possible future profession. I didn’t want to be a policeman, excuse me, a lawyer, like an older brother. I wasn’t attracted to my father’s chauffeur work either; my mother’s school pedagogy didn’t seduce me at all. In general, I grew up without any special aspirations, until I seriously looked at the soccer ball. But I always wanted to have a lot of friends.
- And this wish came true?
Fortunately, yes. Even when I walked under the table on foot, one might say, I had devoted comrades. I still communicate with some "classmates" from the kindergarten. What then can we say about classmates or children with whom he grew up in the same yard!
Well, football has brought new friends - Sports School "Yunost" and "Spartak", "Forward", "Iriston", "Alania" double, the main team, youth and youth teams ...
- Do you celebrate your victories with your friends?
Of course. Only without a drop of alcohol. Believe it or not, I have never drunk a single gram of wine in my life, never smoked a single cigarette. The soul does not lie for this even on holidays. Sometimes I drink Ossetian beer. Non-alcoholic.
- Do you like to eat?
This is all right. Ossetian cuisine, I think, is the best in the world. Levzha is the favorite - soup with meat and various spices.
- And the famous Ossetian pies?
Well, it goes without saying! Not a single feast is complete without them. Three cakes are served at the table. They symbolize earth, air and water. In short, life. All my friends who play in other teams like Ossetian pies. He supplied Kerzhakov, Kudryashov, Pimenov and others with them on the way back when they arrived with their teams to the matches in Vladikavkaz.
- With Ruslan Pimenov you, they say, are generally inseparable friends?
Inseparable? A little bit wrong - we play in different teams after all. We talk on the phone - yes, often, we talk about this and that. I recently congratulated him on the Lokomotiv championship. True, a little earlier, “Alania” took away two points from the railroad workers and could well ruin their golden holiday.
- There is an opinion that it was the best match of the Vladikavkaz team in the past season ...
Eh, if we always played like that, we would definitely compete for a prize place. Loko footballers were very upset, but this, of course, did not affect our relationship with Pimenov. I gave him the pies for the trip. It is a pity that we were not able to sit at the same table: the railway workers immediately flew to Moscow. Otherwise I would treat him at home with other dishes of Ossetian cuisine.
- And, apparently, it would be ideal if your beloved wife served these dishes to the table ...
I have no wife. I do not welcome early marriages: you need to stand firmly on your feet in order to feed your family.
- And I heard that another circumstance keeps you from getting married. Your older brother is not yet married, and according to Ossetian law, the younger in this case must wait ...
There is such a law. However, not everyone observes it now, and I would not wait for Oleg to choose his betrothed either. I just have different principles: although Engels argued that the family is a unit of society, I am in no hurry to please her. Now all thoughts are occupied with football.
- The new year has come. What toast did you raise at the festive table?
- It is not customary for us to "toast" with a glass of non-alcoholic beer. But I made wishes, of course, on New Year's Eve. Too many misfortunes have befallen North Ossetia in the past year - terrorist attacks, floods, glaciers that have claimed lives. So: let this never happen again.
Alan Kusov's life is strange. First, take off from a short run - the champion of Russia at 22, the national team ... Then several clubs are not of the highest standard. Then he suddenly disappeared for more than two years and returned just as unexpectedly. This winter, Kusov showed up in the second division - in FC Dolgoprudny. SSF met with Alan to find out how life is.
It was difficult to meet - "Dolgoprudny" disappeared at the training camp, and in short intervals between them, Alan wandered between Moscow and Vladikavkaz. I caught him at a hotel in Otradnoye, Kusov stayed there for a couple of days with friends. We sat down in the corridor.
Malignant calf
- What is the fate of Dolgoprudny?
- I was on vacation in Moscow, and it turned out that I have a common acquaintance with the management of the club, and he brought me together. We talked, signed the contract until the summer. And there it will be seen.
- You have a decent gang!
- Our president focuses on the young, educates his own, but how to do this without the experienced? I, Seryoga Puchkov, Eric Korchagin, Zhitnik Lech. The goalkeeper is good, Andryukha, Ryzhikov's brother ...
- Where will you live?
- There are many places. Now I am here with friends, they came from Vladikavkaz. But I want to rent an apartment closer to the stadium so that the children come for the holidays, I have three. They study at school in Vladikavkaz.
- Your place on the field?
- Opornik. As a child, he began as a striker, then - as a right midfielder, and as he got into Alania's double at the age of 16, he became a pivotal one. Gazzayev asked to attack more. It also depends on age, at 32 you defend yourself more. It's not that your health isn't right, but you still run less.
- Before Dolgoprudny we played in Tashkent ...
- A year ago I came there in the winter - to Lokomotiv. He was the only legionnaire there. I went through the training camp, coach Khakim Fuzailov (at one time worked as an assistant to Semin at Lokomotiv) said that he sees me in the squad. But just before the start of the season, I tore my calf muscle. Recovered, in the first match came out for 15 minutes, immediately scored. He started the next game with the main team and again tore the same muscle, only stronger. It happens that you can't heal, you leave earlier. But then I was recovering for a month and a half! We talked with the management and immediately after the first round we dispersed peacefully. I would love to play in Tashkent again. We took the second place - we were one point behind Bunyodkor. They are now being trained by Mirjalol Kasimov. In 1995 I served him balls, and in 2004 I was lucky to play in the same team.
- Did you ask to visit him at Bunyodkor?
- I am not the kind of person to turn to someone. Although we are on good terms.
"THERE IS SUCH DISEASE - CASINO"
- Injuries follow you ...
- After CSKA I played for a year in Alania, then six months in Chelyabinsk and went to Terek, where Tarkhanov was a coach. We agreed on a three-year contract. And on the fourth or fifth day, I got a knee injury. During training, I did not feel anything, but woke up in the morning - my knee was swollen. I flew to Moscow, did an MRI, it turned out - a meniscus. And during the operation, it turned out that the cruciform was also torn. They performed one operation for me, and a month later another. And then the doctor decided to check the other knee. And it turned out that there is the same thing - the cruciate ligament and the meniscus.
- What, and did not hurt?
- No. I did two more operations and was left for two and a half years. I didn't tell anyone, no one knew what the matter was. Everyone thought he went on a spree, took a drink.
- What were you doing this time?
- By and large, nothing. Had a rest with friends. I visited the casino.
- That is, there was money?
- Whoever plays in the casino does not care whether there is money or not. It's a disease. Played roulette.
- Did you win?
- Sometimes. After all, you have to give to win so that you still come. But there is not a single person in history who has beaten the casino. They cheat there. You, too, have to deceive friends, relatives, loved ones. To get money, you sell apartments, and cars - that's all!
- Have you not reached this stage?
- I got to everything - I lost both apartments and cars!
- And how did you get out?
- Once stopped. Thank you friend - helped. An authoritative senior comrade.
- Did you hypnotize it, locked it with a key?
- No. He asked: "For the sake of your children, stop playing." And I gave it up forever.
- Why haven't you played football for so long?
- After such operations, it heals for about six months, then you get in shape ... I could have returned earlier, but it was delayed. Dirty life, one might say.
- Did you somehow keep in shape during these two and a half years?
- No, no football, did nothing.
- And weight?
- He is always the same with me, so he returned to football without any problems, went to Azerbaijan - to "Standard" Baku.
"RESTING MAN"
- Did you run in front of Baku, did you tighten your uniform somehow?
- No, I came and started training on a par with everyone else.
- Did your legs hurt?
- No. I never really trained (laughs).
- What is it like?
- I don’t bother too much now. Of course, training is needed, but I can be said to be such ... a little resting person. Such an organism! I always felt good at the training camp, even after huge breaks. It's not a problem for me. Problems arose more often than not because of a violation of the regime ... The regime could be disturbed, but in poor condition I never came to training. I might not have come at all. Like this!
- Who are you so hardy?
- My father was very developed physically - he pulled himself up on one arm! Probably went to it. The brothers are not as tall as me.
- The youngest is a football player. How is he doing?
- Now playing for the Krasnodar Territory, it does not work out higher, because on one knee I broke a cruciform twice. And so he played for Alania, Kuban, SKA Rostov. The second brother is in St. Petersburg, he has four higher educations.
BASKETBALL PLAYER
- You, probably, like everyone else in Vladikavkaz, tried yourself in freestyle wrestling?
- At the age of six I came to enroll in the section. The coach says, "Repeat what this guy does." The kid comes out and started this! Flip, flask, pull-up, push-up ... How to repeat it? Turned around and walked away. I went, signed up for basketball, played until I was 12. He even played for the Vladikavkaz national team at the republican championship.
- Were you already above everyone else then?
- Later I grew up. Then he was small - playmaker. Out of ten, I scored ten three-pointers, out of ten, I scored free throws. And at the age of 11 he started going to football in parallel.
- And now the moment has come - either-or ...
- No, or-or was not. Basketball and football in Vladikavkaz could not be compared. In addition, “Alania” became the champion of Russia in 1995, all the guys were turned into football. Wherever we played - in the yard, in the next kindergarten, in the nearest school. Day and night! Until it gets dark. Mom worked as a head teacher at the school. Every summer I went to the mountains to get treatment for asthma. And when she was in the mountains, I signed up for football at Yunost, because she would not let me in. The first coach is Igor Vitalievich Osinkin, the same as that of Dzagoev. Soon he moved to Spartak, as did Venya Mandrykin, and to the same coach - Gorokhov. I, too, like Vienna, they said: "You will go to America." And that decided everything. We flew to the America's Cup three months later. Many teams from all over the world have gathered there. We won against someone in the final - 4: 1, I played a right half, scored two goals. Then we went to this Cup again, but lost in the final to the Canadians - 0: 4. We've been to many places ...
HEART DISEASE
- You also had the World Youth Games.
- Yes, we won in Moscow. We were promised masters of sports of international class, and they just gave us masters, but at the age of 17 it was not bad either. They handed over a golden watch from Yeltsin - "Flight", and from Dzasokhov also "Flight", only a little more. But I suddenly started having heart problems. I played three matches, and all - shortness of breath. I run 50 meters - and I can't go on, I'm suffocating. They were forbidden to play football. But then I was already playing in Alania's double.
- Disaster!
- No, I was calm. I am always calm.
- What did you do without football?
- Never mind. Then he did not drink, did not walk. Therefore, I did nothing - I was resting.
- Did you kick the ball?
- Did not do anything! And suddenly, six months later, everything went away. It turns out that this was due to the transitional age, when I grew up dramatically. But there are still rumors that I have heart problems.
"UNCONVENIENT BEFORE GAZZAEV"
- Wikipedia says: 6 matches for the youth team ...
- Much more. Under Gladilin, I played almost all the matches, although I was born in 1981, and there were the guys in 1979 - Bulykin, Bezrodny. I remember one moment. We played with the Slovenian national team under Gazzaev. And he always has such requirements: if there is a long pass to the attacker and he loses, then the central midfielder must definitely pick up the ball. If he didn't make the selection, he could have fined and replaced. And now by the 5th minute I had two moments when I could not make a rebound. Valery Georgievich called Evsikov over to change his clothes and replaced me.
- What is your relationship with Gazzaev?
- Normal. I am grateful to him. Only very inconvenient - he was counting on me, and I let him down. And in CSKA, and in general in life. He always tried to explain, help, guide me, but I did not behave as I should.
I want to apologize to Valery Georgievich and Evgeny Lennorovich Giner. I let both of them down. But more than Gazzaev, he counted on me strongly.
"I REMEMBER ALL GOALS!"
- Let's go to the clubs. How well it all started - Alania, first team, four goals ...
- For the first time, Averyanov released me against Uralan in 2000 instead of Alexander Chaika (his back hurt) for 20 minutes. And the next game, in Voronezh, was played entirely. I remember all the goals. Zenit, Dynamo Moscow, Sokol, Rostov.
- In 2003 at CSKA under Gazzaev - 11 matches.
- Problems with Achilles started. Because of this, I played so little. In the same 2003 he returned to rent in “Alania” to help, she was in last place. This is only my decision, not what Gazzaev removed.
- Are casinos infected in Moscow?
- Yes. I went there in 2003, left ... in 2008 (laughs).
- Did Gazzaev know?
- He's always up to date!
- We've probably heard a lot from relatives.
- There was always pressure, but I don't want to talk about it.
- When did you get married?
- In the same 2003. 1400 people attended a wedding in Vladikavkaz.
- In the Caucasus, weddings are ruin.
- It's still cheaper in Ossetia than in Moscow. And not twice, but many, many times.
Fracture - in "Torpedo", GOLENOSTOP - in "Anzhi"
- Why didn't it work at Anji?
- I invited Omari Tetradze there. I managed to play with him in 2002 in “Alania”, we became friends. And so we phoned, he took me to the second round. He came, played three matches, and then an injury - an ankle. He recovered, but the team was doing well, and they did not change the line-up. We took 1st place, advanced to the Premier League. Tetradze left, and so did I.
- What prevented the "Torpedo"?
- Pavlov called there. Won the Russian championship in the second league. It turns out that he was a champion in all three leagues. Everything was fine at Torpedo. Only at the beginning of the second round we played with Saturn-2, went into a tackle and broke his leg. Because of this, the season did not finish. And then Pavlov left, and so did I.
- Four goals in half a season is not bad for a defensive player.
- One - in Gubkin from thirty-five meters hit, one - from the penalty spot, two - with his head. I scored two more for the Cup.
–What problems were there in Luch?
- None. I went to Vladivostok again to see Pavlov. The team is good. Just a little unlucky, we flew out. And he left because the knee hurt, and the contract ended. In addition, there was a variant with Tashkent.
"LIFE IS FUN"
- What after football?
- There is an incomplete higher education - three courses in law. Two left. Someday I will definitely finish. I haven’t decided yet what I will do, but something related to football. Maybe I'll become a coach. Or an agent.
- Football gave a lot of friends, enemies?
- Friends - yes, enemies, I think - no.
- Did you save something - real estate, cars?
- I left everything in the casino.
- But is there an apartment in Vladikavkaz?
- No comments.
- The happiest day?
- The birth of the first daughter. Although two more children were born afterwards, let them not be offended, most of all I love the eldest daughter.
- Is the birth of a daughter in Ossetia also 1400 people?
- No, this day is not particularly celebrated. Well, we sat a little with friends ...
–How much - a little?
- Only three days.
- The worst day?
- This was not and, I hope, will not be. This is if I disappointed the children.
- And the most fun?
- (Laughs.) All life is fun. So funny, very few people have such. Consider that you have rested your whole football life!
