History in photographs. Veniamin Mandrykin

Mandrykin's career was cut short by tragic circumstances. On the night of November 9-10, 2010, the goalkeeper, who then played for Dynamo Bryansk, was driving a Porsche Cayenne luxury car, escaping from police pursuit and crashed into a tree at a speed of about 200 km / h. As a result, a compression fracture of the cervical vertebra and damage to the spinal cord. Complicated operation and long recovery.

Since then, Benjamin's life has changed dramatically. But he still does not lose his presence of mind. Watching football on TV. And he rejoices when old friends visit him. Last year, for Benjamin's birthday, we prepared great interview with him. Since then, the goalkeeper's health has not changed dramatically. On the eve of his 34th birthday, we again visited Mandrykin, inviting him to become the new hero of our traditional photo rubric. Benjamin agreed. His photo story is in front of you.

At the Spartak stadium. Football players of the sports school "Youth". My first tournament wins. After the award. Team photo. I am fifth from the right in the top row.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Minnesota. America's Cup victory in 1995. We won this tournament for the second time in a row. Our team is resting on the green grass. I am the far left in the first row.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Scotland. I am awarded the prize for the best player of the tournament.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Stadium "Dynamo". After playing for Alania, he moved to CSKA. He spent most of his career in the camp of the “army”. In the photo - with Lyosha Berezutsky. Behind our backs you can also see Shemberas, Kirichenko and Rakhimich. By the way, Vasya and Lyosha can be distinguished by their faces, they are different.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Stadium "Luzhniki". Russian Cup final with Zenit. Warming up before the game. I'm in flight. In that match, we beat the St. Petersburg team with a score of 2:0 and, thus, won the first trophy for CSKA in new history.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Kyiv. Olympic Stadium. International tournament in memory of Lobanovsky. In the photo from left to right - Shershun, Shemberas, V. Berezutsky, Samodin, A. Berezutsky, me (top row), Solomatin, Heinrich, Evsikov, Laizans, Berketov (bottom row). I really liked Kiev. Then in Ukraine it was possible to walk anywhere and calmly speak Russian.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

CSKA team in full force. In the photo you can see such players as Elvir Rakhimich, Alexey and Vasily Berezutsky, Rolan Gusev, Dmitry Kirichenko, Sergey Semak and many others. I'm standing in the middle in the top row.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Stadium "Dynamo". Match against Lokomotiv. I am on the rise of my career. That game ended with a 2-0 win for the Army Men. I played well then: I helped out in a couple of moments. By the way, Loko was our most principled rival at that time.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Lisbon. Jose Alvalade Stadium. CSKA victory in the UEFA Cup. Group photo immediately after the match. Then our team beat the Portuguese "Sporting" with a score of 3:1 in the final of the tournament.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Celebration of victory in the UEFA Cup. In the locker room after the match. On the photo from left to right: massage therapist Mikhail Nasibov, I am, Vladimir Shevchuk, Nikolay Latysh, Semberas, head coach teams Valery Gazzaev, Shershun, Ignashevich, Laizans, Salugin, A. Berezutsky, Vyacheslav Chanov, Denisov (top row), Aldonin, doctors, massage therapist, videographer (bottom row).

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

After the victorious match with Sporting in the UEFA Cup. There are three CSKA goalkeepers in the locker room Vladimir Gabulov, Igor Akinfeev and I decided to take a picture with the president of the club Evgeny Giner and head coach Valery Gazzaev.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

In the airplane. We return to Moscow after the Lisbon final. In the photo - the director of CSKA for public relations S ergey Pavlovich Aksyonov, Rolan Gusev, me and Bogdan Shershun.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

At that time the Minister of Defense Sergey Ivanov presented gifts on the occasion of the victory in the UEFA Cup. In the boxes - army binoculars and a medal from the Ministry of Defense.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Vladikavkaz. They brought the UEFA Cup with Valery Gazzaev to North Ossetia.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Lokomotiv Stadium". Champagne after winning the Russian Cup. We designed a kind of trophy hat-trick: we won the championship, won the Russian Cup and the UEFA Cup. In the final match, CSKA beat Khimki 1:0.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

With the Cup of Russia in his hands. The celebration continues.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

At the training. In the photo - CSKA goalkeeping coach Vyacheslav Viktorovich Chanov and his wards - Igor Akinfeev, Vladimir Gabulov and myself.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Match between CSKA and Zenit. Forward of the St. Petersburg club Oleg Kozhanov hits a penalty kick in our goal, but I beat off the blow. In the end, we won against Zenit with a score of 2:0.

Photo: Photo from the personal archive of Veniamin Mandrykin

Stadium "Luzhniki". CSKA once again became the owner of the Russian Cup. Our joy after victory. In the final of the tournament, we beat Spartak Moscow with a score of 3:0.

Friday Talk is back from vacation! A mind-blowing interview with a famous goalkeeper whose career was cut short due to a terrible car accident.

We were afraid of this interview, this meeting. Mandrykin noticed our confusion - apparently not the first who came into his little room with horror in his eyes.

Laughed at us. Helped me get used to it.

Put the recorder right on me ... - he pointed to his lifeless legs with a look.

We froze. Somehow uncomfortable.

Don't be afraid! Venya responded with a smile. I still don't feel anything...

At some point from today's day, they jumped to goalkeeper memories. Mandrykin willingly supported the topic. Then they asked about something - and suddenly they heard:

How do you make me break the brain! Sorry, I'm disabled!

We seemed to be burned. They were embarrassed, there was a pause - and after a moment Venya laughed, enjoying the effect:

Calm down! Kidding! By the way, the toughest jokes are among the disabled.

Oh.

I tell you exactly. Seen enough in rehabilitation centers. People with disabilities deliberately begin to mock their condition loudly when a healthy person is nearby. He is confused. And it’s funny to us: “Look, how he broke off, he doesn’t like it ...” These are our jokes.

Almost seven years have passed since the accident that cut the life of the former CSKA goalkeeper into two halves.

September 22, 2001. CSKA - "Saturn" - 0:0. Veniamin MANDRYKIN. Photo by Alexander FEDOROV, "SE"

- Do you feel anything at all?

My spine is damaged in such a place ... It would have been a little higher - I would have died. But the doctors already gave 25 percent for the fact that I would survive. Therefore, for a month and a half they were placed in a medically induced coma with artificial lung ventilation. So that the body does not overload. Now the legs do not move at all, the arms - a little bit. The main thing is that I can scratch my face, it was my dream after the accident!

- What else did you dream about?

Learn to breathe on your own. Get rid of the machine that does it for you. It pumps oxygen into the lungs through a tube. For the first six months, I couldn't move anything. I was told: if the spinal cord is not completely broken, particles remain - they themselves will look for ways. Something will work. My hands returned. But the fingers don't move. See how they rolled out?

- You probably listen to changes in your own body. Getting better?

Changes are possible in the first three years. What is restored is restored. That's it. I am like this for the rest of my life.

- You calmly say terrible things.

How else to say? I've been to rehab centers. I saw a man who was injured at the age of 15. At school, in a physical education lesson, he unsuccessfully performed a somersault. He stuck his head in, broke his spine. Now he is 51 years old.

- 36 years old moves in a wheelchair?

Yes. He married a girl with disabilities, they wander around rehabilitation centers together. Dropped: "I don't know another life." I can also move in a wheelchair, I just can't turn the wheel. His situation is slightly better than mine, the damage is lower. I have a fourth and fifth vertebrae. The higher, the worse. No two spinal injuries are the same! All different!

- Are you on the street?

V Lately- No. For me there is nothing interesting. The window was opened, ventilated - enough. I went to rehab centers. Well, you ride back and forth ... You can lie there all year round, but what's the point? The first two years I spent a lot of time in these centers.

- There is no elevator at the entrance. And the floor is high.

Neighbor boys help when you need to get out. No problem. A person gets used to everything, you can live in any position! I feel fine. Sometimes the pressure goes up. But this is nonsense. The rest is in order. I just don't run.

- Who is visiting?

At first, many people came. Over time, less and less. My comrade in youth looks in Alania Atsamaz Dedegkaev. He moved to Moscow, works in the Accounts Chamber. Have been to me Igor Akinfeev , Ruslan Pimenov , Vova Kisenkov, Dima Khomich, Rolan Gusev ... But you won’t run into me - Khomich is in Perm, Kisenkov is in Kaluga, Gusev is in Marbella. WITH Denis Popov often call. My children go to him on vacation.

- To Novorossiysk?

It is Denis who trains there, and opened a hotel in Gelendzhik.

- The most unexpected call lately?

A guy named Ludwig dialed from Vladikavkaz. He is older, the previous release of coach Gorokhov. We knew each other a little, but did not communicate for fifteen years. He said: "Today I saw you in a dream - you walk. I think I need to find a phone ..."

- Did you have many friends?

Very. But you change the team - and the whole circle of friends is updated. Always so.

- Gazzaev called?

Never.

- But Giner helped you a lot. Did you see each other after the accident?

No, here Roma Babaev stopped by. We are still in touch. And Yevgeny Lennorovich took on all the expenses. You have no idea what those amounts are. To take me on a special plane from Bryansk to Moscow, to keep me in intensive care…

- What are the numbers?

As I was told, if you do not get to the Burdenko Research Institute according to the quota, you pay 30 thousand rubles for each of the first ten days. Further - on 20 thousand. I spent about ten months there. Plus mini-operations for breathing. Giner paid for everything. Immediately wrote a letter of guarantee from the football club.

- Your family would not pull such expenses?

At that time there was no cash. I would have to sell an apartment, a car. Do you know that the guys from CSKA raised a huge amount?

- About a hundred thousand dollars.

130 thousand! Also a big help. Disability issued a year later. It was necessary to buy mattresses so that there were no bedsores, a special bed. See how comfortable? Different buttons, I manage it myself.

- How did you get 130 thousand dollars?

Zhanna, sister, was invited to the CSKA office on Leningradsky Prospekt. The guys chipped in and left the leadership. I was amazed when I found out. It is clear that they collected - but so much?! Also army fans visited me. From the Men in Black group. Mike was made for the tenth anniversary of winning the UEFA Cup. Ball with autographs. Usually I gave balls - and here to me. In 2005, when they took the UEFA Cup, the fans gave everyone a gold ring, medals with a horse. Everything is preserved!

Veniamin MANDRYKIN. Photo by Alexey IVANOV, "SE"

Your TV is on almost 24/7. What are you watching?

If football, then central matches. I prefer the Discovery channel. Any scientific and educational, about space, galaxies. When I was in intensive care, my friends bought a TV. They brought boxes of CDs. Watched a bunch of movies. I especially love Nicolas Cage. Gone in 60 Seconds, Family Man...

- Which actor do not tolerate?

Tom Cruise. Because of sectarian affairs, all this Scientology is not to your liking.

- Have you seen "1+1"?

Yes, good movie. Everything is very accurate! I don't care if it's warm or cold when my feet are touched either. But the main character's situation is worse than mine, he didn't even move his neck. Completely broken neck. And I have a little bit of a thin line left. I will explain to you what it is. If you separate the spine, a jelly-like strip will remain. Science cannot restore the spinal cord, any touch ends with paralysis. You will always do more damage. The third section is damaged - it is lumbar, only the legs are taken away. In the cervical region - up to the chest.

- Do you have a laptop?

No, don't look for me on Facebook. Before I looked in, I learned the news. Now it doesn't pull at all. Social media is evil!

- You argue, just like Akinfeev.

I think I started thinking like that earlier. Friends not connected with football offered to install a computer and a set of special equipment to communicate via the Internet. I said: "Thanks guys, no need. It's more interesting to meet you live. No program can replace that." Some of them will drop by once a month, slam on a glass, well, that's fine.

- What are you reading?

Now, unfortunately, there is no such possibility. I didn’t accustom myself to audiobooks or electronic books. I just don't get it. I want to take a book, feel the aroma of paper, rustle. This is real pleasure. But I can't hold anything in my hands. And asking them to sit next to you, turn the pages... Well, why strain people? It's a pain for them, and for me. I'd rather watch TV.

- When did you realize that you would be lying down?

In reanimation. I came to my senses after a coma, asked the doctors. They told me, I accepted. He clarified: "No transplants are possible?" - "Science has not yet come up with. Maybe in ten or fifteen years ..." This was said even before the MRI. When I couldn't even turn my neck.

- Did you turn to alternative medicine?

No.

- Were you offered?

Ideas were thrown through acquaintances. If it helped, there would not be so many wheelchair users in Moscow. Spinal cord injuries are non-recoverable. Many do not understand this, they go to China, India ... And it was enough for me to talk with Alexander Konovalov to understand everything.

- Who is this?

An outstanding neurosurgeon, he was the director of the Burdenko Institute for forty years. Academician. As I was told, it is one of the world's three. Such a doctor can do nothing with thousands of patients. And some swindler with herbs and goat urine - will he cope? Well, isn't that stupid?

- If you had broken not the fourth, but the sixth vertebra - would there still be a chance to rise?

No. Fingers would move, he could eat. No one fully recovers.

- From what picture in rehabilitation centers did your heart ache?

It's hard with those in a vegetative state. A person with open eyes but not focusing on anything. Zero reactions. As an example - General Romanov. This is unbearable to look at! Not even on them, but on relatives.

- A lot of those?

In intensive care - 90 percent. In the evenings, the nurses finished their work, you can’t sleep on duty. Everything around is in a coma, like vegetables, but I still think. Well, come and talk to me. They encouraged: “Venya, you rejoice that you recognize people, the children visit you, mother. And who lies next to you ...” They come to those mothers, sob, crawl on their knees: “Son, look at me, this is your mother!” It seems to help, something in the brain will respond. Although I haven't seen it. Priests are brought. He reads a prayer for health - and a person dies right at this moment. Immediately another prayer begins, "for peace" ...

- Did your neighbors in intensive care, as a rule, fight in cars?

No-e-t! There was a guy - a racer, a street racer. He said: "All the time I thought - I'll crash while driving. I dived - and stuck into the bottom." They say correctly - you can’t jump headfirst if you don’t know the bottom. The other boy just swam, his head lowered into the water. Ordinary river, log towards. A blow, like in the side of the pool - and the same thing that I have ... Do you know how many wheelchairs are in Moscow? 30 thousand! Not to mention other disabled people!

- Imagine what kind of flour - to lie next to people who do not react to anything.

Well no. I didn't have any psychological problems at all. Came out of a coma, a couple of days later a psychiatrist appeared. Find out if there are any suicidal tendencies, depression. She asked a couple of questions - she turns to the resuscitator: "He doesn't need me."

- With a sense of humor you have always been friends.

The nurses sat down to me: "Can I talk? From you such energy, positive!" You will talk to me - and problems do not seem to be problems. Everyone left with a smile: "Ah, what nonsense!"

- According to your own feelings - how old are you now?

How I got into an accident at the age of 29 - so much remains. Maybe 25. People feel the years, moving: oh, it has become harder ... But I don’t feel this heaviness in bed. Nothing accumulates.

July 2001 Sergei PERKHUN (left) and Veniamin MANDRYKIN at a CSKA training session. Photo by Alexander FEDOROV, "SE"

- "Porsche" - a miracle car, like a capsule. The driver must remain unharmed in any case. Why are you in such trouble?

I exceeded strongly, to be sure. Lost control. You have to turn right, and the speed is huge. The wheel drove into the curb - and the car took off. Landed on the roof, right next to the driver's seat. There were five of us - Maxim and Marat, also the players of the Bryansk "Dynamo" and two girls. All eight pillows worked. And they are not provided on the roof. The blow hit me in the head and went lower, the fourth vertebra shattered into fragments. The fifth has moved. I immediately switched off.

- And the passengers?

The guys have no bruises, no scratches. One girl has a broken collarbone, the other has a crack in her vertebrae. After a couple of months, they settled down.

- The investigator came to see you.

This is required by law. I stopped by when I had already moved home from intensive care. It was required to take testimony and close the case for reconciliation of the parties. I'm the main culprit. Nobody had any complaints.

Has the car been restored?

Gone for parts. It's more expensive to restore.

Valery Petrakov, who worked with Dynamo Bryansk, told us: “Oh, Venya, why did he run away?

This is yes ... Marat has a friend - the head of the traffic police. One call would have made all the difference. But I got excited. I've been racing all my life! If he drank a little, he never stopped. I ran away from traffic cops not even because I feel sorry for the money. Adrenaline, you know? In ten years, no one has ever caught up with me.

- Often tried?

It happened. In Moscow, he always left the traffic cops. What let me down in Bryansk? Didn't know the way. And the local girls began to suggest ... In general, you can’t listen to anyone while driving, even more so at such a speed. Only one's own eyes can be trusted. And these shout: "Here to the right!" So I turned the steering wheel. The speed was 240. Did not fit into the turn, the curb worked like a springboard.

- Were you wearing your seatbelt?

No. The belt is controversial. It happens: who did not buckle up, flew out the window. The rest were burned in the car. I was not lucky - they landed in my place. On the Internet looked at pictures of the car. The only dent is over the driver's seat. As Marat said, on the way the tree was uprooted. The car on the roof rolled for another hundred meters at high speed. There is a tire service nearby, if they crashed into it, it would be death, everyone would be smeared. But there was an old rubber on display, it took a hit, like in a race.

- What is - 240?

If the windows are closed, you don't feel anything. But I tried not to look at the speedometer especially. Only when on the Moscow Ring Road he laid down the arrow in 2001. On the sports "Mercedes" CLK, I had a limiter - 250. In order to reach 260, you need to press the gas to the floor for a long time. If you drive in a straight line - no fear. Here you open the window - deafening! The wind beats with such force that the glass can endure with a shock wave!

One of the CSKA players told us: "It was terrible to drive with Venya. He holds the steering wheel with one hand, and fills SMS with the other. I look, and he has 200 on the speedometer."

There was also a cigarette. Ha! When the base of CSKA was in Arkhangelsk, we, the young ones, called up and left at the same time. Who will reach the base faster. Then they stopped calling each other, if they saw each other on the track, the cuts began.

- Who was your main competitor?

Denis Popov has a more powerful car. Sports convertible "Mercedes" SL 60. A small car with a six-liter engine.

- And you?

- "Mercedes" CLK, volume 3.2. But I came first! You stop outside the gates of the base, you go out - and your pads are smoking.

- Veterans did not participate in your races?

Exclusively youth - Evsikov , Popov, Gogniev , I ... When I drove to Vatutinki, I bypassed Gazzaev along the side of the road. He was angry: "What kind of ride is this?!" Let's take a break, guys, I'll smoke. Dries up in the throat. Because I say all the time on the breath ...

September 2, 2007 Moscow. Luzhniki. "Spartak" - CSKA - 1:1. Veniamin MANDRYKIN vs WELLITON. Photo Alexander WILF

- Have you smoked for a long time?

From youth. Now they let me. When I played, I smoked about ten a day. But I always knew: if I want to, I'll quit. At some point I stopped. In one second he threw away his cigarette, and that was it. Before the accident, two years did not touch. In intensive care, I still had pipes sticking out from everywhere - I suddenly asked for a cigarette. Helped to cough. Now the same ten cigarettes as before.

- Can I have a drink?

I fell in love with Dagestan cognac. I used to drink anything, now - only cognac.

- Through a tube?

No, they help me to throw a glass.

- What are you dreaming about?

In a dream, I am always healthy, I walk! Not a single dream when it would be different. All disabled people are like that.

- In a dream, do you realize that in reality everything is different?

Over time, I began to understand. If the dream is not deep. I also had visions. The dream was intertwined with reality. In a coma it seemed that I was on an ocean ferry. Like I'm dying, I'm being loaded and drugged. So that everything goes painlessly. The compressor was noisy nearby, the doctors and nurses were talking loudly. All this was woven into a dream. The girls in the pool seemed to be having fun. When the anesthesia let go a little, there was a feeling that my legs were cut off. Then the ferry arrives in Amsterdam, the guys bend over me: "We went to the city for grass. Would you like to take some?" No, I answer. I won't smoke, bring two cheeseburgers. They return cheerful, stoned. I say, "Where are my cheeseburgers?" - "No, first we'll cut you off, then you'll have a bite to eat..." What a dream!

- What kind of medicine did they give you?

Propofol. On which Michael Jackson sat. He died from it. If you do not control the process, the person stops breathing. And I was all in the sensors. Reality was especially intertwined with sleep when they were briefly taken out of a coma. Checking how I focus. Not a dream, not a reality, some kind of vision.

- They say that a lot in such dreams happens at great speed.

This is when you come off anesthesia.

- Do you dream of football?

Often!

- What exactly?

How do you jump - no. More like getting ready for the game. The fears from those years are returning: sometimes you forget the shields, then the gloves, then the boots ...

- Would you like to include your own matches?

No. I can't stand watching football.

- Here is the answer.

I love to play! If there were injuries or did not get into the application, I tried not to go to the stadium. I could still watch my team on TV. But I never had a fanatical love for football. I did not read reviews, analytical notes about the game. Analysis of matches and theoretical studies have always been a torment for me.

- Were you worried before entering the field?

Always worried! Otherwise, expect trouble. As a rule, the whole team has such a mood, it is transmitted to everyone in the locker room. But to tremble... On the contrary! For me, the harder it is, the better. You go out in Luzhniki against Spartak, the people of the sea. The adrenaline is incredible. A week before the match, I only thought about him. You sit at home, have dinner - suddenly the thought: "In three days this will happen!" Immediately goosebumps.

- Did the fans arrange a fire behind your back?

So it's a thrill! It was just for the sake of playing with Spartak that it was worth coming to CSKA. Even if they yell something at your address, it's still great. After the match, the Spartak fans were reaching out to me for some reason: "Will you sign?" And then some foreign fans do not give autographs.

Do you remember goals from the past?

No. Medals are remembered. Correctly Gazzaev said: "You will forget how much you were paid for some matches. But you will remember trophies all your life!" And so it turned out. The details have faded.

- Once at the training camp you went to the second half against Cologne. CSKA lost 0:2. The match ended with the score 1:9.

Exactly, it was! You would not say - I would not remember. It was in Moscow that they were alarmed when they found out the bill. And we forgot the match with Cologne in two minutes. The end of the gathering, it was hard to get there, where the hell is the stadium, slush, we went straight from there to the airport. No attitude! I remember much more how I missed six for CSKA.

We don't remember this.

I just moved, played in 2001 against the "Zenith". Last match Sadyrin at CSKA. Burned out 1:6. The team in such a hole was after death Perhuna! They just played out the season, went to every match like hard labor. Sadyrin felt terrible, he flew to Germany to see doctors once every two weeks. When I returned, it was a nightmare. This is the first time I have encountered this - a person after "chemistry" is as if dead. A real corpse, green-yellow. One bones. A couple of days go by and it gets better. But after that match, we never saw Sadyrin alive again.

- Were you released in Makhachkala instead of Perkhun?

This was the first time I replaced Perhun. But not the last - I was lying on the very spot where he died.

- In the hospital?

Yes. He spent a week in Burdenko. There are fifteen such boxes in the first compartment. Place number one - for the most seriously ill. I spent four months there - until I began to breathe on my own.

- Did they remember Sergei in Burdenko?

They even told me why he died. The bones of the skull were thinner than those of an ordinary person. At the moment of impact, the skull cracked, blood began to flow inside. If they had done an MRI right away in Makhachkala, they would have understood that an urgent trepanation was needed. They would have opened the skull, removed all the blood, there would have been no consequences. Blood presses on the brain!

- This is clear.

They just missed the time. Peter Cech's injury was more severe. But there is London, and here is Makhachkala.

- How did the clash between Perkhun and Budunov look from the bench?

Nothing unusual at all! In 2000, at the training camp with Alania, they played against Dynamo Minsk. Exactly the same episode, I collide with someone forehead. For me, everything ended with three stitches, for Perkhun - with death. I asked the nurses who, a week later, disconnected Seryoga from the devices: "Why did it happen?" Explained. When they brought it, it was too late to save, half of the brain died.

- Was he a good guy?

Yes. We didn't get to make friends. By that time, I had only been at CSKA for a month. In Makhachkala, the hotel is small, we were accommodated in a triple room - Perkhun, Gognieva and me.

- Were there any premonitions?

None. The game is like a game. Sadyrin lamented at the funeral: "This is the third CSKA footballer who dies with me - Eremin, Mamchur, Perkhun ..." He was terribly worried. And then Sergei Semak spoke with the Perkhun family. We collected money by the whole team, when we won the championship, we chipped in again.

Valery GAZZAEV (left), Vyacheslav CHANOV (center), Veniamin MANDRYKIN. Photo by Alexander FEDOROV, "SE"

- Akinfeev has a reputation as a difficult person - but you know Igor better.

For some reason, everyone says: “Akinfeev is complex, arrogant, arrogant ...” I answer: I don’t know Igor from this side. We always communicated well.

Do you remember the first time you saw him?

Seems like 2002. I injured my meniscus and had surgery in Germany. Igor was attracted to training with the base. A couple of matches were in reserve for Kramarenko. Then Nigmatullin was invited to CSKA. And they took Akinfeev to the training camp in 2003.

- When did you realize that the competitor is serious?

It's hard to say... But after winning the UEFA Cup, it became obvious: I have to leave CSKA if I want to play. The first number will be Akinfeev .

- Why?

This title has been won! If before I fought, competed, now that's it. In relation to Gazzaev, it was clear that the bet was on Akinfeev. In 2007, Igor had an injury, he was recovering for six months. For four months, Gazzaev treated me gently. Support only: "Play!" The closer to Igor's recovery, the more nit-picking. It is clear: Akinfeev will recover and stand at the gate. I will be covered.

- Is the attitude of Chanov the same?

No. Chanov communicated well with everyone. But he didn't decide anything. The first, second and third word for Gazaev. As he says, so be it. After 2005, once a year I approached Giner and asked him to let him go. He answered: "I understand everything." “Saturn” was interested, from “Rubin” Kafanov came for me - they could not agree with CSKA. I really wanted to play! I find out how calmly Chepchugov felt for years, everything suited him - it kills me. And he stayed until the end of the contract.

- Until then, Gazzaev believed in you. Remember the day everything changed?

His first words after the resignation of Jorge: “You and Igor are equal to me. You play until an error ...” Akinfeev had it after a couple of matches, but Gazzaev did not keep his word. Just hit on me. And I realized that there is nothing to catch in CSKA.

- Every football player has the most offensive episode in his life when he was left on the bench.

2006th. Akinfeev receives a red card with Spartak, for the next match against Tom, Gazzaev releases Gabulov, not me. It was his first game for CSKA.

- Did you explain somehow?

No. Decided everything. It was then that I finally realized: there is no trust. Even though it skipped before. In training, I looked no worse than Gabulov.

- Did Gazzaev always treat him warmer?

No. I played in the youth team. The feeling that this is not even because of Gabulov!

- Attitude towards you personally?

Exactly. In 2007, after Akinfeev's injury, I played normally until the re-application period. I know for sure - Gazzaev wanted to take another goalkeeper. He always had it! The same case as in 2002. I could play in a month, but Gazzaev invited Nigmatullin.

- Why was Akinfeev nicknamed Furik in CSKA?

I have no idea. Ask Gusev on occasion, it was he who came up with nicknames for everyone. Ignashevich - Bulbash. Because of Belarusian roots. Shemberas - Raccoon. Apparently similar. Or Kishka. Because thin. In the dining room, I made three servings, stood on the scales - not a single gram was added! Because of my ruddy cheeks, Gus called me Bullfinch. And about the Berezutsky brothers he said: "One head is normal, the second is bad ..."

- Bad - is it Vasya?

Yeah. Too fluffy. Lesha is calmer.

- How did Akinfeev react to Furik?

Fine. Out of respect, I addressed him only by his first name. And in the team for everyone except foreigners, he was Furik. Now, I think, Ignashevich and Lesha and Vasya are called that. Young people don't take risks.

- Did Gusev himself have a nickname?

Gypsy. Tajik.

- Why Tajik? He was born in Ashgabat.

Ashgabat, Dushanbe - the guys did not delve into. Sometimes Gus got excited, yelled at Gogniev, Kusov, Gabulov, or even to me: "Hey, beast ..." In response, it rushed: "Who is the beast?! Look at yourself! What the hell are you Gusev ?!" Male team, specific jokes. But harmless.

- Did they make fun of Gazzaev?

The same Gus brilliantly copied it. For the eyes, of course. Valery Georgievich has a habit. When he gets angry, before breaking out into a scream, he begins to move his mustache and lips, he does this: "Pff-pff-pff ..." As if he is searching for words before breaking out into a tirade.

- His most picturesque fit of rage?

2002, lost the second leg of the UEFA Cup to Parma 2:3. The third goal was conceded in the last seconds. Gazzaev burst into the locker room, grabbed two oranges, squeezed them onto the table. He scattered one and a half liter bottles of water, one of them flew to Semberas. Couldn't dodge. And Valery Georgievich went to the shower. Right in the clothes!

- Stood under the jet, like Hippolyte in "Irony of Fate"?

About.

- But why?!

Emotions. Nerves. I was worried that this game was given away. In the second half, we were leading 2:1, it seemed that the issue was resolved. And then the Romanian Mutu scored two - and goodbye.

Arthur JORGE (right) opened Yuri ZHIRKOV (No. 18) for Russia. Photo Alexander WILF

Do you remember the training camp in Zheleznovodsk under Valery Georgievich with horror?

Are you talking about the pool or the legendary Gazzaev fartleks?

Let's talk about the pool first.

Staying under water for a minute is not a problem. Gained more air into the lungs - and sit. You get used to it in a couple of days. Relay races, jumps from the "bedside table" were much harder. Many guys complained because they hit with their stomachs, they went red. And Gazzaev on the drum: "Jump!" Thank God, during his second coming to CSKA, after Arthur Jorge, he no longer practiced such training.

- At the age of fourteen you almost drowned. Since then, there has been no panic from the water?

No, no, no phobias. And the story is like this. In Vladikavkaz, my friends and I were going to cross the Terek. At one point, a small island divides the river into two parts. A wave covered me, swallowed. I can’t breathe normally, my strength is running out. A stormy current blows right to the threshold of the river. You definitely won’t get out of there, you will be covered with stones. Friends see that my affairs are bad, but they are not able to help. When I realized that there was no chance to escape, almost at the very threshold I suddenly stumbled upon a huge boulder that was sticking out of the water. He wrapped his arms around him, caught his breath and somehow reached the island. Went back an hour later.

- Now about fartleks.

2002, series "six thousand two hundred". Kirichenko, Berketov and I were five meters behind the main group. After the finish, Gazzaev said: "From each, $ 300." The only penalty in my entire career.

- You, the goalkeeper, why these horse loads?

In those years, Gazzaev all plowed for wear and tear. But I didn’t punish goalkeepers with money anymore, although we often didn’t fit into the standard. How can we keep up with the field during cross-country or fartlek? And then, I think, there was a psychological move on his part. New coach, the first collection - I decided to put myself. Well, I was fined to the heap. To avoid splitting the team.

- Were there any unusual gatherings in your life?

In December 2003, Jorge took over CSKA. So the players were forced to interrupt the vacation. They called on the seas-oceans: "Give it all up, the loss of tickets will be compensated, come to Turkey. Meet the new coach." Complete nonsense! I don’t understand why the club leaders went for it.

- Did you have a full training camp in Turkey?

The training was once a day. In the morning. Probably on purpose - so that people do not relax in the evenings. But that didn't stop anyone. A Russian-speaking assistant was attached to Georges there, he walked around, was clever. The guys sent him: "We won the championship, deserved a rest, and we were pulled out in the midst of a vacation ..."

What do you remember about Georges?

- "Man-gud".

- So good?

Yes, I'm not talking about that. No matter what happens, Jorge has one answer for everything: “Good…” Even after the defeats, he repeated in the locker room: “Good, good…” We looked at each other - what the hell is “good”? No game, no result! In that segment, for the first and last time in my memory, Giner came to the base, arranged a dressing.

- Footballers?

Well, to whom? Decided to shake up the team, it was a tough conversation. When the door closed behind Giner, Jorge got up, shook his head: "The President was too harsh with you. Know Good..."

- His main merit - opened Zhirkov.

It's true. If there was our coach, Yura would not have made it. They would put the Argentine Ferreira, whom CSKA bought for several million. Jorge also taught the Berezutskys to play the pass. Do you remember what they did before? They didn't know what to do with the ball, they hit Dynamo in the area of ​​the Third Ring. All of Russia laughed at them. And Jorge immediately said: "No clearances! We leave the defense through a pass. If you make a mistake, we will miss a goal - it's not scary ..."

May 18, 2005. Lisbon. "Sporting" - CSKA - 1:3. The joy of Veniamin MANDRYKIN and CSKA partners after winning the UEFA Cup. Photo Alexander WILF

- 2005, Lisbon, UEFA Cup final. At what point did you believe that you would beat "Sporting"?

After Wagner's goal. Putin spoke about this when he received us in Novo-Ogaryovo. As soon as the journalists were escorted out of the hall, he said: “Now let's talk normally, at home. To be honest, I didn’t think that you would win. I didn’t even turn on your football. past the guards' booth, I hear - noise-din. Yeah, I think they're watching the final. I look in: "Well, guys, what's the score?" Wagner just scored. "There were fifteen minutes left, sat down with them and in the end cheered for you ... "

- At this meeting, Wagner, with a mischievous smile, threw the ball at Putin's feet, offered to juggle.

He didn't get lost. He minted three times in his shoes, caught the ball in his hands and handed it back: "Wagner, hold it!" Everyone was stunned. In fact, Wagner and Carvalho were not eager to go to Novo-Ogaryovo. They said: "We would be happy to see the President of Brazil, but why do we need yours?" Both were, to put it mildly, out of shape, they were brought to their senses for a long time. Because of this, the team was almost an hour late.

- By the break in Lisbon, the scoreboard was 1-0 in favor of Sporting. What were your thoughts then?

Honestly? I thought there was no chance. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Believe me. In the first half we were carried like that! They didn't let me breathe! But in the second, the guys turned the game around. Although the Portuguese hit the post with the score 2:1. They would equalize - and it is not known how it would all end. They had a good lineup.

- What happened after the match?

Joy, madness, a sea of ​​champagne on the bus and plane. On the way to the airport, the names of all CSKA players, coaches and staff were shouted out. And Yuri Semin, they say, was crying. He was on the podium and after the final whistle he could not hold back his tears. With joy - that the Russian club for the first time in history won the European Cup.

- Semin did not communicate with Gazzaev for some period.

The peak of the confrontation was 2002 and 2003, when CSKA and Lokomotiv fought for the championship. Then they became friends again.

- How on the fourth day after the UEFA Cup final you beat Spartak almost with an exhaust?!

This is one of my favorite stories. Listen. We walked well. We also poured champagne at Putin's. The day before the match with "Spartacus" finally gathered at the base. The state is beyond words. Gazzaev came in - also no one. I tried to say something and couldn't. Everyone laughed, he himself smiled, waved his hand: “At least don’t drink today. So as not to embarrass yourself. Spartak is waiting for us ...”

- Which since 2001 could not beat CSKA.

Quite right. Overslept, sobered up - and on the field. We would have met with some weak team, most likely we would have lost. And then - the derby, crowded "Luzhniki". Mobilized. We conceded in the first half, but scored three in the second. "On pairs" Spartacists were simply rolled out! For Mozhay driven!

- Wonders.

Those who plowed for 90 minutes entered the locker room with the words: "There was no harder match!" - and fell without strength. And there was already cold beer. The substitutes opened the bottles and handed them to the guys. In complete silence, Vasya Berezutsky took a long sip and said: "If we beat them drunk, then they will never win against us!"

- The main players for winning the UEFA Cup were paid 50 thousand dollars each. And you?

25 thousand. With me in CSKA it was like that. Players of the starting line-up were entitled to the bonus in full. The substitute goalkeeper - 50 percent, those who sat on the bench - 20. When released as a substitute, everything depended on the contribution to the game. He went out for three minutes, but managed to score or give an assist - they paid 100 percent. And they could have been fined if they played badly.

- Why didn't you become an "honored master of sports"?

For the UEFA Cup, nine players received the title - Akinfeev, Berezutsky, Ignashevich, Aldonin, Zhirkov, Gusev and Semak with Kirichenko, who left CSKA in the winter. When the certificates were handed over, Nikolai Latysh, Gazzaev's assistant, told me: "Georgich instead of you and Gabulov gave away the "honored" Kirichenko and Semak. It was we who mocked them."

- ???

At first I didn't understand either. The Latvian explained: “They didn’t want to play in CSKA, they were left without a trophy. Now let them regret it ...”

- Weird logic.

Very.

- Aldonin told us: “At team parties, Gazzaev demanded a toast from each football player. This brought a slight tension to the feasts. But for a person who grew up in the Caucasus, is toast not a problem?

Of course. Table traditions are honored in Ossetia. There are a lot of toasts, strict order. The first - for God, the second - for St. George ... You can not silently roll or say: "Well, we will!" Until the elder makes the next toast, no one touches the glass. But after so many years in Moscow, I have lost the habit of all this. Partly because of Gusev.

- Why?

I remember 2003, a banquet on the occasion of the first championship of CSKA. After two or three toasts, I get up, start talking, and Gus pulls his sleeve, laughs: “The beast, good! You will push a speech in your mountains. cooled off. Yes, and they did not differ in CSKA diversity. "For the team!" "For the coach!" "For leadership!" Everyone was saying the same thing.

November 26, 2006. CSKA - Dynamo - 1:2. CSKA President Yevgeny GINER and players celebrating victory in the Russian Championship. Photo by Alexander FEDOROV, "SE"

***

- Did you have memorable conversations with Giner?

When we discussed my transition from Alania, we met twice. The first time - in Novogorsk. I was there with the youth team, which was trained by Gazzaev. He already knew that next season he would lead CSKA. Seeing Giner, he raised his thumb: "Venya, I advise you to listen to Evgeny Lennorovich ..." The second time we talked in the army club. Again he persuaded, and I thought: “Why change the awl for soap? Yes, he sets out beautifully, he will build a new team. Then no one believed that Giner was in CSKA seriously and for a long time.

- Did they still pay generously in Vladikavkaz?

Yes you! Delays of three to four months were the norm. I received 3 thousand dollars, in the last half-season - 10. They threw money for one purpose - so that compensation for me would grow to a million. It was calculated based on the annual earnings of a football player, multiplied by a coefficient. With “Alania” the contract ended, but still could not leave for free.

- You were not going to stay there, you were not eager to join CSKA. Was there a third option?

I wanted to go abroad.

- In "Bordeaux"?

In Lecce. I visited the bride in Bordeaux earlier, in January 2000. I clearly remember the figure - 600 thousand dollars. Either "Alania" asked so much, but the French refused. Either they offered six hundred, and in Vladikavkaz they answered: "Not enough." In general, we did not agree.

- By the way! How did you get robbed in the Bordeaux dressing room?

While the base was preparing for the match, I worked with it. When I left for the trip, I was sent to the second team. Where it is full of young people from Africa. Everyone has their own locker in the locker room. I got dressed after training, grab my pockets - there is no money! I told Leshka Kosonogov, who has already signed a contract with Bordeaux. He called the manager. The thief was not found, but soon the president of the club called me, apologized for the incident and counted out nine hundred-dollar bills.

- And what about Lecce?

Six months after returning from Bordeaux, he began to play steadily in the Premier League, showed himself well in the youth team. The Lecce goalkeeping coach came to Vladikavkaz and approved my candidacy. "Alania" put up for me for two million dollars. The Italians were ready to pay one million two hundred. Then they said: "Okay, let's wait. Your contract will end soon, and we'll pick it up." But in the summer I still went to CSKA. And Alania got even less for me than Lecce gave. Giner knows how to convince.

- You and "Spartak" invited.

A year before CSKA. I myself refused. I had a dream - to win gold medals not with Spartak. He still won everything, it seemed that it would last forever. I wanted more thrills. And then Giner began to buy players. I thought: "That's with CSKA and become a champion." Plus very good conditions offered. Just in those days he gave an interview to "SE", the headline was given the phrase: "CSKA is worth forgetting about abroad."

Competitor for a place at the gates of "Alania" was Zaur Khapov. Photo by Alexander FEDOROV, "SE"

***

- In Alania, your competitor was the most experienced Khapov. Did you get along?

Show me a person who will not find a common language with him? Zaur - kind, cheerful, non-conflict. Sometimes, in training, one of the young finished the ball into the goal from close range. Khapov grinned: “In Dynamo, Smetanin would immediately unscrew his ears for such tricks ...”

- Why?

There are age-old goalkeepers who believe that young people in training have no right to shoot them point-blank. Khapov did not have these show-offs.

- Did you tell how you played against Borussia Dortmund?

Wow, you brought up a great story! 1998, I just got to Alania. There is a note in the "SE" - at the stadium in Dortmund, when replacing the lawn and the drainage system, they found an aerial bomb from the Second World War in the goalkeeper's box. Zaur arrives at the base, the boys are waving a newspaper, neighing: "Hap, how did you not get blown up in 1993? With such and such a weight ?!"

- I think 110 kilograms.

At the same time, he played fantastically, caught everything! 0:0 finished.

- And you, playing for Alania, took two penalties in Novorossiysk with an interval of eight minutes.

It was business. First, Prizetko didn't score, followed by Kostya Kovalenko. But for me this is not an achievement.

- But what?

Luck. Lottery - guessed, didn't guess? Did they hit you or not? You will stand to the end, react to the impact - you just won’t have time to reach out if the ball is more than a meter away. So it is impossible to judge the class of the goalkeeper by reflected penalties. Do you know who hit them the best?

- Who?

Was in "alania" Tamerlan Sikoev.

- He's a striker.

That's it. When he got into the “frame” in training, no one could score from the penalty spot! Everyone guessed!

- Who is the number one goalkeeper in the world for you today?

Buffoon. Kahn, Neuer, Navas had bright seasons... But if you choose the most reliable and stable goalkeeper in the last twenty years, Buffon is out of competition.

- But in Russia?

In the early 90s, Cherchesov and Kharin stood out. Later - Filimonov. In my opinion, he is stronger than Akinfeev.

- Really?

Yes, you remember how much Filimonov helped out! And the national team, and "Spartak", which dragged to the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. Unfortunately, one mistake crossed everything out. I missed it with Ukraine from Shevchenko - and they ate a man. And Igor is a good goalkeeper. But not a genius.

- Is there a goalkeeper whose success you cannot explain to yourself?

Rebrov, Lunev... Selikhov looked great in Amkar. Like Yurchenko in Ufa. I like these guys. They don't just close part of the gate - they play! The reaction is great. The level of skill is head and shoulders above Rebrov and Lunev.

- Do you think that Selikhov will soon become the main goalkeeper of Spartak?

I think yes. If he gets the chance. In winter, he came to the team that was in the lead. Therefore, Carrera did not change anything.

- And what is embarrassing in Lunev?

Everything from anthropometry to goalkeeping. It's a mystery to me how he ended up at the "zenith". Even Rebrov is better. Not to mention Lodygin. So far, I have not seen anything outstanding in Lunev's game.

- But last season, in terms of the number of dry matches, he lost only to Akinfeev and Rebrov.

But Medvedev broke all records in the spring - so what? Under Berdyev, “Rostov” had such a defense that 90 minutes before the goalkeeper the ball flew two or three times. There, Kafanov could have taken a swing at the record.

- Didn't you have a feeling - as you talk with the ball before the match, so it will fly?

Never. I didn’t talk to the bars or the ball. If this helps Rebrov, well, for God's sake. I had a bunch of familiar football players with signs. One of them played in Alania's double - he prayed with such zeal that we were amazed. They have already entered the field, and he performs all the rituals in the locker room. Baptized earnestly. They shout to him: "You still take the icon with you to the field! And holy water!"

The 2010 season was strange for you. Loan to Spartak from Nalchik, where they never entered the field, then Dynamo Bryansk ...

I had a contract with CSKA for two more years. The sports director Sasha Zarutsky, an old acquaintance, called to Nalchik. He immediately explained the alignment: “They took the Finnish goalkeeper, Fredrikson. For resale. But what if he doesn’t work? And your level is understandable. Of course, I hoped that I would play, but the Finn did not give a reason to replace. In the summer he said to Zarutsky: “Sasha, it’s a disgrace to sit on a bench in Nalchik! Fredrikson is doing well, so what’s the point of wasting my time?” So there was a variant with Bryansk.

- Nothing alarmed?

The first thing I heard: "The team is in last place in the FNL. The salary is two times less than in Nalchik." Answered: "I don't care. I want to play!" So drawn to the field that he was ready to go anywhere. In Bryansk, he began to enjoy football again. Helped the team to escape relegation. I have big plans for next season...

- And Fredrickson was never sold.

In the team, "crosses" tore, was treated for a long time. As a result, the contract was terminated by mutual agreement.

- In Nalchik, you crossed paths with Yuri Krasnozhan. Impression?

Normal man. The team was absolutely amazing. So friendly, so united! Probably the best of my career. Even with CSKA can not be compared. Warmth is in everything - in the greeting, in every episode of communication. Any newcomer or kid from the double was accepted as a native.

- The merit of Krasnozhan?

Including. And also Miodrag Dzhudovich, the captain. He was respected and listened to. I have seen different captains. Number one in terms of playing and human qualities is Serezha Semak. Number two is Judovic. When the guys there were fined for little things, everyone almost happily carried the money to the cashier. They knew - this is for the needs of the team, and not somewhere in the club. When I had an accident, they also supported me financially from Nalchik.

- Which place from your own youth would you especially like to return to?

Since I had it in Vladikavkaz, I would like to go there. To drive all over Ossetia ... Youth is a carefree time. Have you been to Karmadon?

- Not.

These are such mountains, gorges! You go - and all this beauty hangs over you.

- Have you been to the place where Bodrov's group died?

No. When I left for CSKA in the summer of 2001, they sent me off in Karmadon. Wonderful restaurant, friends gathered, boys from Alania. Only a year has passed - all the cooks and waiters who served us have died. No one had a chance, it was covered at once. Imagine: a hundred meters of ice! Three kilometers long. Such a block descended into the gorge, the mountains, as if cut with a knife.

- What is there now?

Dirty lake.

- New stadium CSKA would like to see?

Yes interesting. I've been offered but haven't decided yet. Hard! You need to call a special ambulance. The one near the stadium will not wait - after the match, you need to order a new one. Moroki more! Not worth it!

- Do you think?

Once a year, the state provides such transportation - they are taken to the rehabilitation center and back. And at your own expense, ride at least every day, one way - three thousand rubles. Therefore, I decided not to suffer myself and not to torment people with these excursions. You also need to spend at least two hours there - I don’t know how the body will behave. We, who lie with their necks, have no heat exchange.

- That is?

We don't sweat. The body begins to overheat. Temperature 39, 40…

- What to do?

Go to bed immediately - so that the body comes to its senses. If it's cold, you can get hypothermia. I don't feel anything. In the rehabilitation center, doctors are around, they will put you down, they will help you. And how to put yourself in order at the stadium? How long to wait for the ambulance?

- What is your pension?

With the first group of disability, like mine - 13-14 thousand. But my salary was good, "white". Serious contributions to the pension fund. Therefore, it runs 30 thousand.

- We heard some people were trying to create a fund in your name.

My friends told me: "You are remembered, loved, someone will help you..." I answered: "Don't! Don't disgrace me." People will bear a hundred rubles, a thousand. Pieces of retirement. They need the money more than me. Conscience will not allow you to take even a penny! My friends are rich people. They are helping. Look - why do I need money? Will I go to the casino? Or will I go to Monaco?

- Have you been to the casino?

Certainly.

- Your fellow countryman Alan Kusov told us how he lowered his entire fortune to zero, about a million dollars.

He - yes. I liked to play, but I controlled myself.

When Kusov received a bonus for the season at CSKA - 98 thousand dollars - and left everything at the casino the same night, did they try to pull the guy out?

No one will ever pull a person out. Only myself. You can take by the hands, by the legs, chained to the battery. As soon as you untie it, it will rush to the casino again. I also learned what passion is - I left a little more than I planned. Overwhelmed! I could even stay overnight. If tomorrow was a day off. And Kusov sometimes picked up from the casino in the morning, drove to the base - he managed to sleep off in my car. I don't know how I trained.

Was it scary to watch?

Well, what do you say to him? Someone climbs Everest - absurdly perishes. Never. It's his choice.

- Footballers often lend money - but they are not returned. Have you gone through this?

Certainly. The same Kusov is my first debtor.

- Return?

I doubt. He owes half of Russia! People took pity on him and helped him. But Kusov threw them too. And now - homeless. From which, they say, even the mother refused! Her apartment was taken away from her for her son's debts.

- Once you were a pious person. Is your faith shaken?

What do you! Of course not. I always carried a Bible with me, I said - there is no more interesting book. I can retell each chapter from memory to you. Sometimes you start thinking about something, look into the Bible - and there are all the answers. You think: wow! How many years ago everything was known!

- Asked the question - why do you need such tests?

Never! What is it about here? My hands were on the steering wheel, my foot was on the gas. All the "tests" I came up with myself. On whom the icicle falls from the roof, he is also to blame - you could look up, move away. And the guy who hit the floor with his head during a physical education lesson is to blame himself - he could have done it more carefully. But I'm more guilty than all of them. God has nothing to do with it.

You, having gone through this, have kept a sober head. A few words to people who find themselves in a similar situation.

It seems to me that no words will help. Everything is individual! The psychological state depends on the person.

- Always knew that you have a strong psyche?

No ... I quickly realized everything. I came to my senses and asked the doctors. I was told the truth - I accepted it. As a friend put it then: "God does not punish anyone!" They say - "deprives the mind." It seems to me that he does not deprive anyone. It just humbles!

- As you?

Yes. I accepted everything. Maybe something worse was waiting for me ... Let's have a smoke break? Call Zhanna, let her bring a cigarette.

***

- What are the children saying?

The teacher asked the youngest son in the kindergarten: "Who is your dad?" - "A famous football player. He crashed in a car, broke his neck. Only his right hand works well, and his head is 200 percent..." After the teacher told her mother-in-law. Dana was five years old.

- Often sons come?

Yes. Weekends, holidays, always. They study great. They don't want to do any sports. The eldest, David, at the age of seven he asked: "Do you want?" - "In no case! So that, like you, never be at home?" Soon he will be 14. He will receive a passport. And Dana turns 10 in October. That's what they like to learn. Like the Olympics on some site - they immediately participate. Medals are received.

- Diana, ex-wife, visiting?

It happens.

Does she have another family?

No. He lives with his children in the apartment he left for them in Krylatskoye.

- Did you get divorced in the same year when the accident happened?

Officially, yes. In January. And they stopped living together two years before. The children understood everything. Although I tried to come often. When I played in Nalchik, I constantly traveled to Vladikavkaz. It's only a hundred kilometers.

- Is your breakup a mistake?

Well no. Everything was done consciously. When you can’t be together, share life… We tried to live apart for two months, it didn’t help. For the sake of children, it is better not to stay in the family, it will be worse. David heard how we cursed, cried: "Dad, mom, don't!" Why is this?

- Then there was a girl Maria. Has she stayed in your life?

I gave it up. There were some moments, and I decided - it's better to finish everything. A couple of things that I didn't like at all.

- Money cases?

No, no, personal. Now she is not in my life at all.

- Doesn't call, doesn't write?

I don't want to cut everything off. Not sure how her fate turned out. And once she was my neighbor in the same Krylatsky.

- So, no wedding was planned?

No you! You can't even call it a "civil marriage", they just met. They lived together in some cities.

You have a wide nature - they left the apartment to the former family, they did not share anything. Valery Gorokhov, the first coach, was bought a house in Moscow.

I did not buy, but paid for most, but not all. I made it a must for myself. If not for him, I would not have stayed in football. Didn't want to play. Only Valery Viktorovich and America kept me, the team was going there. I’ll leave, I think - and I’ll give up all these trainings ... But I got involved!

- The dream of a bedridden patient is to rise?

My dream is that David and Danya grow up to be worthy people, get a good education. I will help them in everything. I don't need anything anymore. Alive, thank God. Did you expect a different answer? What can I say: “I want to recover, go…” Stupid. If you can’t do anything for your dream, why do you need such a dream?

An old football proverb says: "The goalkeeper is half the team." In fact, it is not so easy to find a really good goalkeeper who would take the team to the finals of various cups with his game. Despite this, in the frame of the gates of the giants of football, both Russian and world, there is always a goalkeeper on whom the coach and the whole team can rely. This article will tell the life story of one of the greatest CSKA goalkeepers of the 21st century - Veniamin Mandrykin.

Veniamin Anatolyevich Mandrykin: biography of an athlete

"Football was his life, although no one thought that he would become a professional," his father recalls his son's first steps on the football field.

The future goalkeeper Veniamin Mandrykin was born in Orenburg, but due to a forced move to Vladikavkaz, he began his career there. He spent his first classes at the Yunost sports school, where he played as a central striker, but, as often happens in youth football, he was transferred to the goalkeeper position due to high body anthropometry.

By the age of 15, his height reached 186 centimeters, which, of course, gave him an advantage in competition with his peers. At that time, even Veniamin Mandrykin himself did not consider his hobby as something serious, and therefore in 1993 he left his native sports school, enrolling in a higher educational institution. The young man's doubts about his abilities were so strong that he was forced to leave his favorite business and plunge into everyday life.

Mandrykin Veniamin Anatolyevich: football is his destiny

Even taking into account the fact that he had already managed to say goodbye to his dreams of football, Veniamin accepted the invitation of the head coach of the Spartak sports school (now called Alania) and went with this team to the youth tournament. He went to the USA. No matter how strange it may sound, Spartak won in that tournament against pretty strong teams, thanks to which Veniamin Mandrykin decided to continue playing football.

At a youth level, the goalkeeper managed to impress many coaches of clubs in the top division of the Russian championship, but from all the offers he chose Alania, which at that time was not coached by anyone, but by Valery Gazaev himself. It was this transition and playing for the Vladikavkaz club that made him the one football fans know. As they say: "Everything that is done is for the better."

Period in Alanya

By moving in 1997 to the local team from the city where he played, the goalkeeper made a very good choice. Valery Gazaev, who at that time coached the team, is primarily famous for his trust in young football players, which was a huge plus for such a newcomer as Mandrykin Veniamin Anatolyevich.

By the way, he is attributed to the very stars that the Russian coach discovered while working in different teams. That is, Mandrykin can be put on a par with players of such a caliber as who are hunted by the top clubs of the English Premier League, Denis Garmash, who is the main midfielder of the champions of Ukraine - Dynamo Kiev.

We can say that Valery Georgievich gave the athlete the very ticket to "big football". For three seasons in a row, it was safe to say that Mandrykin Venimamin Anatolyevich is goalkeeper number 2. His predecessor - - was very experienced and, of course, wanted to play for a couple more years at a high level, but, having injured himself, gave way to young Veniamin in the goal frame . Having played the season, regularly going out to starting lineup Vladikavkaz "Alania", Mandrykin goes to the capital club.

Transfer to CSKA

Probably, Valery Gazaev can already be called Mandrykin's football father, since it was he who brought the goalkeeper to the club, which after that became the champion of Russia more than once, regularly playing in the most prestigious club tournament in Europe - the Champions League.

To say that the performances for the army team were very successful is to say nothing. The young goalkeeper won the competition not from anyone, but from the legend Russian football- Ruslana Nigmatulina. Unfortunately, such a performance on a positive note did not last long, and at the end of the 2002-2003 season, Mandrykin Veniamin was injured, which pushed the goalkeeper's chances of successful competition far enough.

This, by the way, was not the worst news - it was worse that Valery Gazaev found himself a new pet junior, whose name every football fan now knows: Igor Akinfeev.

It's hard to be Igor Akinfeev's replacement

It is not easy to fight for a place in the starting lineup if your competitor for the place is himself (although at that time he was not so great). More recently, CSKA, going to the match, made the name of Veniamin Mandrykin in the application. The Russian Championship admired the game of this goalkeeper, and he even managed to play 2 matches for the Russian national team, given that Vyacheslav Malafeev was the main goalkeeper of the Russians for a long time.

Time passed, and the football skill of the goalkeeper did not grow, as he did not receive proper game practice. It can be said that the fact of playing in a great club, which had huge competition for every position, knocked down Mandrykin, who was already not always too self-confident.

This lowering of hands, of course, did not lead to anything good, and thus the once excellent goalkeeper firmly sat down on the bench until 2008. In addition, you need to remember the moment that CSKA refused to sell Mandrykin to Rubin, despite the fact that even the leadership was skeptical about the prospects of the goalkeeper in the army club.

Travel rentals

Such a sitting on the bench and a vague future forced both the football player and the club's management to look for ways out of the situation. It is clear that they could not give him more playing time, since Akinfeev honestly won the competition and was ready to play not just in every match, but in an additional game per week. This situation led to the decision to send Veniamin Mandrykin on loan. This would give him the opportunity to get enough game practice, get stronger and return to defend the colors of the army club.

Mandrykin Veniamin Anatolyevich received his first rental experience in 2008, when he moved to Tomsk Tomsk. In this club, the goalkeeper immediately became the main one, which has not happened for so long in his career, filled with stories that can be made into films in the drama genre.

Personal life

The personal life of the famous goalkeeper of CSKA Moscow is a topic for serious discussion. You can not call Benjamin an exemplary family man. So, in 2008, his wife Diana followed her husband to Tomsk, but already in 2009 the goalkeeper appeared in public in the company of a completely different lady - Maria Shuravina.

According to some sources close to the family, Maria's five-year-old son has already called the footballer dad. And based on this information, we can say that this romance lasted during the marriage between Diana and Benjamin.

In 2010, Veniamin Mandrykin divorced his wife, and a couple of months later he was scheduled to marry Maria. The newly-made bride knew Venya for a long time, because her apartment was only one floor above.

Fatal accident

There was a short break in the championship, and the president of Dynamo (Bryansk) gave his players a rest, announcing a day off for 4 days - an unprecedented luxury for professional football. None of the player's entourage can now answer the question of why he did not get home to Moscow. The road from Bryansk would take no more than three hours by car.

It is not known whether Veniamin Mandrykin violated the regime, whether he drank, but everyone says only positive things about him, calling him a professional with a capital letter. It is difficult to say what happened to the football player on that terrible night from 9 to 10 November.

According to the protocol of the traffic police, the football player's car did not stop at the demand of the patrolman, because of which the persecution began, from which Mandrykin was hiding. The speed of movement was significantly exceeded, and, having lost control, the football player flew into a ditch off the road and crashed straight into a tree.

The injuries were very serious and, at first glance, not compatible with life. The next morning, all the media were buzzing about the fact that Veniamin Mandrykin was taken to the hospital, the player's condition is very serious. Many suggested that the football player was drunk, and that is why this accident happened, but a blood test denied this - nothing forbidden was found in the football player's blood. That is why to this day the causes of this accident remain a mystery.

Support Above All

For the first match of the next season, the players of the Bryansk "Dynamo" came out in T-shirts with inscriptions in support of the player of their team. In addition, the recovery of a football player to this day finances football club"CSKA", which causes respect. The doctors said that Mandrykin Veniamin Anatolyevich - a goalkeeper with a capital letter - would no longer be able to play football, and God forbid that he could walk, but time will tell. In the meantime, we can only hope that everything will be fine with the famous goalkeeper in the past, who has many merits and awards, and he will recover soon.

Mandrykin Veniamin Anatolievich. Goalkeeper.

A pupil of the Vladikavkaz sports schools "Youth" and "Spartak" (now "Alania"). The first coach is Valery Viktorovich Gorokhov.

Clubs: Alania Vladikavkaz (1997 - 2001), CSKA Moscow (2002 - 2005, 2007), Spartak Nizhny Novgorod (2006), Tom Tomsk (2008), Rostov Rostov-on-Don (2009) , Spartak Nalchik (2010), Dynamo Bryansk (2010).

Champion of Russia 2003, 2005, 2006 Winner of the Cup of Russia 2002, 2005, 2006 UEFA Cup Winner 2005

He played 2 matches for the Russian national team.

Awarded the Order of Friendship (2006).

THE MYSTERY OF THE MAGIC GLOVES

Probably, every boy in his childhood read the famous work of Lev Kassil "The Goalkeeper of the Republic". Goalkeeper Vladikavkaz "Alania" Veniamin Mandrykin is no exception. Once he represented himself as Anton Kandidov. Now many boys (and not only in North Ossetia) dream of playing in goal as well as Benjamin.

FIRST GLOVES

Today, any company engaged in the production of sports equipment dreams of providing its gloves to the best Russian goalkeepers. And young Venya Mandrykin was once insanely glad that the famous coach Valery Gorokhov gave him the first real gloves. Perhaps, without this wonderful gift, there would be no goalkeeper Mandrykin. When Vienna was thirteen, he decided to quit football. Gorokhov persuaded him not to do stupid things. Valery Viktorovich noticed a talented boy at a tournament of city teams in Vladikavkaz. The boys played there on an unpleasant rubber surface. But even in such conditions, Mandrykin apparently managed to show his talent. Gorokhov had to make every effort to find and persuade Veniamin to return to the football field.

At some point, football bored me, - says Mandrykin. - I confess, at that moment I acted like a boy. Thanks to Valery Viktorovich for bringing me back to the gate. I consider him my first coach. Before meeting with Gorokhov, I had a different coach. But he failed to infect me with football. Having agreed to take a place in the frame again, Mandrykin decided for himself: if you don’t like it again, I’ll leave right there, only this time - forever.

It was a pleasure to play with new gloves. The old ones - black, with pimples - were forever hidden in the closet. It was inconvenient to defend the gate in them. The ball constantly slipped out of his hands and strove to slip into the net. And with new gloves, a new goalie life began.

"WHERE ARE MY SEVENTEEN YEARS..."

What football player does not dream of becoming a world champion? But only a few succeed. What athlete doesn't want to win? Olympic Games? Mandrykin has not yet won the world championship or the Olympics. But in his collection there is already one significant award - gold medal World Youth Games. Benjamin's award is doubly valuable, as he was among the first winners of this competition, which promises a great future. August 1998, when our guys managed to win that tournament under the leadership of Alexander Kuznetsov, Mandrykin will remember for a lifetime.

We had a good team, - recalls Veniamin. - Now several people from that champion team play for the main teams of their clubs: Pimenov, Novikov, Semenenko ... When we manage to meet, we will certainly remember those hot days. It's a little pity that we didn't really celebrate the victory at the Games.

By the way, a few days after the closing of the Games, Mandrykin turned only seventeen.

Three years ago, the breeders of several leading Russian clubs took note of Mandrykin. But Benjamin wanted to play only in Alania. He has supported this team since childhood. It was only necessary to wait for the moment when the team's coaches would risk betting on the young talent. No one doubted: one day Mandrykin's time would definitely come...

FIFTEEN MINUTES OF ADULT LIFE

“Alania” confidently beat the Sochi “Pearl” at home. 3:0 - a solid score, especially when only fifteen minutes remain before the final whistle. In fact, Valery Georgievich Gazzaev did not risk anything by throwing the unfired Mandrykin into battle. And it is much better for a young goalkeeper to make his debut when the threat of a fatal mistake does not hang over him. In general, according to Benjamin himself, Gazzaev looked at him in the most attentive way. To trust the young goalkeeper with a place at the gate or not? After all, Zaur Khapov played in the team, and he certainly had goalkeeping experience, skill, composure. Valery Georgievich must be given his due: he knows how to recognize talented individuals in young players. Coaching instinct did not let Gazzaev down in the case of Mandrykin either. Veniamin confidently played fifteen minutes in his debut match with Zhemchuzhina, and a year later he appeared on the field in the first team seven times. Mandrykin himself believes that it was Gazzaev who gave him a ticket to big football. If it were not for Valery Georgievich, Veniamin might have sat on the bench for a couple of extra years. But Gutsaev, who replaced Gazzaev, did not at all believe that the young goalkeeper was already ripe for the major league. Despite the fact that Khapov left Vladikavkaz and went to Moscow, the new mentor of Alania was in no hurry to bring the newcomer to the first roles.

"CALLING FIRE ON MYSELF"

In pre-season interviews, Gutsaev certainly noted that Veniamin is a talented goalkeeper, but it’s too early for him to play in the “tower”. Such statements by the head coach unexpectedly benefited Mandrykin. He certainly wanted to prove to everyone, and above all to himself, that he was no worse and even better than his competitors.

Of course, I read all the statements of Gutsaev in the press, - says Veniamin. - And they did not add self-confidence to me. But I trained with double diligence. I wanted to win the trust of the coaches by all means.

And the work of the goalkeeper was not in vain. Gutsaev entrusted him with a place at the gate already in the first round, and in fact in this match Alania played with Spartak, and even in Moscow! However, the big names of opponents then only provoked Benjamin. At times it seemed that Mandrykin was fighting alone against the champions of Russia. Of course, as a result of the match, the Spartacists still managed to achieve their goal, but Mandrykin's game did not go unnoticed. They started talking about him already as a fully formed goalkeeper.

CANDIDATE FOR RECOGNITION

In general, last season was successful for Benjamin, although Alania did not perform well in the Russian championship. The failures of the club, oddly enough, did not affect the personal rating of the goalkeeper. The performance at the youth Euro 2000 only strengthened Mandrykin's reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the country. By the way, it was during the European Championship that Veniamin received a gift that was dear to him. Coaches of the Russian national team Alexander Kuznetsov and Valery Gorokhov traveled to Tyrol to visit Stanislav Cherchesov. Stanislav gave the young pupils of Kuznetsov and Gorokhov - Mandrykin and Khoteev - his goalkeeper gloves. The gloves are now kept in Mandrykin's Vladikavkaz apartment as a valuable souvenir: the goalkeeper is not going to play with them.

At that championship, Mandrykin made a strong impression on foreign breeders. Actually, after a trip to the European Championship, talk began about his possible transition to a Western club. However, recently there was information that Benjamin could leave Alania for another Russian team. In particular, they say that after the first round Benjamin may be in the camp of CSKA. The goalkeeper himself does not confirm such information, but does not refute it either, noting that he will definitely play in Alania until the end of the first round. But where will he be then?

Benjamin does not hide that he would like to try his hand at a foreign championship. Moreover, ideally, Mandrykin would like to be in Milan, since the Italian championship is considered the strongest. In the meantime, he wants to do everything possible to "Alania" performed better this year than last.

THE ROAD TO THE NATIONAL TEAM IS OPEN

Benjamin belongs to the category of football players who are completely different in life than on the field. Modest, shy, laconic, he literally transforms on the field. During the most important matches, Mandrykin does not leave self-confidence, composure, accurate calculation. And how skillfully he leads his defenders! His mature game beyond his years has already attracted the attention of the mentors of the Russian national team. It is quite possible that Mandrykin's debut in the main team of the country is just around the corner. Veniamin himself believes that it is too early for him to compete with Filimonov and Nigmatullin, but in the near future, subject to constant work on himself, he could well compete with them seriously. In addition, Benjamin really wants to play at the World Championship one day. And to play there no worse than the idol of his childhood - the goalkeeper of the Argentine national team, the finalist of the World Cup-90 Sergio Goikoechea.

Alexander KOCHETKOV. "My Football", No. 14, 2001

"THE MOST FEARLESS PEOPLE ARE GOALKEEPERS AND FORCERS"

Goalkeepers are rarely happy. This profession assumes rather a philosophical attitude towards it. There is only one place. And, as the famous goalkeeper of the then CSKA Dmitry Kharin once told me, if someone else stood up instead of you and played well, consider this place lost.

However, when Veniamin Mandrykin and I met in the Austrian Stigersbach at the end of June, it seemed to me that he should just be pleased with his fate. The injury he received on May 11 in the game with the “Kuban” a few minutes before the end of the match, almost did not make itself felt, and Benjamin was completely unaware that after a couple of weeks he would still be on the operating table. I was looking forward to how he would continue to play in “Rostov” in the place of the main goalkeeper.

The more I play, the more I want, - he told me then. - And I don't notice the age at all. Even though I'm 27...

It always seemed to me that the goalkeeper is the most vulnerable role. You can train all your life, prepare - and not get any chance to take a place at the gate. Sit in reserve for the rest of your life. And it has always been a mystery to me: why do people consciously choose such a difficult fate for themselves - become goalkeepers?

You don't even think about it. When I first started playing football in Vladikavkaz, I wanted to become a striker - after all, everyone wants to score. But he was tall. And on the field he liked to come back and defend the goal. But then it happened that one of the goalkeepers got a concussion. I was offered to take his place - as the tallest. Well, then I liked it.

Why did you leave football as soon as you started playing it?

While playing forward, there was not always a place in the team. Therefore, at some point, I myself decided that football no longer interests me. So he left for a whole year. The coach came to me twice, persuaded me to return to the team. And in the end he persuaded me - he seduced me with a trip to America for the youth games. And there we won. So I began to train seriously. Until 2001, he played in Alania. Then he moved to CSKA when Pavel Sadyrin was the head coach there. And six months later, Valery Gazzaev came to the club.

TWO CONCUSIONS

Did you regret then that you moved to CSKA instead of leaving to play abroad? You were invited, as far as I know.

Yes, Bordeaux. I even went to France for 10 days - I trained. This was in January 2000. But then everything went quiet. I was told that the amount offered by the French simply did not suit Alania. And in August or September of that year, they came for me from Lecce. And also did not agree with the management of the club in money.

Were you very worried about this?

I wanted to leave, to be honest. Although later I came to the conclusion that everything turned out for the best. I was 18 years old, I didn’t really play in Russia ...

But it would be easier to adapt.

Perhaps so. But I still don't think it was worth leaving. In the same “Bordeaux” they wanted to take me for the future. Rameh was the main goalkeeper there. Well, he has been playing there for 20 years already. None of the other goalkeepers simply have a move. In the same way, I could have blabbed there all these years. Even though I started learning French then.

And with what feeling did they return home when the contract fell through - with relief or regret?

I don't even remember. So it didn't really matter to me.

I can understand: in Alania you became the main goalkeeper after the departure of Zaur Khapov, and in CSKA you didn’t sit without work until an injury happened ...

The first injury, when I damaged the meniscus in 2002, did not affect me much, despite the fact that an operation was required. There was only a month left until the end of the championship, and the team leaders invited Ruslan Nigmatullin precisely with the expectation that I would recover and stand in the goal again. And so it happened. But in 2003, I got injured again. And that's when I lost a lot.

Do you mean that by the time you returned, the place at the gate was firmly occupied?

Yes. During the two months that I was recovering, Igor Akinfeev played very well. Before the injury, I played constantly, I was especially happy when we won the Cup, then the national championship. But since 2004, the situation has changed. In the 2005 and 2006 seasons, he hardly took to the field at all. Therefore, when in 2007 I played about thirty games, I experienced great satisfaction.

Remember your feelings when you first got into the goal after such a long break?

It was just a match with Spartak. I played well. Still, not the first game in my life. And yes, I don't have to be afraid. Anyone who is afraid of something on the field does not play football for a long time. Can not.

Haven't you ever been scared?

In the game, no. Although it got pretty good. I received a concussion several times.

In this case, at least some basic safety precautions are in your head?

It seems to me that most goalkeepers and strikers do not think about it at all when they are on the field. Although the space in front of the goal is the hottest point when the ball is scored. One is eager to score, the other is doing everything to prevent this. Anything can happen. It happens that they hit the face with a ball, and the fingers are knocked out, or you yourself will fall on your hand. But it's not that scary yet. The ball has not yet killed anyone, as we say. It is much worse when you play ahead of the game, and the attacker, instead of hitting the ball with his foot, hits you in the head. That's exactly how I got two concussions.

That is, forwards and goalkeepers are the most fearless people?

Otherwise it is impossible. If you are afraid of something, it will definitely happen. You can't keep things like that in your head. In any case, I myself never weigh my actions in terms of the possibility of injury. In training - it's different, there you take care. Especially if the field is "stone". Yes, and any smart coach understands perfectly well that if we force goalkeepers to jump on “nines” on such a surface, we will beat off all our sides, and then we won’t be able to work for a week. Although football players - and goalkeepers in particular - are taught to land correctly from childhood.

THANKS to Vyacheslav CHANOV

Were you very annoyed by the thought that you would most likely be in the reserve again as soon as Akinfeev recovered from the injury?

Didn't think about it. Just played.

I can’t imagine how you can force yourself to train with full dedication every day, knowing that another player will stand in the goal in matches?

It's hard. Personally, the army goalkeeping coach Vyacheslav Chanov has always helped me a lot. Yes, and Volodya Gabulov, I know, too.

What can be done to help in such a situation?

After all, Chanov himself was in this shoes - until the age of 27 he didn’t really play at all. He told us a lot about his own career, shared his experience. It's very important to understand that you are not the first, you are not the last - it's just the work.

What motivated you when you came to training?

The fact that twice a year there is a period of additional applications and you must always be prepared for the fact that you will be claimed, that a situation may arise at the club at any time when you will be released as a replacement. As, in fact, this happened in CSKA when Igor was injured. When he returned to the field, I constantly asked the leadership of CSKA to let me go to another club. So that I can play. I knew that the club was actually looking for an opportunity to give me away, which means that it was necessary to be ready for such a development of events. Another thing is that the transition did not work out for a long time, although some options arose from time to time. Well, then I was rented by Tom.

Forgive me for the unpleasant question, but did you really care to such an extent where to play that you agreed to “Tom”?

Naturally, I understood that I was going to a team with an incomparable level of aspirations. That there is no question of fighting for first places, as it was in CSKA, there is no question. But the desire to play was stronger. It is much more difficult to sit on a bench and watch others play.

I heard that you didn't like your new place very much.

It was so. The team accepted me normally: the management treated me well, and the coaches, but in Tomsk I constantly felt some kind of inner discomfort. It was uncomfortable. Although I was born and raised in a smaller city. I spoke about this quite openly and now I am glad that I moved to Rostov.

IT IS CLEAR THAT I WILL NOT PLAY IN CSKA

How do you imagine your future destiny?

I have a contract with CSKA until 2011. If at the end of the year we manage to agree that I will be sold, it would be good.

And what, in fact, is the difference - to be sold or to be rented? Moreover, the terms of the lease, as far as I know, do not impose any restrictions on you.

That every year when the season ends, you have no idea about your future. It seems to be still in the club, but in fact it is not known where. It is clear that I will not play in CSKA.

Do you often think about it?

If you hadn't asked, I wouldn't have remembered. In fact, I take my situation for granted. Because it is a kind of reality. Signed a contract - it means you have to work for a year, show the maximum of what you are capable of. And then - how it goes. Not everything depends on me.

Are you painful when your plans are ruined?

No. I have already realized that in life this happens much more often than vice versa. I do not remember, in any case, that the need to change plans became a blow to me.

Are you now thinking about moving to another country?

Unless in a very strong club, where no one will call me.

And if CSKA decides to sell Akinfeev, would you return with pleasure?

Certainly. But I don't think that will ever happen. At the beginning of the season, there was a period when a team had not yet been found for me, and CSKA was about to leave for a training camp. They didn't take me. So that's why I argue.

Why do you think you weren't invited?

Probably, so the new head coach decided.

GAZZAYEV GAVE THE HIGHEST LOAD

Do you ever get tired of football? So, why don't you want to see the field?

This usually happens in the first days after the holidays. Every season. Naturally, on vacation I also try to do some exercises, jogging, but this is an incomparable load. After the first three days of normal training, the white light is not nice. It's not like playing - I don't want to live. Each muscle hurts you move like a robot. But then these three days pass, and everything falls into place.

Who is the toughest coach you've worked with in pre-season?

I would not call it rigidity, but in terms of loads and amount of work it is difficult to put someone on a par with Gazzaev.

I remember that at one of the training camps, I noticed that someone is working hard, and the same Brazilians, as soon as it comes to hard physical work, begin to slip, to put it mildly. How did you put up with it?

What can you do? They have such a mentality. A person says, for example, that something hurts him. Everyone is well aware that the player just wants to take a break. But how can you prove that it's not? Does anyone really get hurt? Between ourselves, we constantly joked about this topic, but no one had aggression. And not all Brazilians are the same. The same Wagner always tried to work on an equal footing with everyone. As is Jo. Dudu generally trained more than necessary.

Gazzaev somehow managed to cope with them. After all, everyone played, and played well.

IT IS BETTER TO TAKE A PENALTY THAN TO Flip A COIN

Do you feel like you are already 27?

No. Until I notice that I do not have enough strength or endurance, I recover normally. As for the desire to play - it only increases.

How do you record your achievements? Dry matches, for example?

In the season, of course, you pay attention to this, especially since journalists constantly consider it. And I don't even know how many there were in my entire life.

Can you name the brightest match?

There were many. That's probably why it's hard to choose. When I was still playing for Alania, in one match I somehow repelled two 11-meter kicks with the score 1:1. My biggest penalty shootout was in the Super Bowl with Lokomotiv. Seven hits. We didn't score three, we didn't score four...

Do you think the penalty is a fair continuation of the game?

It's fairer than flipping a coin. Or play the match again from start to finish. They say that penalties are a lottery, but I don't think so. This is also goalkeeper skill.

Very special memories - the victory in the Russian Cup, the Russian Championship and the UEFA Cup, although I did not have a chance to play at the gate in that season. I understand that those who were on the field felt much more vivid, but I still remember my experiences. I still remember how in 1998 he made his debut in major league- came on as a substitute and played for 15 minutes. And in 1999, he defended the entire match against Saturn. But this is already so, trifles.

BUFFON IS THE BEST GOALKEEPER

Before matches, do you somehow try to analyze who plays how, who should be in trouble?

Coaches think about it. They look at the opponent's games, note the strengths, weaknesses. What's the point of me thinking? Let's say Wagner is one of the best strikers in the world from my point of view. So - do not go against him, or what? In addition, in football, little can be predicted in advance. In 2002, for example, Rolan Gusev was the best free-kick shooter. And then suddenly it cut off. It was the same story with Beckham. I don't know what this is about.

For example, I consider Buffon the best goalkeeper, but he also had unsuccessful periods. In football, after all, it is not so much specific players that are admired as moments. Today they have one, tomorrow - the other.

What do you like about Buffon?

He has been playing for a long time, at a consistently high level, many titles. Yes, and in general impresses with its qualities. You see, the goalkeeper can "take his own" - and many, by the way, are satisfied when he does only this, but he can also help out. It amazes me when they help me out. Although sometimes it is impossible to understand how a person took this or that ball.

You also had to save.

More than once. But at the same time, I never considered that the result is my merit.

I DO NOT PRESENT MYSELF AS A COACH

Would you like to stay in football after the end of your career as a coach?

This prospect is not particularly attractive.

And are there any arguments?

Probably, the thing is that I don’t really imagine the coaching profession at all. Maybe because I still play by myself. Although I tried to teach children, and it turned out well. I explain in a way that is clear. I have a pedagogical education - the Academy of Physical Culture. In fact, I would really like to continue my studies. At the very least, learn the language. Even at school, a teacher told me that you can not know anything at all except the language, and there will always be a piece of bread. And I didn't bother. Although I studied well at school, both my parents and the first coach pressed me hard in this regard. Until the ninth grade I was an excellent student - my photo even hung on the honor roll. Then, when serious trips began, I began to study worse, but they didn’t remove me from the board, since my sporting successes had already begun.

If you were asked to describe the team you currently play for, what would you say about it? What is the general phenomenon of "Rostov", in your opinion?

With tasks and motivation, we are all right, because everyone knows that every next step up will be noted. This was not the case in Tomsk. A more general task was set there - to get into the top eight, no matter where. And in “Rostov” everything is specific: there are certain bonuses for the result. From first place and UEFA zone to tenth.

In other words, is everyone playing for money?

Including. In addition, Rostov left the first division only this season, so many people really want to show themselves in the Premier League. In difficult matches, with strong opponents. It adds a lot of motivation and excitement. The team, although it does not have great financial resources, takes exactly those players that are needed. Those who want to play, who understand partners. This, of course, is the great merit of the coach - Oleg Dolmatov. Plus there was some luck. Football is nowhere without him.

Do you have a dream?

Certainly. Win the Champions League, European Championship, World Cup...

And with what team, if not a secret, are you going to do this, despite the fact that you have never been called up to the national team?

In order to be there, you must first of all play well for your club. So let's wait and see. In the end, everything starts with a dream.

Elena VAITSEHOVSKAYA.