On Thursday, the Russian team for the first time in its history will hold an official game under the guidance of a foreign coach. In Kazan, in the opening match of the qualifying stage of the 2007 European Championship, David Blatt's wards will receive the Hungarian team.
In the capital of Tatarstan already missed the big basketball. After the departure of the local UNICS from last year's ULEB Cup, the national team was impatiently waiting here. Moreover, in Kazan, our team has never played in official international matches. Although the conditions for this have been created for a long time. “Everything is at the highest level,” David Blatt did not hide his enthusiasm in an interview with Izvestia correspondent. “One handsome palace is worth it! And in preparation for the most important fights, ideal conditions were created at all: clean air, no traffic jams, excellent base..."
As for the Kazan Palace, it is difficult to disagree with the American specialist. The 7000th "Basket Hall", the rings of which these basketball players are intensely targeting these days, has long been an attraction on the basketball map of Russia. And there are hardly any problems with its occupancy.
“I constantly get information about how many tickets have been sold for our game,” the Russian team’s general manager Sergei Tarakanov told Izvestia. - According to the latest data, there are already less than half of them. The city has no doubt that there will be a full house. Actually, that's why we decided to hold the first game in Kazan. We need the support of the stands.
Fans are not even embarrassed by the fact that Hungary’s missing stars from the sky will be the rival of the Russian team. In their composition, only the central Robert Gouliash may cause concern. However, he is well known to Russian fans on performances for Dynamo near Moscow, the result of which was ... the contract was broken at the initiative of our club. True, it is worth noting that the Hungarians were once champions of the continent. Only now it was already 50 years ago.
The Russians, on the eve of the start of the fight for a ticket to Euro 2007, lost two fighters at once. One of the country's most talented young basketball players - Dynamo Sergei Bykov, is forced to miss the first two fights due to an injury. He was urgently replaced by Yegor Vyaltsev from Perm Ural Great. “You can’t imagine how I envy the guys. They enjoy basketball, run in training, and I can’t ...” - Bykov complained to reporters. A much more serious loss was waiting for Blatt in Kazan. At one of the trainings, for the second time in three weeks, the leader of the Russian team Viktor Khryapa turned up his leg and now almost certainly will miss the game with the Hungarians. After this episode, it was even decided to make a half-day on Tuesday. Unlike Monday, when our basketball players trained twice, this time the coaches cost only one lesson, and even then they relied mainly on tactics. “We can’t lose anyone else,” Tarakanov explained.
In addition, Monya and the company are intensively studying videos from the games of the national team of Hungary. After the arrival of Sergei Tarakanov, even a special scout appeared in the national team, who personally deals with each basketball player. It is he who explains to our players how and against whom to play, thoroughly analyzing the features of the opponent.
On Tuesday, at the general meeting of the national team, the captain was introduced, which, symbolically, was Kazan Petro Samoilenko. As for organizational issues, then in Kazan everything is ready for the start of the match. "We have done everything possible - it remains only to go to the floor and play," - said Tarakanov.
Dmitry Sergeev, Kazan