Izvestia decided to find out how stars are played and played in Russia, the cost and fees of which amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
... The player of the Russian club still needs to have strong shoulders. But not only in order to conduct power receptions. A trip to any city in our vast country begins with the same thing: star players themselves drag into the luggage heavy luggage with equipment and personal belongings. “My uniform weighs twelve kilograms, and after the game, when it becomes wet, the bag will become heavier and a half times,” Alexei Kalyuzhny, forward of the Omsk “Vanguard,” explains with a smile to everything used to it. “That’s why I don’t want to wear a civilian suit on a trip. Why? You’ll walk around all over the crumpled,” Ravil Gusmanov, striker of Magnitogorsk “Metallurgist” puts in his word.
“In the NHL, where I spent two years, all this fuss with trunks simply cannot be,” says CSKA player David Nemirovsky. “For example, I did not even know what color my bag was, because the uniform usually waited for me in the locker room. The same story with skates, clubs. Before the season I told a special person at the club what ammunition I used to use - and they carried out my order. In Russia, I have to solve all my problems myself. "
Arriving at the place and checking into the hotel are also not without problems. In recent years, the service sector in Russia has stepped forward, but players still complain. According to the leader of Kazan “Ak Bars” Alexei Morozov, in Moscow hotels it is too noisy. And Gusmanov still can’t forget the numbers provided to Magnitogorsk in Podolsk before the match with the HC MVD. "The beds in the hotel were so squashed that all the guys were lying in hammocks. Some of my teammates could not stand it and even had to fall asleep on the floor," the veteran said.
Things are slightly better with ice arenas. Hockey players polled by Izvestia note: in recent years, new sports palaces have begun to be built in Russia. Previously, let's say, everyone remembered the departure to Nizhnekamsk with a shudder. It was so cold at the small stadium that the guests considered it a good thing to put out only three instead of four fives, so as not to bite their teeth on the bench. Not so long ago, to everyone's delight, the local Neftekhimik received a new comfortable palace. But the Cherepovets “Diamond” is still a sore point. Here, the guest team is forced to change clothes in one locker room, and listens to coaches' instructions during breaks in a completely different room.
Very sharply in the Russian arenas and the quality of ice is different. “For example, I liked Chekhov,” says Omsk Kalyuzhny. “It feels like professionals work there. I saw how several hours before the game they measured the temperature in different corners of the field, cleared the bumps. In the evening it was very nice to play.” Hockey players note the good quality of ice in Nizhnekamsk, Omsk, Mytishchi. The opposite example is the CSKA ice complex, where refrigeration units sometimes openly junk. Then you have to chase the puck with the risk of injury.
However, the equipment for the bay sites can still be changed. But the pre-match fees, accepted only in domestic sports, it seems, can not cancel anything. It is hard to say when relationships built on trust will become fashionable with us. So far, only CSKA has publicly refused to recount the walls at the base. Therefore, foreigners in Russia will shrug for a long time. “Money is paid here as under capitalism, and the order is still sovdepovye”, - summarizes David Nemirovsky.
Rating of the worst Super League arenasCherepovets Sports Palace "Diamond" is out of competition in the hit parade of the worst stadiums in the Super League. Izvestia distinguishes three more arenas that cause the players the greatest antipathies.
Palace of Kuznetsk Metallurgists (Novokuznetsk). “Getting there for the first time, it seems that I was somewhere in the grave” - such a comparison was made by one of the hockey players we interviewed. The reason for this is the color scheme in the sub-tribune rooms: all around are dark mourning shades.
Sports Palace "Volgar" (Tolyatti). The old Volga palace is notable for a single spectator tribune, which goes somewhere to the ceiling. For hockey players this circumstance causes psychological discomfort. “You stand at the gate, like a poplar on Plyushchikha. All of you are looking at you from their tops” - this is the opinion of the goalkeeper of the Novosibirsk “Siberia” Alexander Vyukhin.
CCM named after Victor Blinov (Omsk). The ice rink on this arena is located on the second floor, which creates inconvenience for lifting heavy trunks with a form.