- After your victory, the Russian team lost to the Canadians two finals. Why did you succeed, but do the younger guys not?
- It’s hard for me to say why after us the Russians were harassed by failure. But I’ll say about that victory of our team. What is remembered is our great desire to win. They played in Canada, in Halifax, where in the stands everyone was rooting for their own. And you know, that incredible support of rivals gave us additional strength. The team was already set up, and there it is ... We flew.
- What else is recalled from that match?
- The last minutes. We withstood the bulk of the opponent, and then there was such happiness! But still, the most vivid impression is the behavior of the public. She chanted every second, not ceasing, “Canada, Canada!”
“How did you young ones not break?”
- I do not even know. After all, in the end, the fans did a disservice to their team. They did not so much support her as they urged us.
- You went to Halifax as your favorites. Everyone then believed that the place of our team in the finals. You also thought that you can easily beat almost everyone?
- Why? In the semifinals, it turned out to be a very difficult game with the Finns. We did not have a dismissive attitude towards rivals. They understood that the games at the World Cup are different from all the others. I will not say that we excelled in composition.
- But before the championship you beat everyone.
- This, of course, added confidence. But still it was not easy.
- But no one considered the current Russian team before the tournament a favorite. And during the season she was extremely unstable playing against peers. Are you surprised at her finals?
“I would not say that.” Although most of the hockey players from this team are not really familiar with me. But they all play in the Super League. This indicates the level of their hockey. I immediately believed that they should perform well. A big plus for Russians is experience. Alexey Cherepanov is the Avangard scorer. What other characteristics are needed?
- But there are no players at the level of Grigorenko, Ovechkin, Trubachev.
- I do not agree. And Cherepanov? And goalkeeper Semyon Varlamov? Such goalkeepers generally rarely appear. This is a real star with a good future. If in the finals he catches his game, then victory is guaranteed.
- Today, the Russian team has the last installation in the tournament. What should Evgeny Popikhin say in such a situation? What did Rafail Ishmatov tell you in 2003?
- Honestly, I don’t remember. But he certainly did not reassure us. Of course, he said that this is the last match that you have to give everything out. But we ourselves understood everything. And Evgeny Nikolaevich will probably concentrate on tactics, on hockey moments.
- Whose hockey is stronger - Russian or Canadian?
- Of course, ours.
Alexey Shevchenko