If you ask a specialist the question: "And which of them is actually stronger: Krzysztof or Dariusz?" - he will be scratching his head for a long and puzzled. The first one seems to be - after all, the Old World champion, but Dariusz did not participate in the European triumph of our neighbors just because two weeks before the start of the championship, they cruciform cruciate ligaments. In 2005, Krzysztof is a member of the symbolic national team of the Russian Super League, Dariusz is the best player in the Lithuanian championship. If you ask the brothers themselves about the domestic championship, then, looking into each other’s eyes, each of them categorically declares: “Well, of course, the best is me!” And of course, quite laughs at the same time ...
I am lucky - I managed to collect them in one place, or rather, before me the president of Kazan UNICS Evgeny Bogachev did it. The year before last, Krzysztof appeared on the team, and last year, Dariusz. Bogachev hopes that with the Lithuanian centers, his brainchild will finally stop the hegemony of CSKA.
And I’m saying that I can learn more about formidable brothers, who, just in case, under a certain set of circumstances, could well have played for the Belarusian team ...
Dariusz: Few people know about this, but actually from the very beginning there were three of us.
Krzysztof: True, Dariusz and I ate one brother, because, in fact, they are so healthy.
“It should be assumed that your little brother did not belong to the native Lithuanians in any way ...”K .: My father had Polish roots, but he was born in Lithuania, where his grandmother moved to live. And our mother, a thoroughbred Belarusian, from under Oshmyan, just studied in Vilnius. There, parents met and got married.
“And in which of them are you so tall - 210 centimeters per brother?”K .: My father’s height is 192 centimeters, mother’s - 175. And her father’s two meters. Our Belarusian relatives are not petty, all such healthy little men, at least go for a bear, at least for an elephant. And to be honest, we haven’t been with you for a long time, everything is somehow not enough. Free time only in the summer, but just then you need to prepare as part of the team.
- It is unlikely that I would risk a mistake, I will assume that in childhood the legendary Arvydas Sabonis was your idol ...K .: Exactly. This is a man who knows how to do everything in basketball. Defend, attack, hit three-pointer. And he can score from above ...
D: When I saw Sabonis at the site for the first time, I laughed.
- Above what?D: Over the enemy. Arvydas did incredible things. The guys went around spinning, and they simply did not know how to resist it. But Sabonis was already under 40 then ...
K .: He has a strict character. This is if necessary, but in life Arvydas is a very simple and contact person. We met Sabonis when we were 20 years old, and he turned out to be exactly the way Dariush and I imagined him in childhood.
- I suspect that at that happy time, tall brothers were quoted by basketball experts rather high ...K .: In general, we did a lot of things: football, swimming, table tennis - they weren’t wooden at all. Well, mom sent us to basketball. As I remember now, we came from school, there is a newspaper on the table, and there is a note about recruiting to the section. Tall guys were required - at 13 we were already quite big. “Let's try, I'll take you back tomorrow,” Mom said.
D: But we were shy! Lithuanian almost did not know the language ...
K .: At first it was hard. Just at that time, relations between the Lithuanians and the Russian speakers were not the best, but the fact that the two of us didn’t give each other an insult, saved us.
D: People have been training there since the age of seven, but we really didn’t know how to catch the ball.
K .: True, in a year everything has changed. And at 15 we were offered a contract by the professional club Alytus. Then we already wandered for two meters. At the age of 16, each had 208 centimeters and a 50th shoe size.
D: Nevertheless, we were not very serious yet - we wanted to take a walk more. Already, the girls appeared on the mind. But the father insisted: "Do not do stupid things, with such growth you have to play basketball. Or do you want, like me, to work on a construction site all my life?"
K .: We bate, of course, helped on occasion, and yet at the construction site we did not want to work hard.
- What was your first basketball salary?D .: 800 litas. At that time it was about 200 dollars. Very good money for sixteen boys. And we firmly decided for ourselves that we would take basketball seriously.
K .: Well, how about everything? In this regard, I do not know the ideal athletes at all.
D: And Egor?
K .: Just Meshcheryakov. He is a pro to the marrow of bones. Ready example for a basketball textbook. He knows best of all what can be done and what cannot.
D: We began to treat ourselves professionally somewhere in 22-23 years. Because before that, despite the insistence of his father, they somehow managed to combine training with discos.
K .: Health was already not enough for two things at once. Yes, and we have ceased to be young and promising. It's time to advance to the number of players who determine the result. We could not come tired of training or playing, otherwise we would let down the team.
D: In youth, the main thing is to have a head on your shoulders. It seems that the wagon is strong and you can draw them endlessly. Spray on all nonsense. There were many examples before the eyes when the owners of great talent mediocrely dug it into the ground, and then, having realized it, could not bring anything back. Late - the train left.
K .: But it was easier for us, after all, one head is good, and two is better.
D: Until 24 years, we did not spend a single hour apart. Although they understood that sooner or later they would have to live separately, build their own families. Believe me, it’s quite difficult for the twins to survive ... However, when I played in Lithuania, and Krzysztof in Russia, I still talked every day.
- They say that Krzysztof did not waste time in the Russian capital - he did not make anyone fall in love with him, but the winner of the Beauty of Russia 2004 contest ...
K .: Everything turned out by chance. I then played for the Moscow “Dynamo”. We had a free day, and I decided to go with a friend to the match CSKA - Ural Great. Tickets were given in the corner, nothing is visible. We think we need to change seats. Found a place more comfortable. We are sitting. Two pretty girls come and sit right in front of us. I need to get acquainted. And I'm humble.
D: It's true.
K .: I tell my friend: "Invite them to dinner." The girls took our phone and said that they would somehow call back. Then it became clear that my future wife Tanya was preparing in Moscow for the final of the Miss World contest at that time. And basketball tickets, like me, were given to her by the president of CSKA, Sergey Kushchenko. He is Tanya’s fellow countryman, from Perm, and at that time I belonged to CSKA and was in a Dynamo club for rent. So, we can say that we met thanks to him.
D: To some extent. After all, your place at first was in the corner ...
K .: The good thing is that it ends well.
D: That's right: Tanya will soon give birth to a brother.
- You probably used to often use the fact that they look alike, like two copies ...K .: We always shared our homework among ourselves: one teaches, for example, Russian, and the other - math. To whom it was easier. Well, then they answered in these subjects, as they say, for themselves and for that guy. Teachers have such a psychology - they will never call the one who has the last grade, and therefore we always knew who should go to the board.
D: Once, however, we were exposed. The teacher hesitated: “You didn’t seem to be Krzysztof ...” But they loved us in the class, and therefore everyone made a friendly noise: “It's definitely Krzysztof! We don’t know him, or what?” Well ... I answered, and she immediately called the second. Krzysztof hesitated, hesitated, but he couldn’t get anywhere - he did not teach a lesson.
K .: Since then, the teachers began to call us exclusively together.
D: A couple of times my brother and I wanted to trade shirts and basketball, but then they abandoned this idea.
K .: We are honest.
- In the manner of the game you can be distinguished with the naked eye?D: It's not easy. Everyone says that our movements are very similar. Krzysztof is good at playing from the perimeter. He can beat, but I beware of sudden movements, after all, I had more injuries. Therefore, I prefer to act under the ring.
- Actually, the dream of life for all basketball players is to get into the NBA ...K .: We were repeatedly invited to go to training camps, but I had already forgotten when in the past five years I had been able to rest normally in the summer. Well, if it turned out a week.
D: That year, too, they called. Wait, Krzysztof, what date?
K .: In July?
D: In June!
K .: However, then we started training camp. They could not help the team, and not get into the NBA. If there was a concrete proposal ... I, won, was invited to Toronto in 2003, but it didn’t work out. They took another - Chris Bosch. He still plays there.
D: To be honest, this fact does not greatly depress us. Now in Europe there are enough strong clubs. Over the years, you become more balanced, youthful dreams about the NBA give way to a simple calculation - the main thing is that there are no injuries.
What is our goal now? Very simple - win more rewards. Win the Russian Cup, championship medals, be among the best teams of the ULEB Cup.
K .: Another Olympic medal.
- Where is it easier for you to play - in Russia or in Lithuania? Still, the mentality of these peoples is different ...D: Yes, people are different. In Russia, you’ll go to a store, ask, and the seller will snort at you, turn around and leave.
K .: Still, God forbid, you’re kidding me ...
D: They look so that you will not be glad. Like, are you a fool?
- Interestingly, the Russians say the same about Lithuanian sellers ...D: Do not hesitate, they have a good sense of humor. Even if the joke is not very, they still smile, at least out of politeness. It’s just that not all of them know Russian. Lithuanians, who are 20-25 years old, will not understand anything if they are addressed in Russian.
- Is it good or bad?K .: Of course it’s bad. In our school, whether you like it or not, six lessons per week were devoted to learning the Russian language. And now children have a choice. And, of course, they will prefer English.
D: We are a little different.
K .: Russian that he thinks he will say, and the Lithuanian will first think, and then he will say. But Belarusians have always liked me. I don’t know, maybe such people met, but they were all very kind and open.
- They like to attribute the last quality to the players of your role. For some reason, at the same time, denying them the proper level of intelligence, they say, trainers from them then still will not work ...D: No, this does not concern us.
K .: I would not say that the main quality of a trainer is intelligence. I know many experts who have successfully managed without its excess. The main thing in the coach’s work is the ability to establish the process, to make the team do what it should. Extra brain gyrus, believe me, is far from always good.
Often observed a certain pattern: the more decent a person, the softer he is at work. If you want to become a good coach, you should not show your human qualities. No one can be spared. At the site you must be a tyrant.
In this regard, I liked working with Sergei Belov. Although quite often cursed with him, because he liked to scream during the match. And yet, after cooling down, he realized that the coach was doing everything right. He demanded a lot, and I stretched, trying to meet his expectations.
This is how a person works - in extreme minutes, he does not always accept even the most correct advice, filed in a gentle form and in a low voice. It’s safer to shout into the ear.
- Can a coach be friends with a player?D: Why not? But there must always be some distance. Here we have in the “algiris” was the coach Ainar Bagackis - Latvian basketball player. First, he was a player for two seasons, and after Sireika resigned, he was invited to take his place. And before that, we always lived in the same room, went to drink beer, in general, were friends. But when he became a coach, I started calling him “you”, I could not afford familiarity.
- Your relations with journalists?K .: Normal. When they write nonsense, we laugh. Lithuania has a lot of "yellow" press, and on occasion it would not mind to inflate an elephant from a fly.
True, we must pay tribute to my compatriots: they write about basketball objectively. If you lose, then they will criticize you. Russian reporters have a different point of view on this matter - for some reason they always have an excuse for their team. Either she was weakened, the referee judged poorly, then something else.
D: Lithuanians simply understand this game better. They can’t be fooled by the fact that someone had a stomachache and therefore did not hit five three-pointer in a row.
- Discover the secret why the two-million-country team manages to play basketball better than its much more powerful eastern neighbor.K .: I think school is stronger in Lithuania. There are a lot of good players and teams in Russia, but at the most important moment it turns out that something is still missing a little. If a person has not been given a bit in childhood, then then this loss can no longer be compensated. Even if you play with the most advanced coach.
D: Krzysztof says this to the fact that any home primarily depends on the quality of the foundation. We are very painstakingly training young players. The guy lays not only an understanding of the game, technical skill and ability to work in a team, but also a national spirit. They say to him: “Look: our stars have always won and thereby glorified the country around the world. Your business is to continue these traditions.” We are taught to win all the tournaments in which we participate.
K .: Every sport, not just basketball, educates first of all character. Probably, our trainers are able to do this better than others, if you really get such a good indicator of the presence of class masters per unit population. A small country where basketball is the number one sport. You walk along the street, and every person you know knows who you are, and every second person knows how many points you scored in the last match. Nicely.
- When will you have a basketball player who will be destined to overshadow the glory of Sabonis?K .: This is a difficult question. There are definitely no young people like that now.
D: Ilgauskas?
K .: He, of course, is not yet Sabonis, but a serious candidate for his place.
D: Sabonis today is a brand of a successful person. After sports, he feels very well in the role of businessman.
- Mate Cleves, who came to your club from the NBA, left three businesses in the States ...K .: Matina is good, he founded all his affairs, having the ability to control them. We cannot afford such luxury.
D: Of course, we invest in real estate, this is probably the simplest thing, which then should bring a solid income.
Actually, I personally do not really represent myself as a businessman. Sitting at the computer all day, staring at the screen, shifting pieces of paper - no, that’s not for me.
K .: And how much do you need to talk? What business meetings alone are worth ... Although where to go? The money you can make in a business is one of the easiest ...
- The same can be said about sports fees. It's no secret that in Russia a good-class basketball player can count on even more impressive amounts than in the Old World ...K .: We are used to it, because the whole of Europe follows a similar path. Unless, perhaps, the Americans are surprised: they thought that most of the money they earn is only in the NBA.
- We must pay tribute to the latter: they have a certain reason for surprise. There, after all, basketball is an entire industry in a rich country, but here ...D: I think it’s clear to everyone what money is here and how it goes. Well, it’s not entirely clear, but approximately.
K .: Sponsors help.
“What's the point?”D: I also often thought about this. Somehow I talked with specialists, and they more or less explained what the trick was.
- Well?D: Well, what will I explain ?! The longest living are those who do not bother with all sorts of puzzles.
- And what can the Lavrinovichi brothers allow themselves to think about?K .: Before, when I was 22-24 years old, it seemed that life was somehow very fast. For almost a quarter century ... Scary. And in three years 30 will turn out, and I am not at all complex about this. Probably just looking at life differently ...
D: ... through the eyes of an already established person. We have already achieved something, we hope to come to something.
K .: Olympics ... But you still have to get there.
D: It would be nice to win a medal. Any.
K .: And if gold? Yes, on such an occasion, I would not regret to give it to the masseur. What do you think, Dariusz?
D: I support. Only I, perhaps, will take mine home. It seems to me that two medals for one massage therapist will still be too much ...
Sergey SCHURKO