Boris Mikhailov

The host of the program "Themes" Peter Vail: the man of the day of Radio Liberty May 13 is the head coach of the Russian hockey team Boris Mikhailov. Under his leadership, the Russian team at the world championship completed in Sweden for the first time in 9 years entered the three winners, having won silver medals. Boris Mikhailov was born in 1944. He played for the Moscow Lokomotiv and CSKA, 11 times the USSR champion, 8-time world champion, 7-time Europe, two-time Olympic. Absolute record holder in the number of goals abandoned in these competitions. Since 1992, the head coach of the Russian team, who won the World Cup in 1993. Married, has two sons. The person of the Day of Radio Liberty is represented by our sports observer Alexei Kuznetsov:

Aleksey Kuznetsov: Over the past 10 years, the Russian hockey team has only been able to win the world championship medals twice, in 1993 - gold, in the current - silver. Both times, the team was led by Boris Mikhailov. Mikhailov-Hockey player was not considered the main, brightest star in his three, losing this place to Valery Kharlamov. Mikhailov had a different reputation - he was considered a fighter and was famous for his unbending character. This helped him to wage a power struggle in the hottest places, where they hit the most painful and where, in order not to give in, a special personality warehouse is required. Perhaps, among those of his peers who became coaches, Mikhailov stands out not so much by achievements as the character traits of his teams. It is curious that he was not trusted twice to train the Olympic teams. 4 years ago, Vladimir Yurzinov won in Nagano Silver medals, and this year Vyacheslav Fetisov went to the Salt Lake City in Salt Lake City. Actually, it was the story of Fetisov and the actual removal of Mikhailov that became almost the main sports and bureaucratic event of the year. After that, Mikhailov could only grit his teeth and prove to everyone that there are players in the Russian championship with whom you can win medals. The game of his team in Sweden was not brilliant, however, the coach managed to achieve the impossible, knocking out the obvious favorites of the tournament - Chekhov and Finns from the draws. The final defeat from the Slovaks, of course, confirmed the best sides of the Mikhailovskaya team - both a strong character and the ability to hold a blow, but this was clearly not enough to win.

The defeat of the Mikhailov team is deeply symbolic. Firstly, the legend of Russian heroes is confirmed, who sometimes compensate for the lack of skill with a desperate will, but sometimes do not compensate for. Secondly, the need for changes was obvious not only in Russian hockey, but in all Russian sports. Apparently, serious cabinet battles are waiting for Russian hockey. Fetisov is now the Minister of Sports, and he clearly does not sympathize with Mikhailov. However, the coach now has significant arguments in the form of silver medals. Unfortunately, in Russia, strong personalities often only interfere with each other, and after all, having agreed, they would bring much more benefit to Russian sports.