Translated material
Drowned in the "storm"
The country's men's team had the worst season in its history
The club season in Russia started last week with matches for the Russian Cup among men's teams in Chekhov near Moscow. But if there are no serious concerns about the quality level of the honorary trophy, the holding of the Super League championship and the results of our clubs’ performances in European cup tournaments, then the future of the country’s national team is vague. The past summer season of the men's national team was the worst in the history of domestic water polo. Head coach Alexander Kabanov's team took last, eighth place in the World League and the World Cup. They performed even more fatally at the European Championships, where they finished 9th out of 12 participants, only at the last moment securing the right to play at the 2007 World Championships in Melbourne, Australia.In order to understand the reasons for the total failures of our team, which four years ago was the leading one on the planet, winning both the World League and the World Cup in the 2002 season and taking bronze at the Athens Olympics, the Vremya Novostey correspondent had a chance to talk with many specialists and players representing different clubs. For the most part, coaches and leaders of leading teams were of the opinion that, for unknown reasons, not all of the strongest water polo players in the country were called up to the national team, and Alexander Kabanov selected for the team on the subjective principle of “like it or not.” The players, for obvious reasons, tried to be as careful as possible in their statements. Here are the most typical opinions.
Alexander GLINYANOV, Honored Coach of Russia, Vice-President of the LUKOIL-Spartak club (Volgograd), previously worked as the head coach of this team for many years:
- First of all, I would like to note that the national team was missing at least half of its roster; a whole group of the strongest players was missing from its ranks. I think this applies to Volgograd residents Nikolai Kozlov, Alexander Fedorov, Sergei Lisunov, Vitaly Yurchik, who moved in the off-season from Sturm near Moscow to Dynamo in the capital, Alexander Eryshov and Sergei Garbuzov, as well as Irek Zinnurov from Sintez Kazan. This is undoubtedly the “merit” of Alexander Kabanov. He explains all the team’s failures not by his own miscalculations in work, but blames it on the refereeing. He also complains about the lack of a good goalkeeper. Well, what prevented you from attracting the already mentioned Fedorov, the best in his role in the country?
The head coach is confused when naming priority tasks. At first he said that the World League and the World Cup are considered as stages of preparation for the Old World Championship. Then he already stated that our main task at Euro 2006 was to win a ticket to the world championship. It seems to me that the current coach of the national team got rid of the best water polo players in the country, because he cannot find contact or a common language with these players. But it is necessary to consult with them, this will only be beneficial. Kabanov also loses contact with club mentors. I think that he, as the helmsman of the national squad, had to defend his point of view when determining the limit on foreign legionnaires in the Russian Championship. The current quota of three players, in my opinion, is too high. Three Varangians are too much, it seems to me that one is quite enough.
In my opinion, a worthy alternative to Kabanov at the head of the national team could be the tandem of Dmitry Gorshkov and Vladimir Karabutov, mentors of Dynamo Moscow and LUKOIL-Spartak, respectively.
Mait RIJSMAN, honored coach of the country, chairman of the coaching council of the Russian Water Polo Federation, vice-president of Dynamo (Moscow), former head coach of the blue and white:
— As the chairman of the coaching council, I collect information from my colleagues and ask for their opinion about the national team. So far the main conclusion is that there is no faith in what is going on in the team. In terms of the potential of Russian water polo, the national men's team should be much stronger than reflected in its dismal results on the international stage in the 2006 season. Kabanov’s approach to inviting players is subjective: if you perform in his Sturm, then you are welcome, if not, the doors are closed. The most striking example is Eryshov and Garbuzov, who, after leaving Sturm, automatically found themselves left out of the national team. Many guys, observing such strange principles of team formation, themselves unanimously refuse to participate in it. For example, this is what the experienced Kozlov did. We skid harder and harder, getting deeper and deeper into a rut. In fact, the national team played this season with the second or third squad. And young people have no incentive to fight for a place in such a team.
Alas, the national team lives with old baggage - nothing new is offered in the tactical flow. There are no prerequisites for a qualitative leap; the dynamics of results and level of play are terribly negative. Kabanov often complains about the abundance of injuries and the fact that clubs interfere with his work. But what are these obstacles? Not clear. After all, Kabanov himself voluntarily refused contact and consultations with club mentors. It turns out that some water polo players themselves do not want to play in such a team, others are perplexed why they do not receive a call to the national team, despite their class. And after all, the Russian Water Polo Federation and its president Vadim Evseevich Somov have created all the conditions, a decent material base for the normal functioning of the national squad. I'm not a utopian. Perhaps now we are not ready to fight for first or second places in the world, but we must maintain our reputation. Everything is fine with the personnel - we have enough qualified, experienced players and coaches in our country, and today's results of the national team are all the more shameful.
Revaz CHOMAKHIDZE, Russian national team player:
- I think a temporary recession was inevitable. Our failures can be explained by the ongoing process of generational change. It seems to me that everyone who wanted to play on the team played on the team. This is our first such season against the backdrop of total personnel rotation. There will definitely be progress for the better, and I, as they say, see light at the end of the tunnel.
To the above, we add that according to the rules established in the Russian Water Polo Federation, the appointment and dismissal of the “steering” of the team is not the prerogative of the coaching council, not some collective body (executive committee or bureau), but is exclusively within the competence of the first person, that is, Vadim Somov. The president is still receiving conflicting information - from Kabanov and from leading clubs. But be that as it may, in any other team sport such a monstrous series of failures on the international stage would certainly entail dramatic changes in the coaching staff of the national team.