andrey Kanchelskis, the legendary football player of the USSR and Russia national teams, in a frank conversation with Sport spoke about sincerity and stupidity Englishmen, a daughter who fled to London with a cat, a wife who betrayed him and went to Stas Mikhailov, and a mother who refused to leave Ukraine for Moscow.
«Beckham would have recognized me»
Your career has always been associated with Manchester United. What is the greatness of Sir Alex Ferguson?“I think he must have been born under a lucky star after all. His industriousness and Scottish intransigence tell. For his industriousness, indeed, maybe God rewarded him with such a gift to always win. I think so, because it was very difficult to win the Cup Winners' Cup with Aberdeen at that time. It is very costly. And then he moved to Manchester United and, naturally, since 1991, the club began to win constantly and reached such a level that it caught up with Liverpool in titles. For Liverpool, this is, of course, a disaster.
— Under the Soviet Union, of course, this is Valery Vasilyevich Lobanovsky, and Konstantin Ivanovich Beskov, the kingdom of heaven to them. Maybe Gazzaev. Well, I wouldn't say more. There are no such similar in all respects.
— Tell us about the conflicts with Sir Alex.
Everyone has conflicts. Everyone has their own position and understanding. We all decided, now we communicate normally, I have his contacts. I can call and chat. He arranged tickets for me when Manchester United played against Chelsea, then against CSKA. No problem. The most important thing is that we have a good relationship. Yes, I didn’t want to play for the double, but when we talked with him, he really explained and informed me how he sees it and what is the reason for sending me from the main team. Then it was very correct. I think it's fair. Now I realize.
— Then you didn't think so.
— Then I was young and quick-tempered. We all understand that every player believes that he is the best and that he is unreasonably accused. The coach still knows better. I had a failed period, I played very badly. First, resentment, then you realize what you were wrong about, first of all, you had to delve into yourself, and not blame everyone else. You should never lower your standards.
— Gave weakness?
— I got dizzy. The crown, you know, when they put it on, as if you already know and can do everything, although you don’t know and can’t do anything — this is 100 percent. There is a long way to go, and one has to study and work.
strong>— Did you think then that Sir Alex was biased? strong
We are doing one thing. If there was a personal bias, I think he would not have become such a great manager, and Manchester United would not have been a great club under his leadership. We also have coaches who are biased: problems with the agent or did not give him money or did not agree on a transfer. We have it all the time. We have to do business. There is a concrete result, and there are football players with whom you have to find a common language.
— Do you think David Beckham would recognize you now?
< br>Of course. Why not. I think we might cross paths. He comes often to Manchester. At least everyone will know when I arrive.
Tell us about your move to England. What surprised you there?- Imagine coming from the Soviet Union to England — it's like you got into another world. The USSR is an iron curtain, it was difficult to go abroad, buy jeans, a leather jacket, sneakers — it was for happiness. There people lived a different understanding, a different life. You come to a place where everything is free and without problems. The people are friendly, always smiling and ready to talk to you. I always wondered why they ask me how I'm doing. What's your business? But it is customary among them.
—Not hypocrisy?
“So all the English and Scots are hypocrites?” No. They are sincere. You notice when it's insincere, you feel it. Moreover, propaganda about the Soviet Union gave a reason. I was asked, do you have bears walking around Moscow? I say yes, they do. People think that there are bears, wolves and jackals here. Propaganda is propaganda. But those who came then to the Soviet Union, then to Russia, naturally, were delighted, and then explained to people that they were wrong in all respects. We also used to have people who were kinder, more sympathetic and benevolent. Now, of course, everything has changed.
—When you arrived, did you know English well? br>
— The story is simple. At school in Kirovograd, I skipped English. The teacher always told me: «Andrey, learn the language.» As if I knew that I would go to England. And I thought, why do I need it. When I arrived, I began to remember: here's an idiot, he missed everything, but we had a good teacher. It was a big problem. Eric Canton (the legend of Manchester United and the French national team — ed.) and I had a translator, George Kennan, who knew French, German, a little bit of Chinese — a polyglot, graduated from Cambridge, from a simple family, very smart. He was an interpreter for the Soviet Union team at the 1966 World Cup.
Kennan was with us almost everywhere — on all trips and at home. When there is such a specialist, why should I teach the same thing? In Italy, I no longer had an interpreter, so six months later I went to television and could, at the very least, speak. Italian is easier for me than English. I won’t say that I speak English well now — I won’t lie, I don’t know the language like my children do. They mock me: dad, you're talking wrong. Well, of course, the son was born in Manchester, the daughter in Glasgow. I can't butt heads with them.
— What surprised you about the English mentality?
— Firstly, right-hand traffic, and secondly, they were surprised by tea break from 16:00 to 16:30 — at this time you should definitely go to drink tea. They practically do not have hot dishes — borscht, cabbage soup. All soups are creamy — we are not used to that. They also have everything clearly and clearly — the working day ends, shops close at 22:00, and not like we work around the clock. Cafes, restaurants — everything is closed on Saturday. But then you get used to it.
— Did you adapt for a long time?
— I wouldn't say. You quickly get used to good things. A maximum of a month.
— Were there any disappointments?- Not really. In the New Year we played — this is a small disappointment. Everyone has a rest, and you have football. The son was buried in Manchester, but that's another story. Ferguson then said: «You can be absent as long as you need.» I was gone for a maximum of a week, because I had to quickly forget all this negativity and get to work. It was harder for my ex-wife. Then Andrey was born, it already became easier, then Eva. ex-wife — ed.) immediately agreed to move to England? Kirovograd to the UK.
— Didn't think at all?
— What's there to think about!
—Someone cares about stability.What stability! What kind of stability can there be in Kirovograd? There are uranium ores.
— She studied at the medical school, didn't she?
— Well, yes, she studied, she didn't even finish. And, here’s another disappointment — she didn’t change my last name, she’s a disgrace.
— Fans in England ran after you?
< br>
— Well, it was. I remember two of them were ardent, wearing T-shirts with my name on them. We arrived, called the house, won't you refuse? We went in, drank tea, talked. Imagine if you tell them — go, goodbye — they would be offended. Is it a pity for tea, or what?
— Was your wife not jealous?- Why be jealous? We drank tea and talked? After training, I went to the university, I had an English teacher — a woman. We talked with her, she came home, we learned lessons. If you give a reason — another matter. And if you do not give, what kind of jealousy can there be? Only a stupid person can be jealous of you for everyone. I did not come home at three o'clock in the morning.
— You said that jealousy happens when you give a reason. What is the basis of a happy marriage?
— This is mutual understanding, honesty, life without betrayal and deceit. Cheating is the worst. It's not nice when you're being lied to. Yes, we are all like that, we can lie, but to lie to the whole country, to say that I beat her (ex-wife), cheated — there was no such thing. Of course it's hard. Now what, go to make excuses? Send Malakhova and they told me that I beat her every day, although I never raised my hand against a woman in my life, I don’t raise it and I won’t raise it, because such upbringing is. But now I had to tell the whole country that I did this, cheated, although she was the first to cheat on me. But okay, God bless her. The whole country is looking at this disgrace — Kanchelskis, it turns out, beats women. Interesting. Time has passed and everyone is well aware that this is a lie. Some believe, some don't. Betrayal is hard to bear.
strong>— Did you have a hard time going through a divorce?
— Of course. Still, they lived for a year and 15 years of marriage, they have children. When a person sticks a knife in your back, and even in a situation where you are unemployed, in search. It's so hard for you. And also scolded and slandered. But Churchill once said: «While the truth is putting on its pants, the lie has already gone around half the world.» It is so.
— What helped you not to break down then?
— Friends helped. The most important thing is work. You forget yourself, you have a specific goal, tasks, you start to think differently. There are many such situations in sports — people break down purely psychologically, sit down on a glass, someone on drugs. Basically, they begin to drink, pour alcohol into grief. They also said about me that I drank and walked.
— But it didn’t happen?
— Did not have. Time has already passed, relations with children are good. This man is dead to me. I'm not interested in talking to her. We don't communicate at all.- Initially, they intersected, the first 3-4 years, and then everything. When a person began to become impudent, when she and my ex-mother-in-law began to say that we would roll you into asphalt, that you were nobody. All this is there, there are records. But I don’t want to humiliate these people now, otherwise they will die if they see such things that were said. The former mother-in-law did a liver transplant without waiting in line in Moscow, and you need to raise half of the city, find the liver so that the blood type matches. And found and done. Then you are also to blame. The mother-in-law then said: «I have two great sons-in-law — Kanchelskis and Mikhailov.» They wanted to roll into the asphalt, and now the great one. See how things are changing.
< br>
Why did your wife have to defame your honor like this?
What excuse did she have for leaving me? She was asked the same question: «Why did you break up?» She answered: «Beating, drinking, walking.» It had to be invented. Everything is very fast and smart. Malakhov called me, invited me to justify myself, but, of course, I did not go.
— When was it?
— Years 15 ago. For me, a person died and disappeared, I don’t even know where and when.
«The son is not hired in England because of the Russian dad»
— How often do you communicate with children?
— Now we saw each other in Dubai. I also travel to England, I am invited from Manchester, then from Everton. Before the coronavirus, the last time was. I went there once every six months, but now it's difficult. Everyone took up arms against the Russians. There was even such a situation — son Andrey left the company alone, looking for a job, and there he was told that your dad played for the Russian national team, so there is no chance.
— Does it come to this? strong
— Yes. The fact that he was born in England and has an English passport does not bother anyone. Then he has the surname Kanchelskis — not Russian, but Lithuanian. My passport says that I was born in Ukraine. They do not know geography, except for England they see nothing. Sometimes you look at them and think how stupid they are. There is a very bad attitude towards Russians now.
— How much do you value the British passport?
— Expensive, not expensive, I think it's good for my children. Maybe he doesn’t really care for me, but, of course, it’s good that you don’t need to get a visa. I went, bought a ticket and flew to wherever I wanted.
«Don't touch Stasik, don't touch him!» now in London?
— Yes, both daughter and son.
— What are they doing? br>
— The son worked in a football company, now he is getting a new job, and his daughter has recently moved and is looking for a job. She graduated from college there. Andrey got married.
— Is your wife English?
— No, she is Greek. He also has a Greek residence permit. The problem is that companies have a recommendation from the state that if you have Russian roots, then do not hire them. Andrei is a smart guy, he will find a job in Greece or England, maybe he will help me with the football market, if I now have a job in Dubai.
— He played football? strong
— Did a little work. We overslept the moment when there was interest in him from the West Ham football school. But he played rugby in college. Even the coach of the Russian national team called me and asked if Andrei had any desire to come to Russia. I said then that I myself could not return, because there were litigations, property divisions. The pumping on the children was so great that the daughter even took the cat away and fled to London.
— Don't know. I don't ask and I don't care. I think if Eva left Moscow, then probably not very good ones.
Do you discuss this topic with your children at all?- No. Don't want. I don't ask, they don't answer. I'm glad they don't bring up this conversation. Friends sometimes joke, tease me about the past. “I need a ticket (for Stas Mikhailov) — I’ll get it to the first row,” they said. It pissed me off, pissed me off, and upset me. I was furious, snapped at them: «Fuck you!». And now I’m saying: yes, I’m a fan, I have tickets, I can sell you. The guys already understand that I take it easy.
When a person betrays you. It's okay to just betray, but when you start to incline everything in your direction. My beloved mother-in-law said that I must give everything, you are a man, you will earn. If I left, then I should have left everything to the woman, but the man himself leaves, sticks a knife in your back, and you also have to give him everything. That is why these courts, showdowns have gone. 50/50 wasn't enough for them. The issue was resolved, everything is fine, just the nerves were exhausted.
— What did your wife do when you were in London?
— Yes, nothing , was a housewife. Where else is she? After college, she went to England and did not work anymore.
— You were joking about Stas Mikhailov's concert. Maybe you went once?
— Are you kidding me? No, I didn't go. And in general, when she started talking, don’t touch Stasik, don’t touch him, I think, but who is Stasik? And it turned out to be Mikhailov. I didn't even think about it. Might as well go. It will be interesting to look at Stasik Mikhailov.
— Are you thinking about a new family now?
— I don’t have a serious relationship now, but I would like a family. Now, perhaps, the world has turned upside down, before everything was simpler and sincere, people were different. Until I met such a person with whom everything would be honest, open and correct.
«Mother refused to come from Ukraine to Moscow» — Your mother now lives in Ukraine. When was the last time you saw each other, talked?
— Today called up. She's all right. Kirovograd is located in the middle part of Ukraine. These sirens are constantly unpleasant. Alive and well. My sister and I wanted her to go to Israel, but she is already old and said that she would not go anywhere. br>
— She will not go to Moscow. She used to come to visit. Do not persuade. Of course, we are trying to convey, but does not want to.
—When were you last in Ukraine?
—Before the outbreak of hostilities. In February (2022) I still wanted to fly, but I was warned both here and there that it was better not to. And then the hostilities began. I used to try to go there every year — my mother lives there, my father is buried there, I would like to see my friends.