“This is a happy ending! In Hollywood, they couldn’t think of this! Life is the best playwright. I really want to stay somewhere on a desert island with this paranormal happiness and smile as long as my mouth is wide enough.” These words are known to every Russian. When they are mentioned, the same picture appears before your eyes: Canadian Quebec, the goal of Ilya Kovalchuk, the gold of the Russian national hockey team.
In the long material Sport, together with the creators of resounding success, we recall the legendary championship of 2008, which turned 15 today.
«A victory was needed to unite the Russians «
For the first time since 1962, the Ice Hockey World Championship was held in North America. 2008 marked the centenary of the best stick and puck sport, and it was logical that the tournament was hosted by its founders. Moreover, the Canadians were the reigning champions. And the representatives of the «Maple Leaf Country» won gold not just anywhere, but in Moscow, the capital of Russia, which did not know success at the world championships for a long 15 years.
The first and at that time the only championship of Russians in our history was dated 1993, when the team was coached by the legendary Boris Mikhailov, and the great Vyacheslav Bykov was the captain. 15 years after that triumph, Vyacheslav Arkadyevich went to Canada as the head coach of the national team.
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"Recently, we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the first victory of the Russian team at the World Championships, and now — the 15th anniversary of the championship in Quebec. In 1993 I was the team captain, in 2008 I was the head coach. Even now, after so many years, when I talk about the victory in Quebec, it takes my breath away. It was a difficult championship and took place in a place that Canadians call the birthplace of hockey. At one time, I was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques club, but I did not go to the NHL. But he came to Quebec as the head coach of the Russian national team, and we managed to win gold medals. This is very symbolic,” said Bykov. «/
For Vyacheslav Arkadyevich, Quebec-2008 became the second World Championship in the status of a national team coach. A year earlier, the Russians, under his leadership, won bronze medals at a home tournament. But now everyone was waiting for victory. And not just like that, because the generation of players in the Russian team at that time was crazy by name: Alexander Eremenko, Ilya Nikulin, Fedor Tyutin, Maxim Afinogenov, Danis Zaripov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergei Mozyakin, Alexei Morozov, Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Alexei Tereshchenko and many, many others. Representatives born in the 1970s/80s are considered perhaps the best generation in the modern history of Russia… But the great Sergei Fedorov also went to Quebec with that team.
On the way to the final, the Russians won all the matches. There was one step left to the secret gold, and it was very difficult, because it had to be done in front of thousands of Canadians, who were driving their team forward with the whole stadium.
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“For me, this victory is very important, because since 1993 we have not won gold medals at the world championships. When I was called to the Kremlin, I had a conversation with the president. He gave me the opportunity to head the Russian Hockey Federation and said that we need victories, because it is necessary to unite all Russians. Indeed, the victory in Quebec brought us together, gave people confidence in our hockey, that we can play at a high level. That year we generally won all the medals: at the adult, youth and junior age levels. Matches in Canada are always special. In that final in Quebec, not only Canada, but the entire hockey world thought that it was the Canadians who would win,” said Vladislav Tretiak.
“Nabokov had status, he helped psychologically»
In addition to the fact that the tournament itself turned out to be very difficult, the Russian team faced another problem — personnel. Even before the start of the championship, Semyon Varlamov dropped out due to an injury, who ultimately did not make it to the team's final bid. Alexander Eremenko became the main goalkeeper of the national team, but in the second round match of the group stage against the Czech Republic (5:4 OT), he suffered damage to the ligaments of the knee joint. Of the goalkeepers, only Mikhail Biryukov remained.
«That tournament took place already 15 years ago, but it seems that everything was not so long ago. Such an event is remembered for a lifetime. I feel great pride, remembering the golden world championship, and I am glad that I had the honor to be a participant in it. I would like to say hello to all the partners on that team, to all the fans who remember Quebec-2008, «Biryukov recalled in conversation with .
The goalkeeper brought the same match with the Czechs to victory, and then helped the Russians beat the Danes and Belarusians. The meeting with the latter turned out to be especially emotional, because the victory was obtained in a shootout, and the Russians had to win back from the score 0:2.
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"I remember the game with Belarusians (4:3 PB). By that time, our main goalkeepers had broken down: first Semyon Varlamov, then Alexander Eremenko. As a result, Mikhail Biryukov was left alone, and he won that match in shootouts. It was a shock, not a match. That moment was very difficult: we didn’t have a goalkeeper to even carry out a full-fledged training session, so we had to invite a goalkeeper who trained in Canada. Vyacheslav Bykov asked what we should do. «Though you change clothes,» he told me, «Tretiak said.
Salvation was found in North America. By that time, one of the main contenders for the Stanley Cup, the San Jose Sharks, lost in the second round of the playoffs to the Dallas Stars (2-4), losing in the fourth overtime of the sixth game of the series. And then the Russians could count on the help of goalkeeper “sharks” Yevgeny Nabokov. He without hesitation gave his consent to join the team.“Nabokov then had the last match in the NHL playoffs. I apologized to Evgeny that I was rooting against his team, although I usually root for Russian goalkeepers and wish them victories in the Stanley Cup. But here I was waiting for the defeat of San Jose, and they had overtime after overtime. I didn’t sleep all night and after the meeting I called him. It’s good that we have good relations with him. After all, I perfectly understood his state when, after a defeat, there is no desire to communicate with someone. But he He said that he would gladly accept an offer to play for the national team. I asked him: “What needs to be done for you? We will do whatever you want.» He replied: «Nothing is needed. I will pass a medical examination, and if I am allowed, I will immediately arrive at the national team. «As a result, he arrived and helped us a lot in this tournament, pulling out more than one match,» Tretyak recalls.
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“In situations like this, you shouldn’t panic. A solution had to be found. Having learned that Yevgeny Nabokov was released, they began to look for an opportunity to establish contact with him. I talked on this subject with Vladislav Tretiak, and since he had contacts, we used his services. In the end, I phoned Nabokov, talked to him, and he agreed to join the national team, having arrived literally from the ship to the ball. Eugene is a very high class player. I do not belittle the merits of Sasha Eremenko and Misha Biryukov, but Nabokov had a status. His performance in the NHL and us gave a psychological plus, and became indicative for the opponents. Although the Canadians, of course, knew Nabokov and his qualities as a goalkeeper well, had complete information about him,» Bykov added.
«Kovalchuk is a teammate. He would stand up for anyone»
Today, Alexei Morozov heads the Continental Hockey League (KHL), and in those days he was one of the main stars of Russian hockey with experience in the NHL in the same trio with Mario Lemieux himself. For him, the World Championship in Quebec was already the fifth world championship in his career and the first with the title of captain. From the very first attempt, as the leader of the national team, Aleksey Alekseevich reached the cherished goal with the whole country.»Such emotions are not forgotten. Then it was not the first time I competed at the World Championships, but I couldn’t win, but I really wanted to fulfill my childhood dream. Of course, the emotions are incredible: joy, the fans supported us a lot, as did the leaders who flew to Canada We were proud that in the year of the centenary of the international federation we were able to beat the Canadians at their home. It is expensive, I still remember,» Morozov shares his emotions.
In Quebec, Morozov played in eight matches and scored 7 points (5+2). But everything could have turned out differently, because the captain of the national team risked missing at least the beginning of the playoffs. At the beginning of the group round match against Sweden, the Russian striker was seriously injured after a rough foul by Scandinavian defender Douglas Murray. The Swede attacked Morozov from behind and hit him in the head, knocking him down. This match ended for Morozov — the captain of the Russian national team left the site, accompanied by teammates and a doctor. id=85384737&hash=eddb50f157a1c533″ width=»100%» height=»100%» allow=»autoplay; encrypted-media; fullscreen; picture-in-picture;» frameborder=»0″ allowfullscreen=»»>
Murray for this rough foul was removed before the end of the game. Ilya Kovalchuk and another Swedish defender Anton Strolman also received a match penalty. Kovalchuk stood up for Morozov and immediately attacked Murray, after which he had a notable fight with Strolman.
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"An unpleasant episode — a blow from the back. I did not expect, I did not own the puck. The injury was serious, I had to miss the next game. Ilya Kovalchuk, as a teammate, would stand up for anyone in such a situation. We had a close-knit team in which everyone was ready to fight for each other,” Morozov recalls.
The injured Russian had a suspected concussion. As a result, he missed the final match of the group round against Switzerland (5:3), but was ready for the quarterfinals. and Canada, that meeting was the first in the final of the World Cup in history. Previously, Canadians only five times played with the USSR national team in the decisive match of the world championship.
The Russians opened the scoring in the second minute of the match. Sergei Fedorov pulled the puck well into the opponent's zone and, under pressure from two Canadian defenders at the boards, successfully saved it, passing Ovechkin over Cam Ward's goal. Ovechkin promptly passed to a penny, from where Alexander Semin accurately threw. But the Canadians bounced back very quickly. Vitaly Proshkin had just managed to return to the court after a 2-minute removal, when Brent Burns, catching Maxim Sushinsky, who had rushed under his phantom shot, on pause, «flashed» Nabokov. That Canada was famous for a very powerful attack, one of the most serious among all the other participants in the championship. And this applied not only to the attacking line, but also to the attacking defenders. This factor was confirmed a few minutes later: after Burns' goal, Chris Kunitz and Burns scored one more goal each in the first period.
The score 1:3 at the end of the first 20 minutes did not embarrass the Russians at all. In the very debut of the second period, Semin played one goal, playing superbly on the rebound after a long-range shot by Konstantin Korneev.
Russia after this goal did not stop building up its already high pace. At some points, it seemed that the Canadians were not ready for this. However, it was the hosts of the tournament who scored the next goal — in the middle of the period, the best sniper of the tournament, Danny Heatley, scored.
The figures 4:2 in favor of the Canadians were burning on the scoreboard of the arena in Quebec for a long time, but the strength of the Canadians was already running out. The Russians, on the contrary, added, creating scoring chance after moment at the gates of Ward.»Our team had a very healthy atmosphere. After defeating the Canadians in a friendly match, we gradually gained momentum in the championship. Traditionally, we prepared directly for the final phase of the tournament, worked through the can't to reach the peak of form. The strength of our coaching staff was the ability to analyze your game, the game of the opponent.This analytical component gave the result.We knew that the Canadians start powerfully and strongly, but we tried to oppose them with power from the very first minutes.The rhythm that was set, kept to the end and increased, we succeeded to force the Canadians to act at higher speeds. Right up to overtime, we kept this pace, which became our trump card. By the end of the match, we looked fresher, «Bykov shared the secret of success.
In the middle of the third period, the efforts of the Russians began to bear fruit. A very important goal for returning to the fight for gold was created by Alexei Tereshchenko. He ambushed the rebound of the puck after Alexander Semin's click and drove the projectile into the goal, reducing the gap in the score to one goal.
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"I would not say that my goal was the beginning of a comeback. This goal was needed to put the squeeze on the Canadians. Any puck was needed — not necessarily mine. We played well, and with the score 4:2 in favor of Canada, we had to put the squeeze on the opponent. We created enough chances and worked to the end. We had a great team. Vyacheslav Arkadyevich and his staff are great, they created a wonderful atmosphere within the team. We definitely felt their support. Bykov could have a pleasant conversation with the players, and with the necessary rigidity to attach them, if someone went beyond the permitted limits of discipline. Everyone was aware of the trust that the coaches gave us both at home and on the ice. It was important to justify him,” said Tereshchenko.And then Ilya Kovalchuk came to decide the fate of the match. Before the final, he did not score a single goal in the tournament, but made eight assists. Goals were expected from one of the main stars of the championship, and therefore, in their absence, Ilya Valerievich became the object of criticism from the media and a number of fans.
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“Our style of working with the team meant constant contact and dialogue with the players. In any situation, we talked with the guys, explained the game moments to them, gave them tasks and supported them. I perfectly understood the state of Ilya at that time, because during my playing career I also faced a situation where the puck did not go into the goal. I didn't have to explain to Ilya how to score. It was only necessary to support him so that he would not gnaw himself from the inside. He, like any other scorer, was worried, and we felt it. There were journalists who, at press conferences, complained to me why I constantly let Kovalchuk play. Say, it was worth lowering into reserve. But I fully defended Ilya from attacks. There was very harsh criticism against him throughout the championship, and I advised him not to pay attention to it and not to read the press, so as not to be distracted. As a result, Ilya endured this difficult period and shot in the final,» Bykov recalls.
Kovalchuk fired at the most important moment. His first goal of the tournament came five minutes before the end of regular time in the final match. Vitaly Proshkin dragged the puck into the zone and managed to pass it to Ilya before the fall. He ran along the port side, moved a little to the center and threw into the far corner, irresistibly for Ward.»We have been waiting for you to score for a long time. And you scored at the right time,» commented Sergei Nailevich Gimaev on the episode.
This goal allowed the Russian team to level the score and save themselves from defeat .
“The fact that Ilya was criticized by journalists… It angers me when people who write something, but do not understand hockey, do not see how much rough and useful work the players do for the team. Ilya was one of the leaders of the team. no one even paid attention to it, that he could not score, «said Tereshchenko.
» The puck had nowhere to go «
» thought Kovalchuk, and added the second to the first goal already in overtime. Then the teams played in a 4-on-4 format, but already in the second minute of overtime, the Canadians lost one player on the court. Rick Nash was given a minor penalty for throwing the puck, and his removal was fatal for the Maple.
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“When the match, as many believed, was already lost, we found the strength, equalized the score, went into overtime, and when their player retired for throwing the puck, we understood that this was our real chance to win. The coaches asked us to calm down, exhale. a chance in overtime to convert it and win.First, the four, in which Fedorov, Ovechkin and Kovalchuk played, went to the implementation, then the coach told us — Morozov, Zaripov and Zinoviev — to get ready: they say, change them if something happens in the first minute We stood on the bench and agreed. We saw how Canada played in the minority, we knew each other well, so we thought in advance what scheme we would implement this majority. Well, such a great moment — Fedorov takes Kovalchuk to the shot, Ilya scores. Then everyone was waiting: «Hit it, just hit it!» Everyone knows that Ilya has a good shot. And everyone just waited for him to hit, did not invent anything else, look for partners, for example. It was necessary to get past the goalkeeper, Ilya succeeded «, — Alexey Morozov describes the situation.
Sergei Fedorov waited for Shane Dawn to move towards him to starboard, and with a pass along the blue line he found a lone Kovalchuk. Ilya took the puck, walked with it forward a few meters and «with his hands» sent it into the goal, making the whole of Russia rich.
“And here is the moment when he scored in overtime: in that situation it was clear that this was a goal. Ilya’s crowning wrist throw, which is not taken. The puck had nowhere to go but into the goal,” Tereshchenko appreciated the episode.
After this goal, the entire Russian team poured onto the ice, celebrating the long-awaited championship, and the whole country — on the streets of their cities, celebrating the resounding success, about which Everyone remembers the details to this day.
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"Before the match, I approached Ilya Kovalchuk, who had not scored a single goal in the tournament before the final, and told him: "In the final you will score two goals. He replied: “Come on. I never scored in the entire tournament, but here, you say, two. «Well, you'll see,» I told him. And he scored two amazing goals. Including the winner. The first emotions were incredible. There were no boxes in the arena in Quebec, so I was among the fans who tugged at me. Subsequently, I was told that I would reward the players. While I was going down to the room where the medals were, we were still losing, and when I got there, the score became equal. I did not watch overtime and only prayed to God. I thought: «God, help the team win.» As a result, the president of Tissot, an IIHF partner, runs into this room and shouts to me: “Vladislav, you won!” I didn’t see anything, and only when I entered the arena, I watched our happy guys hugging and kissing, and the Canadians were heartbroken. At that moment, I was the happiest person.» Russia
The victory at the 2008 World Cup was indeed great. Without exaggeration, one of the most important in the entire modern history of the country. Many, speaking about the success of Russian hockey, put it on a par with the gold of the 2018 Olympics, and some even higher. Therefore, it is not surprising that, recalling the events of May 18, 2008, people are still overwhelmed with emotions. What can we say about the creators of that championship.
After the final, the entire delegation of the Russian national team and other main representatives of the national hockey went to a restaurant, which was located next to the hotel where the Russian hockey players lived. But the very next day the Russians went home.
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“We had a restaurant next to the hotel where we lived, where we often went to dinner. Vyacheslav Bykov allowed us to do this, but at the same time we understood that we needed to monitor our diet. After the final, the national team gathered, representatives came there and leaders of the KHL together with Alexander Medvedev. There were a lot of people. Naturally, after the celebrations we were in, so to speak, good condition. The hotel rooms were all open — come in, whoever you want, take whatever you want. But the funniest thing was the next We flew back on a charter, and while we were waiting at the airport to board the plane, all the guys were very hungry. put the whole thing into a trophy, after which they came back. It was fun,» he added.
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"Having fun: champagne, medals. The next day we had a flight: a long flight, we were looking for a plane. The time was postponed once, then we went to the airport, we were brought to the terminal, where all food outlets were closed. The guys found McDonald's nearby, brought boxes of food from there, and everyone was waiting at the airport — it would be faster to fly home, to relatives, to our fans, to return to their homeland. Immediately upon arrival, we went to the Kremlin, Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev met us there. Sasha Ovechkin came there in flip flops, everyone remembers this very well. A long flight, everyone was tired, and there was nothing to change into,» said Alexey Morozov.
“I always perceived the team as my family, as my children. When someone didn’t succeed, I worried with him. When Ilya scored the winning goal in overtime, I experienced great joy, which can be compared with the birth son or a festive moment on New Year's Eve when champagne is opened. These emotions immediately overwhelm. There was a special joy that people who watched the match on TV also found happiness. From understanding this comes the realization: we have accomplished something big for the whole country, for the fans of the Russian national team. The energy of the fans was transmitted to the whole team, and we shared this joy with them,» said Vyacheslav Bykov.
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After Quebec-2008, the Russian team repeated its success the following year, defending the title of world champions. And again under the leadership of Vyacheslav Bykov. This was followed by three years without major victories, including at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
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“For our coaching staff, this victory was the first major success. That gold is still one of the most important in my sports career, and I share this success with my partners, teams and all fans. Starting with bronze at the 2007 World Cup in Moscow and continuing with the championship in Quebec, we tried to create a working vertical and establish an attitude towards the guys for further successful work. For us, this was fundamentally important, because we managed to turn the key aspects of the game upside down. It is important that the younger generation remember this. This is our history, and we cannot allow the possibility of rewriting it in a different way. I am glad that people, even 15 years after the victory in Quebec, are getting emotions. So we did something good,» Bykov said.
In May 2011, after the World Championships in Slovakia, where the Russians took fourth place, Vyacheslav Bykov left post of head coach. Subsequently, hockey Russia celebrated success three times: at the 2012 and 2014 World Championships and at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang. 2008 was a logical result of the work done. Such successes do not happen overnight. That generation was gradually approaching gold. I think that after 2010-2012 the level of hockey in the country began to fall, that generation of players of the level of Morozov, Zinoviev, Zaripov left … I must admit this is the right way to respond,» Tereshchenko shares his opinion.