Volodya Bystrov, the only federal sports channel in the country, is the «golden» asset of the only federal sports channel in the country, capable of raising the rating with one phrase boring analytical program, after the derby of the two capitals, he suddenly remembered his own transfers from Zenit to Spartak and vice versa. As the ex-midfielder of the two most popular clubs in Russia assures, the transition to the Moscow team was forced, but the return to the St. Petersburg team was his own decision. Having raised my own publications from the archive, I would venture to enter into a debate with the current television expert.
In the summer of 2005, a call to Bystrov found him on the train St. Petersburg — Moscow. The midfielder was heading to the capital to sign a four-year contract with Spartak. For the «St. Petersburg boy» Vlastimil Petrzhela and the general director of the club, Ilya Cherkasov, who supported him, who came to football from a similar post in the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and then returned back, received 4 million euros. They did not hide that they made every effort to expel Bystrov from Zenit.
Moreover, the then head coach told reporters to leave their “fools” by asking questions about this transfer. Like, he made Volodya a millionaire. Only Vladimir himself, when asked if he was afraid of the reaction of St. Petersburg fans, who would consider such a transition a betrayal, answered: «They do not know all the nuances. It is simply unbearable to endure.» Although friends, they are teammates, persistently persuaded to be patient.As soon as he was on Moscow soil, Bystrov gave several high-profile interviews. He accused Petrzhela of a purposeful policy of survival of Russian football players from Zenit. He also said that in Luga, where he comes from, all his friends, like himself, were rooting for Spartak. Of course, it was difficult for a football player who had just celebrated his 21st anniversary to hold back his resentment. So I allowed myself to throw out emotions, without thinking about the far-reaching consequences.On the first vacation, the newly-minted Spartak came to St. Petersburg. When asked if he allowed a return to Zenit, Bystrov replied: “A year ago, I didn’t even think that I would leave him, but you see how everything turned around! Now I follow the principle: never say never.” Contract with Spartak I have for the next three and a half years, and everything suits me in this team.»
In this interview, Bystrov even compared the bases of the «red-white» and «blue-white-blue». He noted that in many respects Tarasovka is ahead. I did not delve into this issue, so as not to offend the employees of the Zenit base in Udelny Park, and diplomatically noted that the best food is still homemade. Chefs bases in Moscow and St. Petersburg did not express claims.
The first derby between the two capitals with the participation of Spartak Bystrov ended with the defeat of «Zenith» at the stadium «Petrovsky». Guests won — 4:1 and, according to Petrzhela, Bystrov was the best player in Spartak. After the match, he gave a fairly candid interview in the mixed zone.
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"The cries of the fans "Bystrov is a pig" it was impossible not to hear, — said the red-white midfielder. “They just pissed me off. After the earned 11-meter kick, the captain of St. Petersburg Radimov approached me and asked me not to provoke the stands. I just don’t see it as my fault that I rejoiced at the penalty I earned»
Just before this game, Alexander Starkov was fired from Spartak, who highly appreciated Bystrov and gave the green light to his transition. There were even reports in the press that the Moscow club could be headed by… Petrzhela. Bystrov found a witty comment on this topic: «Somewhere I heard that Vlastimil spoke highly of me, even said that he did not want to let me go from Zenit. And in general, I have a long-term contract with Spartak.»
Never say never»! In this, Bystrov, who replaced Peter for Moscow, turned out to be right. In the summer of 2009, he returned to Zenit. According to a popular TV expert today, on his own initiative. Let me just doubt it. The goalkeeper Soslan Dzhanaev, who caught Bystrov in Spartak, said in an interview with the Red-White fan site that Vladimir did not want to leave the capital's club. Yes, and the coaches were not eager to let go of the leading midfielder. Only everything was decided not even at the level of the club's leaders, but at the behest of a «simple fan» of St. Petersburg Alexei Miller.
The transfer caused a wide resonance and an explosion of public indignation. The general director of “Zenith” Maxim Mitrofanov argued to journalists that Bystrov was not paid an exorbitant amount, and his salary would be no higher than that of other Zenit midfielders. The fans also organized the first protest action already at the Moscow railway station, where the Russian team arrived to hold the qualifying match for the 2010 World Cup against the Liechtenstein team. A red and white scarf was thrown into the «traitor's» face, and what he heard cannot be quoted through the printed word. Team players even threatened to leave the stadium during the game if the actions against Bystrov continued at Petrovsky.The leadership of “Zenith” obviously did not expect such a reaction to the return of the pupil of St. Petersburg football to his native land and urged not to offend Bystrov with a word and a poster. Only the fans immediately remembered Vladimir's high-profile interviews, and especially his demonstrative gestures. It is today that he claims that he never kissed the Spartak diamond after scoring goals against Zenit, but there is documentary evidence to the contrary.
The most influential fan group «Nevsky Front» issued a statement, the leitmotif of which was the phrase: «By returning Bystrov to the team, you will not be able to return love for him. The football player needs to atone for his guilt.» Bystrov's insults continued at every home match of Zenit, and the apotheosis was the incident at the award ceremony of Zenit with bronze medals at the end of the 2009 season. The event took place in the concert hall of the Mariinsky Theatre. The fans sang antibystrovskaya song, and the main part of “Zenith” together with the reservists left the stage. The club's management was ready to fall through the floor.
It is surprising that Bystrov himself decided to recall the affairs of bygone days. Maybe so that the stars of the current generation who participate in such transfers carefully weigh words and gestures? After all, the current 39-year-old TV expert, wise by life experience, differs from the hot 21-year-old boy, who left St. Petersburg with resentment, where he was not appreciated, to Moscow, and even from the 25-year-old football player who returned back.