Oleg Znarok, biography of the coach of the Russian hockey team. Where did Oleg Znarok go? Oleg znarok biography personal life

1996. Eindhoven. The Latvian national team, which recently became a full member of the world hockey community, is playing the most important match in the second division of the World Championship. Fate is decided in the battle with the Swiss

the only ticket to the elite. Latvia is happy with a draw, Switzerland only needs a victory. As a result, the game ends with the score 1:1, and the only, truly golden goal of the Latvians is scored by the veteran of the national team, who went through fire and water with it - . Latvia is the first of the former Soviet republics (well, not counting Russia, of course) to reach the top division and make a splash there.

year 2012. Omsk. Dynamo Moscow managed to win back from a score of 1-3 in the final series of the Gagarin Cup, but Avangard, as hosts, continues to be the favorite. However, Jakub Klepis' goal eight minutes before the siren and Alexander Eremenko's confident play lead the Muscovites to their first big title in the KHL. On the bench, the same mustachioed hero who scored for Latvia in 1996 vigorously celebrates the victory.

Here are two, probably, the most memorable matches in Znark’s career – as a player and as a coach. The story of his life, complex and to some extent even heroic, will continue in the “Mentors” section.

They say about people like Oleg Valerievich that they had no choice - they came to hockey from birth. The son of the famous Chelyabinsk coach Valery Znarka was born in 1963 in Ust-Katav, started skating at the age of three, and at the age of 16 he played for the team of Chelyabinsk Traktor masters. Gennady Tsygurov, the mentor of the “tractor drivers” in the 80s, called Znarka a bundle of energy. “Unyielding, purposeful, passionate. The great coach Anatoly Tarasov loved the expression “hockey bandit.” You couldn’t say better about him.”, - said the mentor.

As a member of the USSR youth team, Znarok won gold at the European Youth Championship, becoming the top scorer of the tournament, but the victory was quickly overshadowed by his teammates who decided to “teach” the young guy so that he would not become arrogant. However, our hero was not going to indulge the old-timers by giving them a real head-scratcher in the locker room. After that he was banned from playing on the team, and he didn’t want to anymore.

They tried to exile the young forward to a farm club from the second league (the formal reason given was smoking in the train vestibule), but he flatly

refused and spent several months without hockey at all. This story might not have happened if he had accepted CSKA’s offer a little earlier, but his father advised him not to go to Moscow: “In CSKA you will sit on the bench, but you need to be on the ice.”

As a result, Znarka’s hockey song could have ended completely without reaching the highest note, but chance helped. The 18-year-old guy was noticed by Pyotr Vorobyov, who was then helping Yurzinov Sr. in Dynamo Riga, and together they decided to take the “bandit” under their wing. True, the “tractor drivers” turned out to be vindictive - they did everything to get Znarka disqualified. They even sent a letter to Riga saying that this “alcoholic killed all the veterans.” Oleg spent a year exclusively in training mode.

But then came the happy time. Since 1984, Znarok fought in the jersey of the Riga club, gradually becoming the leader and even the symbol of the team. He helped Dynamo show very decent results for a long time, and in 1988 even sensationally win silver in the Soviet championship. That success was perhaps the most significant in team history.

Znarok also took part in Dynamo Moscow’s tour of NHL cities (on such trips, Soviet clubs were often reinforced by foreign players) and played for the second USSR national team.

Oddly enough, at the same happy time there was also one frightening episode from the life of a hockey player, which almost turned into a tragedy.

In January 1988, Znarok celebrated its 25th anniversary with family and friends in a small Jurmala cafe. And this had to happen, it was on this day that a tipsy group of criminals, led by Ivan Kharitonov, who bore the sonorous nickname “King of Racketeers,” dropped into the cafe. Word for word, and now Kharitonov grappled with the hockey player, and his punks staged a huge fight.

The battle was fought to the death. Chairs, knives, broken bottles, and even telephone wires were used, which, according to the statement,

Znarka itself, the bandits strangled the waitresses. “I stood up for my relatives. My father and I were left back to back against 10 people. Everyone else in the hall was sitting under the table,”- recalls the current Dynamo coach.

But a cheek cut almost in half was not the only result of this brawl. The valiant Soviet law enforcement officers gave everyone what they deserved: Kharitonov received a new term, and Znarok received a medal “For the Protection of Public Order.”

Another memorable fight of Oleg Valerievich took place on Finnish ice. In 1991, Znarok decided to try his hand at the SM League and signed a contract with the Essyat club. But he didn’t manage to hold a single official meeting. In the off-season he got into a fight with one of his rivals, organized a fight, and in passing also got into trouble with a couple of referees - well, why get into trouble? I had to look for other options to continue my career.

The next season, the forward played in the AHL, and could have ended up higher, in the National League, but did not sign with Boston - he considered that they were offering little for the year (the document actually stated a ridiculous amount, even at that time). And only many years later, friends transferred the contract to Znarok and explained that he could receive this money per month. But it was too late to tear out the hair on my chest. The story has turned into a formal anecdote.

Now this contract is kept in the small museum of Znarka, in the attic of his house in Kalngala. Most of this exhibition, created by the hands of Oleg Valerievich himself, consists of game jerseys, medals, letters, photographs and declarations of love from Latvian and German fans. “The idea to create a museum was born spontaneously. There were just so many things that had accumulated that they had to go somewhere.”, says Znarok.

He spent the rest of his playing career in the German championship, from time to time playing for the Latvian national team, which at that time was just beginning its journey from the lower divisions. “30 years ago I couldn’t even imagine that I would play for Latvia. Who could imagine this in the USSR? For me, it remains a dream to get into the first USSR national team. I only played the second one.”– our hero remarks.

He was not allowed into the national squad only once, in 1993, when the championship of Group C was being played out. His new, German club then had a strong composition, it set big goals, but the rest of the way up the Latvians went with Znarok. In total, he played 50 matches for the national team, and from the very beginning his authority in the team was unquestionable.

He also had a lot of fan love. "Our fans are the best, - the coach admits. – And you can't argue with that. In Germany, if you score, you are a national hero. The game is not running -

the reaction is completely different. Our fans just love hockey."

However, this did not prevent Znark from changing his citizenship to German in 2001 for sporting reasons. “Citizenship is one thing, but hockey is completely different.”, he explained. – I gave my best years to Dynamo Riga and the Latvian national team. At one time, I was invited to Spartak, CSKA, and Dynamo, but I did not betray Riga Dynamo. All normal people understand why I changed my citizenship.”.

Oleg Valerievich ended his playing career in 2002. After that, he worked for several years as a coach of the Latvian youth team and as an assistant to the head coach of the adult team. Under his leadership, in 2005, the U-20 squad reached the elite group for the first time, and since 2006, he has led the country's main team. However, Znarok did not achieve much success in this field. His best result was seventh place at the 2009 World Cup.

A year before that success, he first tried himself as a club mentor, quickly turning the HC MVD, which was missing stars from the sky, into one of the leaders of the Western Conference. It took him only a year and a half to lead the “policemen” to the final of the Gagarin Cup and even lead the decisive series 3-2.

True, the team immediately after that went into oblivion, or rather, almost completely merged with the Moscow Dynamo. And already in this club Oleg Valerievich achieved the greatest success in his coaching career - he won the Gagarin trophy. Moreover, no one believed in such a development of events either at the beginning of the season, or during the playoffs, or even before the last match. But the skeptics were not worth listening to.

When asked which coach left the deepest mark on him, Znarok without hesitation named Vladimir Yurzinov, with whom he had been together since he was 18 years old. And he describes his own coaching credo in two words: mutual assistance and discipline.

Chelmet coach Igor Znarok about his work in the junior team (U17), Voinov, why he ended his playing career in 24 years, the fact that the VHL is no longer a “pension league”, “strangling” his older brother Oleg and fighting with him, even as an adult.

— How did you receive the offer to join the coaching staff of Chelmet?
— The initiative came from Sergei Gomolyako. The first vice-president of Traktor offered to help Alexander Rozhkov in Chelmet. This happened at the end of last season. Such offers are not refused. The only thing I asked was that I be allowed to continue working with the Russian junior team. They told me that they would not create any obstacles.

— You often leave for the national team. Does it interfere with working with Chelmet?
— To be honest, it interferes. We have to rebuild. There it’s still children’s hockey, here it’s adult hockey. I still haven’t fully learned their names from my guys at Chelmet, but in the national team it’s the same thing, the rotation is constant. Hard.

— What main tournament of the season is the junior team (U17) purposefully preparing for?
— Challenge Cup in Canada. Mini-world championship, so-called. Starts on November 1st.

— How long will Chelmet miss you during your autumn absence from the national team?
— The training camp will begin on October 25. The Challenge Cup final is November 9. So consider it.

— Because of ocean will you follow the successes of Chelmet?
- Naturally. Through the Internet. I'll be on call all the time.

— Was the transition from children’s hockey to the VHL difficult?
- No. The same. It’s just stricter here, the guys are more mature. You have to communicate with them differently. And so - the training is the same. Moreover, last season at the Traktor school I gave my guys almost adult training. Fine.

— Previously, the Major League was called the league of pensioners. How would you characterize the VHL now?
— Now there is a trend towards rejuvenation of the VHL. This is not a “retirement” league. Someone here finishes the game, who is left as a guy on the team to help the youth. The league is changing for the better, which will have a positive impact on the development of our hockey.

— At the start of the VHL championship we climbed to the top farm clubs - “Dynamo”, HC “Sarov”, "SKA-Neva" . Will the trend continue?
— Last year’s leaders will definitely catch up. In home games, farm clubs receive hockey players from the KHL. What will happen next? There will be injuries and so on... I don’t think that last year’s picture will change much. The favorites will take the leading positions.

— The Major League in which you played for Traktor and the current VHL are heaven and earth?
- Absolutely different things. And in terms of level, and in relation, and in general. Our eyes were burning then, we were angry and greedy for hockey. And now you look at some young guys - well, they got here, well, they stopped. Why stop, we need to move on. Someone calms down. The guys 20 years. In theory, they already need to rush and rush and strive for the main team. In those years, we didn’t need to be urged on—everything was a joy. Here you pat him on the head and say “come on, come on”... In our time this didn’t happen.

— How do you assess the start of the Chelmet season?
On the one hand, it’s not bad. The team is new, young. The guys can't get everything they can out of themselves. They don’t feel sorry for themselves, they try, they give themselves. But - a lot of useless work. They do a huge amount of work, but the efficiency is low. Maybe youth takes its toll when playing against men. Those who are smarter, where they can hold the puck, open up into the free zone. And our pucks move faster. You should think about it with your head - maybe you shouldn’t run there? You need to get everything out of yourself and work through “I can’t.” We start matches well, the second periods are disastrous, and in the third periods we start to pull out games. And everything could have been much easier.

— What result of Chelmet would you consider acceptable at the end of the 2015/16 season?
- Naturally, get into the playoffs. And there... At least go one or two laps. I would like the team to show the game and have a drawing. While we’re just trying, the guys don’t fully understand what we want, what we offer. They haven't adjusted to adult hockey. They make basic, gross mistakes. In principle, the KHL also makes similar mistakes. The most important thing is to play as a team.

— There are four coaches at Chelmet. Konstantin Strakhov, of course, works exclusively with goalkeepers. How are responsibilities distributed between Valery Nikulin, Alexander Rozhkov and you?
— We don’t have separate roles, so that someone is specifically responsible for the defenders, and someone is responsible for the attackers; You are the majority there, you are the minority. During games on the bench, I am responsible for the attackers, for their entry onto the court, Valery Nikulin is responsible for the defenders; to distort couples is his prerogative.

— During training, you are the most active and talkative of the coaching staff. Are your leadership qualities making themselves felt?
- No no. Alexander Rozhkov and I have normal, good relations. Before going on the ice, we discuss together what kind of training to give the guys.

— As a child, were you a leader in life and in sports?
— Ours, born in 1967, was considered good, promising, there were many collections. Many finished early, taking the wrong path. Leading inclinations were present at his age.

— Ust-Katav , where were you born, hockey city?
- Of course. Although there is only one hockey rink. As it has stood since my time, it still stands. Before, there wasn’t much to do. We've been at the skating rink all day. It was like that everywhere. And how many people went to hockey in Ust-Katav! Comparison can only be made with Chrysostom. Two cities in the region have full stands. Hockey from morning to evening. Hockey has educated many people.

- Are you at least for Ust-Katavsky Have you played “Car Builder”?
- No. I left Ust-Katav in fifth grade. They only raced for the Golden Puck. First, my father and brother Oleg moved to Chelyabinsk, and my mother and I moved six months later. I went to the Tractor school. At first our coach was Viktor Mikhailovich Peregudov. I studied with him for a year. And when they did a special class, I trained with Yuri Guryanovich Mogilnikov.

— Why did you come to hockey? After all, your dad Valery Petrovich Znarok is a professional football coach, and quite successful.
— We moved to Chelyabinsk in the summer. We lived at Selmash. Naturally, I went to training sessions at the stadium with the football players. I really liked football. And then, looking at my older brother, when he brought chewing gum and jeans from abroad, his eyes lit up - he wanted it too. Then I began to take hockey seriously.

— You made your debut in Traktor at the age of 17. What kind of match was it?
- At least kill me - I don’t remember.

— Did you have to play together with Alexander Rozhkov?
— We crossed paths in some matches. He is constantly with the "Eye" ( Alexander Glazkov — Author's note) played, with Stasik Shadrin. And I didn’t play with anyone. And with Andryukha Balandin, and with Glazkov. There were different combinations.

— When you appeared in Traktor, Oleg Znarok was the favorite of the Latvian public. Have you ever played against your brother with Dynamo Riga?
“We didn’t just have to play, we had to fight.” Pre-season tournament in Riga. He is a center forward, I am a center forward. We were deliberately brought out for a throw-in. We got stuck.

- Who hit whom?
- Yes, we hung out a little.

— Did you compete with your brother Oleg as a child?
- We fought constantly. The age difference was small - four years. Of course, I received a lot for something.

— Did Oleg “encourage” you as an older brother?
- “Smothered”, one hundred percent.

— Are you following your brother’s success now?
- Necessarily. Sometimes we sit together at training camps. We cross paths somewhere and chat there. Let's talk.

— Is it amazing that Oleg Znarok just went out on the ice in Novogorsk to train one hockey player, Vyacheslav Voinov? Does this act characterize him as a person?
- Yes. Oleg is very simple. He doesn't have star fever. Ural man.

— How do you generally feel about the misadventures in Voinov’s life? Will he play as before?
“He’s a young guy, he’s all about hockey, two Stanley Cups. Everything will be OK.

— For you, the 1990/91 season was the last in your career. And this at 24 years old. Why?
— I broke my arm during training and succumbed to temptation. All my close friends went into business. In those days, you could earn a hockey player’s monthly salary in a day. I talked to my father more than once about this topic. He told me: “Be patient, be patient a little.” Some issues were related to the divorce. Oleg was in Germany then. It was difficult to contact him and expensive to call to Germany. Rarely with him then we talked. Only when the pirate phones started working did they start calling each other. That’s when I missed Oleg. I would listen to him. I have always listened and listen to the advice of my older brother. I really regret that I finished hockey early. Everyone unanimously said that my hockey future should have been better than Oleg’s. But... It turned out how it turned out.

— You then flashed in the Chelyabinsk “Metallurg”, Asha “Steel”, SKiK from Trekhgorny.
— We finished the game, got together and played for ourselves. There was no training, nothing. We rode here, and on Saturday and Sunday we went to the regional championship to play. We played the puck for health, for the soul. The teams were not bad. At that time, almost every club had veterans who played decent hockey. Then there was a serious level of regional championship.

— Did Stal become the regional champion when you were there?
- Yes. The championship of the Chelyabinsk region had to be won.

— Then how did your relationship with hockey develop?
— Pal Palych Ezovskikh worked in Beloyarka, in the Khanty-Mansiysk Autonomous Okrug and invited me to work there with children. He worked with children, helped Pavel Ezovskikh in the first league, then coached an adult team that played for the KhMAO championship. Then an offer came from Orenburg, from the Major League. I didn’t have a good relationship with management there—I only worked there for three months. It was impossible to get a job in Chelyabinsk at that time. All schools were busy. I was called to Kogalym. I had just started working in the North when I received an offer from Alexander Glazkov to move to Mechel. It was a successful year, a decent team, they reached the semi-finals of the major league. Then everything fell apart at Mechel, and I was unemployed for some time. Here a place appeared in Traktor for three kopecks.

- Do you have a dream?
- Of course, I have a dream. But I won't say.

— I’ll formulate differently : what do you want to achieve as a coach in hockey?
- I want to learn. Learn to be a coach

Dossier
Igor Valerievich Znarok
Born October 22, 1967 in Ust-Katava .
Attack. Master of Sports of the USSR.
Pupil of Youth Sports School Traktor (coaches - V. M. Peregudov And Yu. G. Mogilnikov ).
Played for Traktor for 6 seasons, 118 games, 17 (11+6) points.
Player career: Tractor - 1984/85-1987/88, 1989/90-1990/91, Metallurg (Mechel, Chelyabinsk) - 1984/85, 1987/88-1992/93, Steel (Asha) - 1996/97, SKiK (Trekhgorny) - 2001/02. Champion of the Chelyabinsk region.
Coaching career: Crystal (Beloyarsky) - 2006/07-2007/08, Gazprom-OGU (Orenburg) - 2007/08, Mechel - 2008/09, SDYUSSHOR Tractor 2009 - 2015 (born 1999). Since May 5 - coach of Chelmet. Coach of the Russian junior team (U17).

Press service "Chelmeta"

Where did Oleg Znarok go? The unexpected departure of the legendary coach horrified Russian hockey fans, because now the fate of the team will remain in doubt.

So, a complete and final break. At the end of May, it was announced that Oleg Znarok was now not only dismissed from his position as a coach, but also deprived of his position as a consultant. Like a real man, he did not complain or blame anyone at press conferences, but simply resigned like an officer, not wanting to bend to the conditions of his superiors.

Oleg Znark was “lucky” with his superiors. Roman Rotenberg is a major figure. The general manager of the Russian national team is a person close to the emperor, vice-president of Gazprombank, the son of dad Bori and the nephew of uncle Arkady Rotenberg. According to rumors, the boss even refused to pay Oleg Valerievich his salary arrears until he admitted that he left voluntarily. Naturally, Znarok still does not make contacts with the press.

The coaching staff, as well as the athletes, considered the dismissal of Oleg Znarok unfair. In particular, Igor Zakharkin noted: “I think you shouldn’t treat people so carelessly, especially one of our best coaches.”

In fact, at the peak of his career, Oleg Znarok lost his profession and job. Well, this happens in life. However, the Russian national team had no sports victories at all before Znarka after the collapse of the USSR. And probably won't happen again.

What is the cause of the conflict?

At the moment there are a million versions being built. One of them is quite ridiculous - supposedly after the victory in Pyeongchang, Oleg Znarok was offended that the coaching board was not given a BMW crossover. The rumor has a very weak basis - one of the publications published information that Oleg Valerievich expressed dissatisfaction with the distribution of awards after the Olympics.

However, the salary of the coach of the Russian national hockey team is 4 million rubles per month. It is unlikely that Znarok would break off relations out of greed, given that he could buy a BMW X5 with every paycheck.

Most likely, the reason for the conflict between Znarka and Rotenberg lies in personal misunderstanding. Both are extremely tough leaders with a lot of ambition. This can be understood not only from interviews, but also from the emotional attitude towards the referees during matches. Rotenberg belongs to Putin’s elite caste, Znarok has a heightened sense of justice, and, according to many, is conflict-oriented.

There are audio recordings on the Internet where he simply speaks obscenities to his athletes. It is possible that he threw one (or maybe more than one) such phrase in the face of Roman Rotenberg, explaining to the businessman everything that he thinks about him at the level of the Ural punks.

Be that as it may, Znark’s harsh, obscene methods yielded results - the Russian team began to win. The new coach Ilya Vorobyov is unlikely to “pump up” the hockey players in the locker room as harshly.

Where is Oleg Znarok now?

Currently, Oleg Znarok works in Moscow as the head coach of the Spartak hockey club. Before that, he coached the youth team as a consultant. Nothing is known yet about the details of his work.

After leaving the national team, he was on vacation. Most likely in Riga, where he lived with his family in recent years.

After his resignation as coach, Oleg Znarok asked not to speculate on the topic of his dismissal and “not to interfere in personal space.” Apparently, for now it is beneficial for him to adhere to the official version about fatigue and the need for rest.

Oleg Znarok also promised to return to hockey. But it is unlikely that he will work for the Russian national team as a coach, unless after a series of apologies from the management. From 2006 to 2011 Znarok was the coach of the Latvian national team. In addition, he has German citizenship, so he can easily find work in any EU country, even at a higher salary than in Russia.

Where Oleg Znarok will go to work is now of great concern to everyone, and if Oleg Valerievich’s new team collides with Rotenberg’s team in some match, then even those who are indifferent to hockey will be guaranteed to watch the match.

Last news

Autumn 2019. Spartak lost to Avangard. Oleg Znarok may be fired again, this time with serious image losses.

Summer 2019. Oleg Valerievich Znarok began his work as head coach of the KHL Spartak. He signed a contract until the end of the season with the possibility of a one-year extension.

Spring 2019. Oleg Znarok will take part in the Universiade in Krasnoyarsk. As a Consultant for the Russian national hockey team. In May, many fans regretted the departure of Znark, since under him the team showed a more impressive and powerful game.

February 12, 2019. Oleg Znarok spoke at the game dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Captain club. The former coach works more and more with young people, and does not interfere with Vorobyov’s work.

December 6. Oleg Znarok returned to work with the Russian national team! True, for the time being as a consultant. He will be a mentor not only for the hockey players, but also for the coaching staff.

November 9. Champion Alexander Kozhevnikov admitted that Vorobiev is weaker than Oleg Znarok. A large number of lost matches after the coach left had a detrimental effect on the performance of the Russian team.

The 4th of October. Dynamo captain Dmitry Kagarlitsky met with Oleg Znarok in Riga. Unfortunately, Oleg Znarok did not lead Dynamo Moscow, although such negotiations were held. Now the famous coach works as a hockey consultant, and job offers continue to come to him.

September 3. Putin awarded Oleg Znark. The legendary coach was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky. Despite the fact that Vorobiev remains the main coach of the national team, Znark’s return is expected in the KHL.

August 30. Oleg Znarok lost his father. Valery Petrovich also devoted his life to sports, but only to football. We express our condolences to the family and loved ones of V.P.

3 July. Oleg Znarok can become the head coach of the Belarusian national hockey team. The head of the Hockey Federation of the Republic of Belarus hinted at this in an interview. The only question is the amount of the salary, since Belarus is not able to “pay 100 million dollars a year.”

August 4th. Oleg Znarok can return to the Russian national team and become its coach again. A banquet was held at which Rotenberg awarded gold medals to the coaching staff, including Znark. So the first step towards reconciliation has already been taken.

The head coach of the Russian national team fought in his youth, grew a mustache and conquered his mother-in-law, and his younger brother told the site about all this.

Hairspray, furniture and bell bottoms

Riga. Match "Dynamo" - "Traktor". Center forward of Riga residents Znarok against center forward of Chelyabinsk residents Znarok. During the face-off, the brothers had a bite...

“It was the only time in our lives when we fought,” Igor recalls. - And then, as a joke. To get themselves and the people excited, they fought.

-Who was the instigator?

- Of course, Oleg (laughs). Everyone had fun. And so, we didn’t have any serious conflicts. Oleg knew where my weakness was - as a child, he immediately hit me in the nose to make it bleed, because I was afraid of the sight of it. That's it, that was the end of our fights. One might say, without even starting.

Brother Igor is four years younger than Oleg. Like all brothers, in childhood the younger one pestered the older one. And if the older one needed something, the younger one was immediately interested in it.

– At that time there was a fashion for bell-bottom trousers. I really wanted to have the same cool wide pants as my brother. But I was smaller, so I put on his trousers and tied them with a soldier’s belt so they wouldn’t fall off, and walked around in them. But then I never got them. Oleg probably tore them.

- How did your older brother feel about you trying on his things?

- Fine. So you remember - we were like all children. At that time it was difficult to buy anything, and my parents got hold of German lacquered furniture from somewhere. So we beat her all over with sticks - we played hockey at home.

- Is this one of your most hooligan pranks?

- No. To be honest, if you listen to your parents, we did the same thing with our hair... Our hair grew upright, and we sprayed it with hairspray. And then they put on scarves to style their hair. So they walked the same way. And Oleg was also called lop-eared - his ears were in different directions.

It is known about the scar on Oleg’s cheek, about his clash with Summanen. As a child, was your brother always able to stand up for himself?

- Yes. When he arrived in Chelyabinsk from Ust-Katav, he immediately went to a sports camp, where he won his place. Through fists, your authority and through games.

Size 44 skates, health, mustache

The brothers on the ice were called “Winter”. When the eldest began to play at a higher level, the partners already addressed Oleg in their familiar and joking “Badge”, and later they came up with the succinct and serious “Znara”. The younger one did not inherit nicknames and a long career as a player from his brother.

“Somewhere the stick fell into my hands.” Something from an old uniform. My brother started traveling abroad with the national team early. We'll be a little later. He brought both chewing gum and jeans. I remember that Oleg gave me his skates: he had size 44, and I had size 37. And I wore these skates for the first time to play for the national team.

- Like skiing.

- Yes, that's what they told me. All of Moscow was stunned: “What, you came to ski here?!” But I made my debut successfully. For three years, however, I was unable to get to the European and World Championships due to health reasons, but we constantly went to different tournaments. Our team included Tolik Fetisov, Volodya Konstantinov - all guys from 1967.

- If it weren’t for your health, would we now know more about the hockey player Igor Znarka?

- Yes. I stopped playing very early - at the age of 21. I just started to blossom and had to end my career.

-Where did you look for yourself then?

- He went into business. At that time it was different “buy and sell”. Then he worked in the Major League - in Orenburg. And also in the North. In Chelyabinsk, at Mechel, he was an assistant head coach for one season. Now I have been training children at Traktor for five years and working with the under-16 team. And from next season I will also help Alexander Rozhkov at Chelmet.

- At what point did it become clear that your brother would become a great hockey player?

– When he won the European Championship and became the top scorer of the tournament, there was talk that Oleg might grow into a hockey player. He was 17 then - his mustache had just grown. By the way, how they went, he doesn’t shave them off.

Telephone, fight, soldering

Unlike his brother, Oleg did not stay long in Chelyabinsk. Znarok Sr. received a disqualification with a purely Soviet wording “for soldering the team.” But this, like other repeated excommunications from hockey, only hardened him. The option with Dynamo Riga appeared quite quickly.

- For Oleg, the main city in his life is Riga?

- I think yes. This is the first city where he seriously played hockey, where he met his first love. He had a very good relationship with his future mother-in-law. And he influenced Ilona through her mother. And now his daughters are already influencing him, and his brother, by the way, has become softer.

- How close you are to a person can be determined by whether you remember their phone number by heart.

– We don’t call Oleg very often, but after every game there’s always a text or call with congratulations. We have a good relationship, but I don’t want to distract him from his work again. And we only see each other when he and his team come to Chelyabinsk.

Why weren’t you at Oleg’s birthday party in a restaurant in Jurmala, when your brother fought with local authorities, protecting visitors?

– We were then on a trip to Germany with Traktor. We arrived on January 7th - literally three days after this incident. Whether his brother accomplished a feat or not, he showed character. He stood up for the family, for everyone who was there.

- Have you been to Oleg’s house in Riga?

- Yes. Seven or eight years ago - a very long time ago. I saw Oleg’s hockey museum, which Ilona created in the attic. I think there are now several times more exhibits there - the number of awards, orders and medals has increased. Of course, I would like to watch it again. I have never seen such museums in any of the hockey players I know – there were so many things there that surprised me. There are T-shirts and photographs from the teams where Oleg played. And this NHL contract that he was offered in America. And they gave it untranslated.

- Is that why your brother didn’t deal with him at the time?

– Oleg then thought that the salary there was indicated for the year, and not for the month, and did not go to the NHL. We later looked at this contract in the museum and jokingly remembered everything.

- And if Oleg had gone overseas, would he have gained a foothold in the NHL?

- Certainly. He always acted in a tough style. And almost no one could win a face-off against Oleg.

- By the way, what is the story with the disqualification in Chelyabinsk?

– I don’t know how it really happened. But how can it be that a 17-year-old boy gets drunk on “old people” who are 30-35 years old? Funny. Now everything has been forgotten. And then this situation affected not only my brother, but our entire family. All this was exaggerated in the press, and dad started having problems with work because of Oleg.

Pinsk, blat, crown

When Oleg finished playing, he began training kids in Riga, receiving $150, and now he gives instructions to the Russian national team hockey players. What helped him get to the top?

“It all worked out thanks to character.” Perhaps he had some inclinations from our father, a football coach. In addition, Oleg studied with Yurzinov for a long time, was on the national team under Tikhonov - his knowledge was put aside. It didn't just happen. He received an offer to coach at a higher level, and he decided to try his hand at it.

- Have you had a chance in your life to take off in your profession?

- Not yet. I hope there will be more. I prove it.

- Do you consult with Oleg on coaching issues?

– We had a conversation once. The brother said: “If you want, come and watch our training.” And a few years ago I went with Dynamo Moscow to a training camp in Pinsk. I saw all this sensational pre-season of Oleg. Of course, I wrote something down and took it for myself. He gives the guys really serious loads. But I wasn't surprised. At one time, we went through the same, if not tougher, tests with Gennady Tsygurov. They ran and jumped, it seems, even more.

Given Oleg’s current status, he could probably get you into any Moscow club and in any position. Did your brother suggest this to you or is it not even a question for you?

- No, in our family it is not welcome for someone to bother so much for someone else. Many people are now trying to move their relatives closer and get them jobs. But for us, no, we have never even discussed this topic.

- But does Oleg’s popularity affect you?

- Naturally. When he succeeds, everyone congratulates him and says: “Well done.” It's nice. But the strangest thing is that many people begin to ask something and become interested. I answer: “What are you guys saying, I didn’t win the World Championship, why are you asking me questions?” The parents were still worried. They still worry about whether Oleg lost or won.

For me, by the way, it was not a revelation that Oleg would take first place at the World Championships in Minsk. As soon as my brother took the national team, I was sure that the team would win. I do not know why. And already from the first matches I saw that the boys would fight and would not miss their goal.

- Didn’t Oleg’s championship change?

- No. Oleg remains the same as he was. I didn't wear the crown.

Oleg Valerievich Znarok is a hockey player who played for the USSR national team, and later for the Latvian national team. As a hockey player, he received the title of Master of Sports of the Soviet Union at the international level. Today Znarok is an honored coach of the Russian Federation. He has such honorary awards as the Order of Friendship and the Order of Honor.

Youth

Oleg Valerievich Znarok was born in the winter of January 2, 1963, in the small town of Ust-Katav, Chelyabinsk region. When choosing a professional activity, the future coach decided to follow in his father’s footsteps and become an athlete. By the way, Oleg Znarok’s father Valery Petrovich was also a famous coach, but he coached a football team rather than a hockey team.

Znarka's hockey career started with the well-known Chelyabinsk hockey club "Traktor", in which he played from 1978 to 1982. According to the recollections of the then mentor of the “tractor drivers” Gennady Tsygurov, Oleg was literally a “bundle of energy”: purposeful, passionate and unyielding on the ice. And the famous coach called the young Znark a “hockey bandit,” arguing that this expression best describes Oleg’s character.

In 1983, Znarok moved to the Riga club Dynamo and spent nine whole years there, until 1992. He kept his love for Riga in his heart forever.

Oleg Znarok (right) with Igor Pavlov, Nikolai Varyanov, Evgeniy Semeryak and Sergei Chudinov

Hockey career

Oleg Znarok competed several times at championships for the national teams of the USSR and Latvia, and even received Latvian citizenship at one time - for special services to the state. It was Znarok who managed to bring the Latvian team into the elite of world hockey. The match that took place in 1996 for the only ticket to the first division between the national teams of Switzerland and Latvia went down in history. Then Znarok scored his “golden” goal, which ensured the final score of the match 1:1 and the coveted place in Group A for his team. In total, he played 50 games as a player for the Latvian national team.

In 1992, when a difficult period for hockey began on the territory of the former Union, Oleg Znarok decided to move to Germany for permanent residence, where he lived until 2002. During this time, he managed to be a player of such famous German clubs as:

• "Landsberg" in the period from 1992-1995;
• Freiburg from 1995-2000;
• "Halbronn" period from 2000 to 2002.

It is worth noting that in 1994 Znarok briefly left the Landsberg club and played for a short time in the Czech Republic for the Vitkovice club. In 2002, Oleg Znarok ended his career as a hockey player and began to actively develop as a coach.

Coaching career

Znarok began his career by working with the Latvian youth team. He managed to train his players so well that, under his leadership, the Latvian U2 team in 2005 managed to get into the elite group for the first time in history.

And already in 2006, Znarok took the place of the main coach of the Latvian national team, and remained in this position until 2011. In addition, in between tournaments, Znarok coached Moscow hockey clubs such as HC MVD and Dynamo. It was with the Dynamo club that Znarok won the Gagarin Cup in 2012 and was also recognized as the best hockey coach. The same success awaited the Dynamo club in 2013 - then their coach was again Znarok.

Awards and achievements

During his career as a hockey player, the clubs in which Znarok played won major awards. In particular, the Riga HC Dynamo won a silver award at the USSR Championship.

Already being the coach of HC Dynamo, Znarok helped the club become the owner of several cups at once, for example, the mayor of Moscow, Continent and Gagarin. Under his leadership, HC MVD won the Gagarin Cup, and Znarok, in turn, received the title of best coach of 2009-2010. In 2011-2012 and 2012-2013, Znarok again became the best coach of the hockey league. And, of course, the most important achievement of his coaching career - under his guidance, the Russian hockey team managed to become the world champion in 2014.

What is it like to be a champion coach?

Later describing his emotions from the victory, Znarok admitted that his dream came true in Minsk - to win the World Championship. “As a player, I wasn’t able to do this. But it turned out like a coach. I understand that I was heading towards this. It’s a very special feeling - both professional and purely human,” he says.

Of course, having set such a high bar at the very beginning of his work as head coach of the Russian national team, Oleg Znarok unwittingly raised the expectations of millions of Russian fans. However, the coach of the Russian national team hockey players does not need to be taught responsibility. “I’m not afraid of responsibility - I’ve never been afraid of that - but of praises! Now I’m trying to forget about that World Cup, as if it never happened at all, because all our future work will be judged by the next one,” he adds.

What are the plans of the champion coach? Work, and more work! The 2018 Olympic Games are ahead. What they will be like is difficult to say now. Speaking about the distant Olympic prospect, Znarok smiles slyly: “I can imagine it very well -<Олимпиаду>need to win. I really want to do this. And now there is simply no other way out.”