Two-meter giant Ivan Fedotov can become the first goalkeeper of the Russian national team. Shortly before the departure of our hockey players to China, “Match TV” had a talk with the goalkeeper of CSKA.
“MANY MOMENTS FROM THE TEAM PLAYING WE GO ON POLISHING IN CSKA”
- What is your physical condition after the training camp in Novogorsk?
- Yes, a good one. We are given a decent amount of workload, so we are engaged. There are two workouts. And they are so stressful, aerobic, intense ones.
My condition is excellent. There were three cycles here in Novogorsk, they gave a day off in between. Well, now we’re flying to Beijing.
- Can you explain to those who are not specialists: what is the workload for the goalkeeper? It is clear regarding field players - they run, throw...
- In principle, any workloads are interconnected with the team when the goal is attacked. Therefore, everything that the team does is reflected in the goalkeepers, who get more work. The reason is - at high intensity, you have to enter the game more often, keep the moments under control, hit and catch the pucks, perform some actions.
Therefore, you have the same pace and intensity as the other guys. We feel all this ourselves, we also get tired. It happens that players run around, and you have to constantly keep focus and exercise control, and you psychologically get such a background of fatigue.
- Are there many differences between training at CSKA and the Russian team?
- Not many. We have a lot of people who performed at the home stage of the Eurotour. The coaching staff has already been formed, it includes Alexei Zhamnov, Sergei Fedorov ... Therefore, we worked out some playing moments in the clubs. We are all familiar with this, so there is nothing new, except for tactical nuances for outfield players.
High demands, intensive training - this is what we have in the club and in the national team. This is a normal trend, and hockey players feel comfortable.
“I DON’T LIKE PRINTED BOOKS - WASTE PAPER, TAKES LOTS OF SPACE”
— How did you spend your rare weekend in Novogorsk? What else can you do besides training?
- Well, yes, you won’t be able to go to a restaurant or take a walk in a Moscow park. But it’s a pretty big area. You can walk somewhere with the guys, play tennis, billiards. There’s quite a lot of any infrastructure, activities. So there are a lot of possibilities here as well.
- For instance?
- Yes, it’s a banal thing – to lie down in the room, read and relax. The reason is we are well prepared. There is a lot of work with high concentration ahead. So, sometimes idleness does not hurt.
— Do you take printed books with you?
- Only in electronic format, printed ones are not very convenient. Waste paper takes up a lot of space. And e-books are now popular and convenient. There are modern screens everywhere. I downloaded as many books as I needed, read it, closed it, and moved on.
- What about your habit? Do you read one book - or several at once?
— Yes, several ones. Sometimes it’s not a very interesting book. Or too psychological, or going hard. It looks like you are reading read, it goes - and then you are losing the track. Then you switch to another book, and then return to that one later. So that’s what I practice.
What were you sitting at in Novogorsk?
- A lot of psychological literature, it happens when people share their experiences. Dave Carnegie, all sorts of modern psychologists, various aphorisms. I am currently reading a huge volume of Schopenhauer. I’m starting a little classics, although it’s hard to catch up with the school curriculum.
- What kind of classics?
— I respect the Russian classics. In my youth, I tried to read basic works. But I am not ashamed of the fact that much was missed. We are engaged in sports - training, matches, trips. It happens that there is simply no strength and desire left.
And now I want to catch up by reading literature written in the correct Russian language.
For example, when studying at school, not everyone copes with “War and Peace”. And if they read, they do not fully understand the meaning. It is more rational to read it at a conscious age. Or, for example, “The Master and Margarita”. These are deep true-life books. I would like to read them to the utmost. And I want to approach this not at the snap of my fingers, but to make it through downright.
- Does psychology help you in goalkeeping?
- First of all, you can apply some experience in life - or in sports, or in business, or in everyday life. Everything is interconnected, and life consists of communication. I’m interested to know how people made it through, what was their path.
Do these books help you along the way?
“Not just one book or article. But what you read is your accumulated knowledge, when in fact the right decision will occur to you at the right time and you will cope in some situation. But, of course, a book is not the answer to an exercise, as in a school assignment. This happens very rarely. You just get smarter, wiser, and one day it bears fruit.
Is sports literature held in your high esteem? For example, biographies of athletes
— There are a lot of modern books being published now. For example, I remember the book of one agent: “Rule number 1 - do not be number two.” These are life tips destined for hockey.
It seems that Sir Alex Ferguson published his football biography, and it was praised. There are enough different interesting works, but they are not included in my shortlist yet.
“YOU STAND AT THE GOAL AND EVERYONE THROW STONES AT YOU”
- Once you said that you were interested in extreme sports. Isn’t being a hockey goalkeeper an extreme sport?
- Yes exactly. So I want some variety. Of course, hockey is one of the most extreme sports. The point is - not every adequate person will stand at the goal and catch a small puck launched at a speed of more than 100 km / h.
Yes, of course, I like different sports. There are even many sports that I do not know how to apply in practice. But somehow everyone wants to develop, to make a try. Although it is very hard. Any extreme sports require certain preparation, prowess and courage.
- They sometimes say about goalkeepers that they seem to be thrown stones at, but they have no right to turn away. Is it true?
- If such an allegory is quoted, then, probably, yes. Everyone who is not too lazy used to throw cobblestones at you, not only on the ice, but also outside it. And you have to catch them, take a hit, be persistent and help the team in solving certain problems. You need to possess certain willpower to do this from time to time.
This is a delicate profession, and even a separate sport. There is hockey, and there is a hockey goalkeeper.
- Why did your younger brothers Yegor and Fedor also become hockey goalkeepers?
- I do not know. They may have it somehow at a genetic level. Or they were looking at their older brother. I asked my father the same question: “Did you realize when you decided to put two more family members at the goal?”
- What did dad say?
He looked like that, shrugged his shoulders: “Well, they really wanted to. I can’t stop them.” To this I replied: “Well, then go ahead. If you pulled this strap with me before, then you can do it now.” It’s hard work, especially for parents. God bless the brothers.
- Your height is 202 cm. And what is the height of Yegor and Fedor, who were born in 2010, today? Is it time to give them their old uniform?
- No, they do not need the same super growth. Let them be at least a couple of centimeters lower. But let’s see how they grow. You look, in seven years they will overtake me. Then they won’t have to give anything away – I’ll wear their hand-me-downs myself.
- Their first idol is you, is it true?
- I do not know. I can’t say that directly instead of them. But, without doubt, for them I am a definite example. As for me, when being a child, any other goalkeeper who plays at a high level in the first team was an example.
I am very pleased, flattered. And I’m glad that for them I’m not some stranger. They understand that right next to them there is an example showing that you can succeed with the proper and correct attitude to business.
THE FIRST GOALKEEPERS OF OUR TEAM AT DIFFERENT OLYMPIADS
2018 — Vasily Koshechkin (93.7%) – gold awards
2014 — Semyon Varlamov (91,1%)
2010 — Evgeny Nabokov (85,3%)
2006 — Evgeny Nabokov (94,0%)
2002 — Nikolai Khabibulin (93.0%) – bronze awards
1998 — Mikhail Shtalenkov (93.1%) - silver awards
1994 — Andrey Zuev (86,6%)
1992 — Mikhail Shtalenkov (91,9%) — gold awards
1988 — Sergey Mylnikov — gold awards
1984 — Vladislav Tretiak (96,6%) — gold awards
1980 — Vladimir Myshkin (89,5%) — silver awards
1976 — Vladislav Tretiak (94,3%) — gold awards
1972 — Vladislav Tretiak (92,0%) — gold awards
1968 — Viktor Konovalenko (93,3%) — gold awards
1964 — Viktor Konovalenko (91,7%) — gold awards
1960 — Nikolai Puchkov (88,8%) — bronze awards
1956 — Nikolai Puchkov — gold awards
