Alexander Volkov volleyball player personal. Not for the faint of heart

Alexander Volkov started playing volleyball at the age of 11, his first coach was Vera Sergeevna Kasatkina. In 2002, immediately after graduating from the Moscow sports school "Olimp", he made his debut in the Superleague team "Dynamo" (Moscow), headed by Viktor Radin. The 17-year-old central managed to attract the attention of the coaches of the Russian youth team. In April 2003, Volkov, in its composition, became the winner of the European Championship in Croatia.

In the autumn of 2003, after the injury of Sergei Ermishin, Alexander Volkov firmly took his place in the starting lineup of Dynamo, with whom he won the first medals in Russian competitions - silver in the Russian Cup and the national championship. For most of the season, the young Volkov was accompanied by the experienced captain of the French national team Dominique Daquin on the Dynamo front line.

In September 2004, Zagreb again became a happy city for Russian volleyball players - the team, already playing under the flag of the youth team, but still led by Sergei Shlyapnikov, won the European Championship. One of its key players, Alexander Volkov, soon moved to Luch Moscow, which was essentially a Dynamo farm club (Dynamo itself was strengthened by a Belgorod pair of blockers Alexei Kuleshov - Andrey Egorchev), and at the end of the Russian championship he was called up to the national team and He made his debut in it on June 4, 2005 at the Euroleague group stage in a match with the Estonian national team in Tallinn (3:2).

In August 2005, Volkov again competed as part of the youth team at the World Championships in the Indian city of Visakhapatnam. On the eve of the final, Alexander felt unwell, but, despite the temperature, he showed character by entering the court in a game with peers from Brazil. Volkov's merit in the final victory of the Russians is enormous: thanks to his powerful serves, Yuri Marichev's wards fought back in a difficult third installment, and taking it, they won the match.

After playing a season in the "Ray" under the leadership of Vladimir Alekno, Volkov returned to the capital's "Dynamo". While playing for Dynamo, he graduated from the international lending department of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations.

Alexander rarely played in the national team under Zoran Gaich, but since 2007 he has become one of the key players in the national team. He played one of the brightest matches for the national team on December 2, 2007 in Tokyo, on the final day of the World Cup. In the toughest game against the US team, where the Cup medals and a ticket to the Beijing Olympics were at stake, Volkov, having gone to the pitch with a score of 1:2 in batches and 16:16 in the fourth set, left it with a hopeless 16:24 for the Americans , after which the rivals of the Russians could no longer raise their heads, they lost the fifth game, and with it the match. Alexander Volkov, who actually saved the Russian team from additional selection for the Olympics, became bronze medalist Games in Beijing.

After the Olympic Games, he spent two more seasons at Dynamo Moscow, in the summer of 2010 he signed a contract with the Italian Cuneo. In 2011, Volkov won the Italian Cup and the “silver” of the national championship, but Cuneo performed unsuccessfully in the Champions League - after a home defeat in the “round of six” from Dynamo Moscow, the volleyball players of the Italian team took revenge in Moscow, but then lost in “ golden set "and did not break into" Final Four". At the end of the season, Alexander Volkov parted ways with Cuneo, returned to Russia and signed a contract with Zenit. As part of the national team in 2011, he won the World League tournament and the World Cup.

Before the start of the 2011/12 season, Alexander Volkov was chosen as the captain of Zenit Kazan. January 28, 2012 underwent surgery on the right knee joint, but already in March he returned to Zenit and helped the team win in the Russian Championship and the Champions League. In the summer of 2012, due to problems with his knee, he did not play a single match in the World League, missed part of the preparation for Olympic Games in London. Despite the serious risk, Alexander Volkov went to the Olympics:

"We consulted with the coach and decided that we would sacrifice a knee, but try to achieve some result here."

The recurrence of the injury happened already at the Games themselves, after the match group stage with the German national team. According to head coach Russian team Vladimir Alekno, on every game day, doctor Yaroslav Smakotnin pumped out 30-40 ml of fluid from the right knee of Alexander Volkov, the athlete did not participate in morning training, but nevertheless invariably appeared in the starting lineup of the team in all playoff games Olympic tournament. The semi-final with the Bulgarian national team was his 150th official match for the Russian national team. In the difficult final match with the Brazilian national team, Volkov scored 6 points, in particular, with a spectacular single block completed the third game in favor of the Russian team, which reduced the gap in the match (1:2) and eventually won.

On October 5, 2012, in Munich, Alexander Volkov underwent a new operation and completely missed the 2012/13 club season. In late January - early February 2013, Volkov became one of the winners of the fans' vote to determine the participants in the All-Star Game of the Russian Championship. The captain of one of the teams participating in this match, Maxim Mikhailov, chose Alexander as the head coach of his team.

(interview with Alexander Volkov)

According to many Russian fans, the main event of the year was the victory of our volleyball team at the Olympics in London. The victory is "valid". A victory after many sports fans turned off their TVs when our team lost hopelessly to the Brazilians during the final match. But the minutes of the triumph of domestic sports turned out to be all the more joyful.

Most bright moments That success and all its circumstances were discussed by the Trud correspondent with the leader of the Russian national volleyball team, Alexander Volkov.

- You are a medalist of two Olympic Games. How would you compare your feelings before Beijing and before London?
- In 2008, I was not only a debutant of such a major tournament, but also by and large debutant of the Russian team. I didn't feel confident in my abilities. Thoughts were: if we're lucky, we'll become prize-winners or even champions; if we're not lucky, we'll take the place that we really correspond to. And already before London, not only I became more experienced, but the whole backbone of the Russian team. That is, our squad was on average not that old, but had already passed through many tournaments of various ranks. Almost everyone had experience of performing at the Olympics, and Tetyukhin - as many as four! And now I had such a feeling: either we will perform very badly, or we will become champions. There was confidence that London would become something extraordinary for us.

How correct is the media writing that you won the Olympics in spite of everything and that your team was a whole infirmary?
- Mikhailov twisted his leg in the control match the day before the start of the Olympics. Budko injured his meniscus a week before the Olympics. Htei had a very hard time recovering from hip surgery and was also not completely healthy. Tetyukhin had heart problems, at first his doctors did not even allow him to participate in the Olympics.

- And what? Did they take a receipt from him that he takes responsibility in case of an accident?
- And it was like that too.

- Did you really go to London injured?
- The fact that a prolonged knee injury can worsen and give serious complications - the doctors did not start such a conversation with me. But I experienced pain all the time, and despite the appropriate injections, injuries in the knee joint still prevented me from playing.

- There was a risk that complications would reach the point that they had to ahead of time get out of big sport?
- This is true. But I would have regretted even more later all my life that I left the location of the national team right before the Olympics, exactly when I had a chance to become a champion.

Why did you have a knee injury? Overload or bad fall?
- Both. I had a loss of two pieces of cartilage on my knee. The accumulation of fatigue and micro-tears "crawled out" during an unsuccessful fall.

- Do you often get painkillers?
- Every day during the entire Olympics - before the match or before training. Once a day. And in London, I had to train in a very limited mode, much less than my teammates.

- During the Olympics, how often did you call Russia?
- My father played volleyball at a decent level in his youth, and now he closely follows my performances and all the events in our sport in general. He expresses very competent judgments, so I listen to the opinion of my father. But before major tournaments, I already try to isolate myself from the outside world as much as possible, including from relatives and friends. I limit my circle of contacts only to the coaches of the national team and teammates. So during the entire Olympics, I only spoke to my parents on the phone a couple of times. And after each successful match, I myself received congratulatory text messages from relatives, friends and acquaintances, rejoiced at them ... but did not answer anyone. But, on the other hand, during breaks in training, I try not to think about volleyball at all in order to focus on communication with people close to me, on books, on films.

- And how is your daughter? Are you interested in sports?
- She's only seven years old. But she is still interested in sports only insofar as dad plays and is shown on TV. She congratulated me on the phone. And when we met after returning from London, she had only the joy of her father's victory out of all the impressions of the Olympics. Little yet.

- From the height of the past three months, how do you assess: in what component did you surpass the Brazilians?
- In physical endurance. We just passed them on. In the first two games they smashed us, and then they noticeably “hooked up”, they didn’t move so fast anymore, they jumped weaker. And we remained at the same level.

- Did it feel like the Brazilians felt like champions ahead of time and relaxed?
- No, they are not relaxed, namely tired. And when we "floundered", they were simply confused and did not know what to do next.

- And what feelings did you have when you, with the score 0:2, were still inferior in the third installment?
- I will tell only about my personal feelings. They were like this: it is impossible to win in conditions when you lose to the Brazilians with a score of 0:2, and even in the final of the Olympics. But I put forward two directives for myself. First, we need to change something in our actions so that the game does not take place with such a clear advantage of our rivals. And the second: we are still in the finals of the Olympiad, and we want to stand on this site as long as possible, winning as many points as possible, and if possible, even one game. And at least this will please the Russian fans and all the spectators who watched the Olympic final.

As an experienced tournament fighter, you tuned yourself in such a way and instilled such thoughts in yourself in order to raise your psychological condition in such a dire situation?
- No, I did not suggest anything to myself. I'm just giving you my feelings.

- How do you generally behave in such situations when the score is 0:2 in games, and you lose in the third?
- Just fight for every ball. Just try to win every point without looking too far ahead.

- Like that frog that fell into the pot of cream...
- I know a parable about a mouse that floundered, floundered, although the situation seemed completely hopeless. But, in the end, she knocked down a hard layer of oil, through which she crawled out.

- After the match, how did you perceive the incident in the team? "What have we done"?
- Probably, until the end, I still do not realize what we managed to do. So far, only some glimpses of awareness.

- This year you have the most successful in life, except for the knee?
- Undoubtedly, the most successful, even if you count the knee.

Alekno himself did not give interviews during the Olympiad, and forbade all his players to do so. As a very friendly and sympathetic person, was it difficult for you to repulse the attempts of journalists?
- Those of your colleagues who constantly write about volleyball and are well versed in our sport, apparently, have already been warned by our federation, and maybe Alekno himself. So those journalists with whom I was well acquainted even before London did not bother us during the Games. And I am grateful to them for that. After the matches, we gave short comments on the game in the mixed zones, but not lengthy interviews. It is better not to speak, but to do. Or rather: first to do, and then to say something. We would not want to first tell how great we are, and then lose.

- Alekno admitted in an interview that he still hasn't watched the London final...
- I haven't looked yet either. Now it's useless. Don't want to waste emotions again. They'll still come in handy.

- When will you see it?
- Maybe in a few years. I try not to think about it.

Alekno perfectly described the playing and human qualities of each of the players in his team. But only Volkov was called the real leader. Do you often push teammates?
“Shove in” is not the right word. I only try to cheer up my teammates or suggest something about the essence of the game. I always want each of my teammates to play at their best. Often it is more visible from the side.

- Do you cheer up in Karpolsky way? Do you use unprinted words?
- In no case. It’s not that I don’t swear… I even try to hide the irritation in my voice. If you communicate with a person violently, he will not properly perceive the necessary information. Whether he accepts it or not is up to him. I can't get him to play the way I want him to. With all due respect to the achievements of Nikolai Vasilyevich, his methods of work would be unacceptable in our men's team.

What kind of training are you doing now?
- I work only gym, I try to do it together with the team. And when the team is away, I go to the gym on my own - three days of work in a row, then a day of rest. In training, I load all muscle groups, except for the legs. As long as you have to walk on crutches.

- What are the doctors' forecasts?
- They promise that in December I will get off the crutches and start walking without them. They will start giving me exercises for the leg, and in March, perhaps, I will already be playing volleyball.

- Are you already working at least while sitting with the ball?
- The ball for me is like a bicycle. If you once rode it, after a long break you sit down, you go and you don’t fall. Without the inclusion of footwork, there is no point in messing with the ball.

- Did you watch other sports while the Olympics were going on? Whom did you root for?
- With that busy schedule - games plus training - it was problematic not only to get out to the stadium podium, but even to watch TV broadcasts of the competitions. So I watched only occasionally in fits and starts. But there were some soloists whose performances I planned to follow in advance. This is Usain Bolt and Mike Phelps.

- Did you get acquainted with representatives of other sports during the two Olympics?
- The situation was not conducive to that. We lived in a very intense rhythm, fully focused on our performance. Only later, during the award ceremonies of the Olympians in Kazan, I met the only winner of the Russian national shooting team, native Kazan Vasily Mosin, and now we regularly communicate with him and maintain friendly relations.

- Do you study at MGIMO?
- My university is of the same profile, but it is not a state one. Moscow Institute of International Economic Relations (MIEO). I finished it a long time ago. Specialty - international finance and business administration.

- Is there a job option in this specialty?
- I don't want to guess. I will decide at the end of my playing career.

- You told interestingly how you were interviewed in the subway ...
- I haven't been on the subway for a long time. Although I am a native Muscovite, I rarely come to Moscow. And I go down the subway on average once a year. But they did take my autographs in the subway.

- Did you become more recognizable after the Olympics?
- In Kazan - no doubt. Here volleyball is generally incomparably more popular than in Moscow.

Russians usually think winter Olympics inferior, if our hockey players did not win it. But if they win, they forgive failures in all other sports. Did you feel that your "gold" was the most important in London?
- It happened, volleyball became the only game view sports, where the Russians got the victory. To my great regret - the only one. Thanks to everyone for their support, including the readers of Trud. We are happy that we brought joy to those who supported us. And they gave another reason to be proud of our country.

"Each game is somewhat similar to the other, but I remember unusual moments - about a week. But after next game already forgetting about the previous one.

Volleyball is not only a profession, but also a hobby, a favorite pastime of his whole life. The central blocker of the Russian national team has been playing for many years at the very high level, managed to win in many club tournaments, but considers the gold of the 2012 Olympic Games to be the pinnacle of his career.

Gradual takeoff

The famous athlete Alexander Volkov is a volleyball player whose height is 210 cm. With such solid natural data in childhood, he simply had no choice - either in basketball or volleyball. The tall boy hesitated until the age of 11, after which he made his final choice in favor of volleyball.

Alexander Volkov conscientiously studied the basics of volleyball art in sports center Olimp, his first coach was Vera Kasatkina. In 2002, a promising central blocker was recruited into one of the the strongest teams Superleague - Dynamo Moscow.

Also, the seventeen-year-old teenager made a favorable impression on the coaches of the youth national team, in which Alexander Aleksandrovich Volkov won his first trophy at the European Championship.

The Muscovite made his debut in the main team in 2005, but for several years he could not win a place in the main team in a competitive struggle with veterans.

Only in 2007, the young volleyball player firmly secured his place in the starting bracket after a bright game at the World Cup.

First Olympic cycle

In 2008, central blocker Alexander Volkov went to his first Olympics. The country's men's team has not been able to win big tournaments for a long time, so the final bronze medals were a good result.

After the Beijing Games, Alexander played for Dynamo Moscow for two more seasons, after which he decided to change the situation and try his hand at a foreign championship.

Bronze in 2010 Olympic medalist in volleyball, Alexander Volkov signed a contract with the Italian team Cuneo. Here he played great and helped the club win the Italian championship and the Cup of the country.

True, Cuneo did not perform so well in the European Champions League, failing to qualify for the Final Four after the defeat former club Alexandra - Dynamo.

In Italy, Alexander spent only one season, after which he returned to Russia in 2011, where he became a player in Zenit Kazan.

2011 was a particularly successful year for the blocker, who won two major tournaments as part of the national team - the World Cup and the World League.

Olympic passion

In January 2012 in sports biography Alexander Volkov got his first serious injury. After an operation to remove a fragment of cartilage from his knee, he returned to the club, but it soon became clear that the superficial operation did not eliminate the problem, but only masked it.

The question arose about a new surgical intervention, however, Volkov dreamed of going to the 2012 Olympics, so he decided to sacrifice his knee for the sake of performing at the main starts of the four years. The last word was left to the head coach of the national team Vladimir Alekno, who, after long hesitation, nevertheless included Alexander in the team.

Before decisive matches the Olympic tournament, everything went well, but then the injury escalated sharply. According to Alekno, every day doctors had to pump out several tens of milliliters of fluid from Volkov's knee. Thanks to these painful procedures, he was able to overcome the entire tournament through pain, coming out in every match in the starting lineup.

Especially valuable was his contribution in the victorious final match against Brazil. Oleksandr brought the decisive point in the third game with his spectacular single block, after which there was a chance for the national team to return to the game with a score of 1:2 in sets.

Last years

Only becoming Olympic champion, Alexander Volkov agreed to a complex knee surgery, which took place in October 2012. The recovery period lasted a long time, the volleyball player completely missed the 2012/2013 season.

Only in September 2013, Alexander returned to the game, once again became the captain of Zenit and won the national championship. However, at the end of the season, the ill-fated right knee failed again. This time Volkov injured the meniscus. So Alexander suffered for several years and only at the end of 2015 began to return to his usual level. He moved to Ural, where he was able to become a team leader and regained the confidence of the coaches of the national team.

In 2016, the volleyball player played at his third Olympic Games, followed by a whole series of transitions from one Russian club another. Now Alexander Volkov is a player of the newly formed Zenit club from St. Petersburg.

Volleyball has always been loved in Leningrad-Petersburg, but for a long time our city did without an elite men's team, so popular view sports.

PHOTO Alexander DROZDOV

So the appearance in the northern capital after the football and basketball teams last season, volleyball Zenith also came in handy. In addition, Zenit volleyball players made their debut very well - they immediately won silver medals at the national championship. However, the most titled player of the St. Petersburg team, Alexander Volkov, will not be surprised by such successes. He made a serious contribution to the Olympic victory of the Russian team at the 2012 Games in London, won national championships, the Champions League, the World League... Now our today's guest is dreaming of titles in the St. Petersburg "Zenith".

Alexander, you were born in Moscow, you played in Kazan for many years, but you have been living and training in St. Petersburg for a year now. How cozy and comfortable are you here?

I feel like I'm at home. In all seriousness, without any irony, St. Petersburg has become my home. Of course, this feeling did not appear immediately, but over time. But the very first impressions were extremely positive. After all, until the summer of 2017, I practically did not visit St. Petersburg, I came here only in my youth. Therefore, I could not know for sure how smoothly the adaptation would go. But everything is just great - the people, the atmosphere, the weather.

- You will rarely meet people who are satisfied with the weather in St. Petersburg ...

I agree, a lot of people are complaining. But in fact, I have no complaints. Over the past year with a tail, the weather has been, in my opinion, excellent - not cold, not hot, not rainy. Imagine, I still have not bought an umbrella. It seems to be an axiom: "Since you live in St. Petersburg, you need an umbrella." But it turned out to be unnecessary for me. And the St. Petersburg winter seemed quite comfortable. True, he practically did not take long walks - he was constantly in the premises. Work in the hall, home.

- Earlier you said that you have no hobbies. Maybe it finally appeared in St. Petersburg?

Unfortunately still not. In fact, I really want to find some kind of activity to my liking in order to be distracted from volleyball, to rest my head from it. Although it cannot be said that I am in some kind of active search for a hobby. I hope it finds itself.

The FIFA World Cup in Russia ended back in mid-July, but the echoes of the grandiose sporting event are still heard. What are your impressions of the 2018 World Cup at home?

It’s hard to call me a football fan, I don’t know the players of other teams well, but I rooted for ours with great pleasure. During decisive matches he was with friends in Turkey on vacation. He supported the guys, albeit remotely, but desperately. Crazy emotions! In fact, for the first time in my life I felt that I was really worried about the players. Usually their matches took place for me in such a background mode - well, the guys play and play. And then he began to worry very much about the team, he wanted her to show her best football. So, basically, that's what happened. You can generally pray for Igor Akinfeev, he was so good. The brightest impressions were from the meeting of the 1/8 finals with Spain, the outcome of which became a very big and pleasant sensation. To celebrate, he screamed furiously, then even posted a video of my victory celebration on social networks.

Fans still admire Artem Dzyuba, real queues line up for his autographs. Are you a little offended that the much more significant successes of volleyball players in the international arena remain in the shadow of football?

Dziuba deserved such an attitude towards himself, showed leadership qualities. There is no envy towards him at all. As for volleyball victories, for example, winning the European Championship 2017, which go almost unnoticed for many Russians, this is a normal situation not only for Russia.

We cannot compare any sport with football - the difference in popularity is gigantic, you just have to accept it. Although, of course, there are countries where volleyball is more important or is approximately on the same level as football. A vivid example is Poland, where volleyball gathered 60 thousand fans at the stadiums at the World Championships. Agree, it's impressive.

Last season, the football "Zenith" became only the fifth in the national championship, but the volleyball team immediately won the "silver". You yourself weren't surprised by such a high result for the newly created team?

No, not at all. On the contrary, I was upset that we did not take the first, but only the second place. Yes, we overfulfilled the tasks that the management set for us - not only made it to the top 5, but also won medals. But I'm a maximalist, I'm only interested in the first places.

However, you lost only to Kazan "Zenith" - the winner of not only the national championship, but also the European Champions League and the club championship of the planet. That is, in the final you were opposed by a real "dream team". Did they expect to defeat her?

In the regular season in St. Petersburg, we have already beaten the Kazan team, which means we could have done it in the final. Yes, and in the series for the "gold" there were chances. As for plans for the season, they should not be given very great importance. I know many cases when teams were going to take a prize, but in the end they did not even get into the top eight and were forced to fight for survival. The difference compared to expectations was gigantic. Therefore, I do not like to talk about expectations, but I am focused on the result.

How quickly did you understand that the Zenit volleyball team has developed and you will claim the highest places?

We didn't have any problems at all. Almost all the guys crossed paths with each other at different stages of their careers. In addition, the team brought together not only good volleyball players, but also good people. This is extremely important. A backbone of experienced guys quickly formed, around which the team was formed, the necessary atmosphere appeared. Plus of course effective work coaching staff headed by Alexander Klimkin, conducting training and game processes. I have great respect for Alexander Vladimirovich, I see his prospects. Yes, by coaching standards, he is still quite young, but he has a good future. I see him exclusively positive traits. Believe me, you can't say that about any coach. Usually players - and I am no exception to some extent - are always dissatisfied with something. After all, we are trained, tortured. And there's nothing to complain about....

But in sports highest achievements coaches do not necessarily like their wards? Maybe Klimkin is too soft?

In fact, it can not be called soft. But at the same time, he knows how to establish contact with the players, and not disband anyone. In addition, the guys in Zenit gathered mostly, by volleyball standards, mature. Everyone understands how hard money is earned, how careers develop.

- But you also have a young star - 23-year-old Pavel Pankov ...

Why call stars those who are not stars yet. If suddenly Pavel himself really considers himself a star, then I will personally have a conversation with him. (Laughs.) But I think he is right about everything. It is generally harmful to star, because you can go out very quickly.

You worked for many years in the club and the national team under the leadership of Vladimir Alekno. Has working under his leadership ever caused you any negative emotions?

I have great respect for Vladimir Romanovich and am grateful to him. Today it is the strongest volleyball coach in Russia. And if you take the results (victories with Kazan "Zenith" in the Champions League and the club championship of the planet), which he achieved last season, then the best coach in the world. I cite it as an example to many - how to build work. I also really enjoy playing against his teams. Sometimes there are even all sorts of funny moments. For example, when I manage to block one of his charges, I triumphantly look not at my opponent on the court, but at Alekno. Such are the friendly "jokes".

The most important factor in the success of the volleyball "Zenith" in St. Petersburg, many call the support of the stands. Did you imagine that in our city there would be so many people going to volleyball?

After all, I had never played at an adult level in St. Petersburg, so I didn’t even really know what to expect. But everything turned out just fine. And not only thanks to the traditions from the time of Vyacheslav Platonov and his Avtomobilist. Again, this is largely the merit of the club, which does a lot to attract fans to the stands - promotions, events. Yes, and we tried to please our game. Sibur Arena is also very cool, suitable for volleyball. I think that in terms of the ratio of quantity and quality in St. Petersburg, volleyball players are the best in Russia.

I know that you visit the city sports competitions. What about theaters and museums? After all, St. Petersburg is a cultural capital.

Yes, sure. Of course, I have been to the Hermitage, but so far the trips to the theaters somehow do not add up. Maybe in the upcoming season... Although there will be half as much free time compared to last season, the Champions League matches have appeared on the calendar.

Indeed, Zenit volleyball now has to play not only in the domestic championship, but also in the main European Cup of the Old World. How hard will it be for the team to withstand such a load? And you specifically, taking into account a rather serious, by game standards (33 years old), age?

And who said that I need more time to recover than, say, a twenty-year-old guy?! These are stereotypes. It all depends not on age, but on the body of a particular athlete. Someone needs more time, someone less ... Some need to be massaged twice, others do not need it at all. But it is clear that it will be one hundred percent harder for the team, the intensity of flights and games will increase markedly. The main task of the coaching staff is not to overload volleyball players, to reduce the risk of injury to a minimum. Of course, the depth of the composition is required, because without interchangeability in this mode, it cannot be sustained for a long time.

September 9 in Italy and Bulgaria starts the world championship among men's teams. Can the Russians be called favorites?

Looked this summer at the team in the League of Nations ( new tournament, who replaced the World League) and was pleasantly surprised. Our team is really strong, went over the opponents like a roller and won gold medals. Yes, and last fall she was good, won the European Championship. I think that now the rivals will especially tune in to the Russian team. And whether this team will be able to repeat our Olympic success, we will see only in Tokyo in 2020.

You played almost two hundred official matches for the Russian national team, and in 2017, by agreement with the head coach of the national team, Vladimir Shlyapnikov, you took a one-year break. However, it seems to have come to an end, and you are not in the national team, which is now preparing for the World Cup. Why?

We really agreed with Shlyapnikov about a break, because in any case, last year I needed, as they say, to exhale, to recover physically. And it was the right decision - that summer vacation brought a lot of health benefits. As for returning to the national team... Now there are such "mastodons" playing in my position - Dmitry Musersky, Artem Volvich, Ilyas Kurkaev, Ilya Vlasov. The height of the "removal" they have is crazy. But never say never. After all, for swipe do not give two points. Personally, I still want to compete at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, so I do not close the door to the national team. Time will show.

Everyone remembers that at the gold for Russia Games in London you played with a serious knee injury, after which you were treated for a very long time. Are there health problems now?

Then I was able to fully recover and received certain knowledge. Including - and how to maintain the regime during the season. Now, let's just say, it's easier for me to stay healthy. Just look at last season, when I was actually the healthiest volleyball player on the team. Nothing hurt!

Recently, your partner in Zenit, the Cuban winger Oreol Camejo, received Russian citizenship. It is possible that he will play for our team. Before, you actively criticized the naturalization of players with an eye on the national team. What do you say now?

I have great respect for Kamejo, but I am skeptical about his possible game for the Russian national team. I think we need to educate our cadres, and not attract legionnaires, thereby trying to patch up some holes and solve some momentary problems.

Besides, volleyball players are playing great these days. Are there enough promising young people in our volleyball to look into the future with confidence?

As for juniors, I don't follow them. But I see young players playing for the national team. The national team of Russia is a young team that wins a lot, looking for and finding itself as a real team. But until relatively recently, many asked: "Where are the youth?". In fact, the guys just matured and occupied a niche. But it is still too early for me to talk about the younger generation. Now my main task is to play myself.

- Can you call the Russian volleyball championship the strongest and most competitive in the world?

If we take the level of teams separately, our championship is really stronger. But from the point of view of the level of competition, the championships of Poland, Italy, and Brazil are not inferior to him. So the volleyball world is multipolar.

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Biography

Alexander Volkov started playing volleyball at the age of 11, his first coach was Vera Sergeevna Kasatkina. In 2002, immediately after graduating from the Moscow Education Center "Olimp", he made his debut in the Superleague team "Dynamo" (Moscow), headed by Viktor Radin. The 17-year-old central managed to attract the attention of the coaches of the Russian youth team. In April 2003, Volkov, in its composition, became the winner of the European Championship in Croatia.

In the autumn of the same year, after an injury to Sergei Yermishin, he firmly took his place in the Dynamo starting lineup, with which he won the first medals in Russian competitions - silver in the Russian Cup and the national championship.

In September 2004, in Zagreb, the team, playing under the flag of the youth team, but still led by Sergei Shlyapnikov, won the European Championship. One of its key players, Alexander Volkov, spent the new club season in Luch Moscow, which was essentially the Dynamo farm team, and at the end of the Russian Championship he was called up to the national team and made his debut in it on June 4, 2005 at the group stage Euroleague in a match with the Estonian national team in Tallinn (3:2).

In August 2005, Volkov again competed as part of the youth team at the World Championships in the Indian city of Visakhapatnam. On the eve of the final, he felt unwell, but, despite the temperature, he showed character by entering the court in a game with peers from Brazil. Thanks to his powerful innings, Yuri Marichev's wards bounced back in a difficult third installment, and taking it, they won the match.

In the national team under Zoran Gaich, Volkov played infrequently, but since 2007 he has become one of the key players in the team. He played one of the brightest matches for the national team on December 2, 2007 in Tokyo, on the final day of the World Cup. In the toughest game against the US team, where the Cup medals and a ticket to the Beijing Olympics were at stake, Volkov, having gone to the pitch with a score of 1:2 in batches and 16:16 in the fourth set, left it with a hopeless 16:24 for the Americans , after which the opponents lost the fifth game, and with it the match. Alexander Volkov, who actually saved the Russian team from additional selection for the Olympics, became the bronze medalist of the Beijing Games in its composition.

After the Olympic Games, he spent two more seasons at Dynamo Moscow, in the summer of 2010 he signed a contract with the Italian Cuneo. In 2011, he won the Italian Cup and the silver of the national championship, but Cuneo performed unsuccessfully in the Champions League - after a home defeat in the "round of six" from Dynamo Moscow, the Italian team's volleyball players took revenge in Moscow, but then lost in the golden set and did not made it to the Final Four. At the end of the season, Volkov parted ways with Cuneo, returned to Russia and signed a contract with Zenit. As part of the national team in 2011, he won the World League tournament and the World Cup.

Before the start of the 2011/12 season, Alexander Volkov was chosen as the captain of Zenit. On January 28, 2012, he underwent surgery to remove a piece of cartilage in his right knee joint, but already in March he returned to Zenit and helped the team win the Russian Championship and the Champions League. In the summer of 2012, due to problems with his knee, he did not play a single match in the World League, missed part of the preparation for the Olympic Games in London. Despite the serious risk, he went to the Olympics:

We consulted with the coach and decided that we would sacrifice a knee, but try to achieve some result here.

The recurrence of the injury happened already at the Games themselves, after the group stage match with the German national team. According to the head coach of the Russian team Vladimir Alekno, on every game day, doctor Yaroslav Smakotnin pumped out 30-40 ml of fluid from Volkov’s right knee, the athlete did not participate in morning training, but nevertheless invariably appeared in the team’s starting lineup in all play games. off of the Olympic tournament. In the difficult final match with the Brazilian national team, Volkov scored 6 points, in particular, he completed the third game with a spectacular single block in favor of the Russian team, which reduced the gap in the match (1:2), and eventually won.

Pankov's nine aces and entertaining arithmetic of the 12th round

"Comebacks" in Novokuibyshevsk and Nizhnevartovsk, broken records and a match of the tour in Belgorod - passions are heating up, the championship is approaching the equator.

"Mom's decision will not be challenged"

- Why did volleyball become a priority sport for you from the very beginning?
- Yes, I didn’t have much choice: my mother in the first grade insisted that I go to the volleyball section. It was her decision, and I had no right to disobey. My mother graduated from the Malakhov infinizkult, at one time she studied athletics. And her friend coached volleyball players. And my mother brought me to her. However, my mother taught me the basics of the game, and from the age of six I was already standing against the wall and practicing with the ball.

- But the uncle, the famous volleyball player Evgeny Petropavlov, probably played a certain role in this choice?
- At that time he played for Nova from my native Novokuibyshevsk. And from the fifth grade, I did not miss a single match of this team - I served balls, wiped the floor.

I must admit that my back bothered me before. But I endured the pain. Moreover, she appeared sporadically.

All the time I tried to be like my uncle, I spent a lot of time with him, asking questions that interested me.

- And was your mother again assigned you to the FAKELA club system?
- I had offers from other clubs. But my mother went to Anapa, where at that time she was based youth team"FAKELA", she liked everything there, and together with the coach they decided that this option was the best for me. So at the age of 16 I left home to start a new life.

- Did any of today's players of your team start with you then?
- Ilyusha Vlasov. He came from Ufa. The rest of the guys who go out with me today to the site were added a year later.

- So, did you finish school in Anapa?
- Yes, I studied there in the 10th and 11th grades, and then immediately entered the university in Krasnodar physical education where I still continue to study. But I'm going to defend my diploma next year. I was not alone: after graduating from high school, many of the guys went to college and some to university.

- And in the youth team you were fast enough?
- In the first year of performance for "TORCH". Since childhood, I dreamed of wearing a T-shirt with the word "Russia" and was proud when it happened. At 16!

- But very soon there was a misfortune - a back injury.
- I must admit that my back bothered me before. But I endured the pain. Moreover, she appeared sporadically. At some point, when we were preparing for the World Cup in Mexico, I already felt unwell all the time. But he played all the matches at the championship, we won gold. And when I returned home, I realized that something had to be done. After visiting a number of doctors in Moscow, who, after examining, recommended finishing with volleyball and going to study, I concluded for myself that it was useless to contact Russian traumatologists with serious problems. In other countries, they recommended an operation, but at the same time they did not give a 100% guarantee that after it I would be able to play. And then Gurgen, the doctor of the Russian national team, found a clinic in Switzerland, where - thanks to our All-Russian Volleyball Federation - we went for another examination. It was there that they decided that the operation was not needed, and developed a clear program of treatment and rehabilitation. And for half a year I had to follow all the instructions of the Swiss doctors at home, in Novokuibyshevsk.

- Why not in the club?
- This question is not for me, but for the then leadership of "FAKELA". They actually refused my services. They probably did not believe that I could return to duty. And at that moment, Nikolai Vasilyevich Kapranov, at that time the manager of the youth teams of Russia, helped, who was able to get a referral for rehabilitation in one of the sanatoriums near Moscow, where I spent a month. Plus, another month personally with me in Voleigrad, again, not without the participation of the VFV, Alexei Sergeevich Konstantinov, the current physical training coach of FAKELA, worked out. Since then, I have not experienced any major back problems.

“Joined at the age of 18”

But injuries don't seem to let you go all the time. Here you have a hand again in a cast. And before that there was a fracture, again on the right hand.
- Yes, and very close to today's fracture. It happened two years ago in my first season in the Superleague. But I hope that all these ailments are not as serious as that back injury.

- After a year of treatment, you still returned to the Novy Urengoy club.
- Not right away. At first I was invited to the training camp before the European Championships by Sergei Konstantinovich Shlyapnikov. We won the tournament, I was looking for a club. But what was offered did not suit me. And I ended up in the "TORCH", again not without the participation of Alexander Mikhailovich Yaremenko.

- How would you rate your debut in the Superleague?
- For the first season, everything was successful: I quickly became a player in the squad, at the age of 18. And this despite the fact that the team had quite experienced guys of the same role - Dima Krasikov, Anton Fomenko.

I was lucky to live with Tetyukhin in the same room. And I got to know him no longer as a player, but as a person. This is truly an outstanding personality.

In general, everything turned out in at its best, and I even received an invitation to the student team, which also competed at the first European Games in Baku.

- Do you remember how your invitation to the first team to the pre-Olympic training camp happened?
- It was known in advance about the extended list of candidates. I was glad to see my name in it. And we discussed the chances of each of the guys. And between us it turned out that I had to go to the collection. And when the club received a letter of challenge and sent it to me, the dream of a lifetime turned out to be nowhere closer.

"Oh Rio, Rio!"

- Did you believe that you could compete with more experienced players and get the opportunity to go to Rio?
- Initially, when I went to Anapa, I thought more about the experience that I would get from the training of Vladimir Romanovich Alekno and communication with experienced “collectors”. Especially with Sergei Yurievich Tetyukhin. After all, it was the idol of my childhood, and now we ended up together in the same team, and at the Games also in the same room in Olympic village. Even during training in Voleigrad, I experienced some embarrassment when I left the gym before him. O Rio at first tried not to bother, but in the course of classes I felt that I was no worse than others, I was not inferior to many in anything, and in some other ways I was superior. Then I realized that it was quite real for me to be in the Olympic dozen.

Almost until the last day, 16 players remained in the roster, of which only 12 could go to the Games. When did Alekno announce the final roster?
- The day before departure. But by that moment, in relation to myself as a coach, I felt that Vladimir Romanovich trusted me.

- What is your impression of the first Olympics?
- First of all, I would like to thank once again Vladimir Romanovich, that he believed in me, that he included me in the squad. Many complained about living conditions and other inconveniences. I liked everything. I walked with my mouth open. The main thing is that I participated in the Olympics, plunged into its unique atmosphere. It was cool.

- What, in your opinion, prevented the Russian team from performing better at the Games?
Perhaps it is too early for me to answer such questions.

But do you have your own opinion?
- Most likely it's about injuries. Dima Musersky could not go at all, and Max Mikhailov could not perform in full force. He missed almost all the training. He stayed in the hall for a long time - a real workaholic. But he could not play the way he does, for example, today, in Rio.

“It’s a shame that I will be left without volleyball for two months”

You had a great start to the season. And, if not for the injury, they could have remained the true leader of their team.
- I feel it myself. The summer pre-Olympic training camp helped a lot. The coach revealed to me a lot of all sorts of nuances that helped me to look at my game differently. I know about my mistakes that I make. I'm currently working on them a lot in training.

- And then this ridiculous injury. What do the doctors say?
- That a month will have to be spent in a cast, and then another month will be spent on rehabilitation.

- Now you have free time. What do you do? What are you reading, for example?
- I was lucky to live with Tetyukhin in the same room. And I got to know him no longer as a player, but as a person. This is a truly outstanding personality, unique even.

I liked everything. I walked with my mouth open. The main thing is that I participated in the Olympics, plunged into its unique atmosphere.

The Russian team is waiting for perestroika. Have you seen any guys in the current national championship who could join the national team and replace the veterans?
- Very cool added Nikita Alekseev. Few expected him to shoot like that. I had a chance to play side by side with him. But back then he didn't do that much. And in "NOVA" he opened up. Handsome, happy for him. And Vityok Poletaev looks very cool.

- Is it important for you who will lead the Russian team?
- No. The main thing is that I myself must prove that I can help our national team.