How Sergei Ryzhikov did not receive beer from Messi

From midfield to goal

“I started playing football at the age of seven, but I was still far from being a goalkeeper. Until the age of 13, I was a right midfielder. By the way, I played normally – I almost always played in the starting lineup, sometimes I scored. But it happened, and the goalkeepers were replaced when they were not at the matches or for some reason they could not play. And the further, the more I liked to play as a goalkeeper. Catching and hitting balls, securing partners, prompting them – I was drawn into it with pleasure. And my compatriot and senior comrade Alexei Polyakov, the former goalkeeper of Lokomotiv, Krylia Sovetov and the national team of Uzbekistan, became my goalkeeper’s inspiration.

We met him in the yard, and we never lived in the same yard. I came to my grandmother, and on the way home I stayed there with the guys I knew, we played football around the clock. It was there that I once saw Polyakov, who was walking home with a sports bag. He began to ask where he plays, when he trains, since then they began to communicate. He then played in the “Chemist”. Together we went to the stadium to train. Rather, Alexey was training, and I stood nearby and watched, sometimes I threw balls to him. Then he left for Lokomotiv Moscow, where we will meet him many years later.

Major Career Chance

Saturn was my third chance in big football. The first was a viewing match between our Shebekin team and CSKA. We lost 0:7 – and there was no more news from CSKA. In 1999, I was invited to train with Lokomotiv’s reserve team, but even there it all ended after a few sessions. And at the end of 2001, I found out about the third chance.

That season, I played for the Salyut team for the KFK championship. We had a good season, finished fourth or fifth. After the end of the KFK championship, the coach of that team, Nikolai Alekseevich Solovyov, told me: “Get ready, you will go to the screening”. Since then, I have been working hard! Every morning I got up at 6 in the morning and ran crosses with a friend, he joined me for the company. At that time, I didn’t even know which team I would go to! Solovyov said just before the New Year that it was Saturn.

I had a great mood to show myself to the maximum, I was ready to train as much as I wanted – if only to realize this chance. I already understood that it is very difficult to get into the Premier League from the Chernozemye zone of the second league – for this many factors must coincide. The chance may never come again. Agents? Then I never heard of them. Before watching the Saturn, I was determined to grab the bird of happiness. It was required to discard everything else and give 115 percent.

And on January 10, 2002, he went to Ramenskoye, to the double of Saturn, which immediately after the end of his playing career was headed by Evgeny Smertin. Several other guys came to watch with me, among us I was the oldest. Everyone was 18-19 years old, I was already over 20. We trained at the stadium, lived in a dispensary, there is a base for synchronized swimmers. They were also at the training camp then – we ate together with the girls in the dining room, talked a little.

We trained on the snow and in the gym. No one said anything about my prospects for the two weeks of the training camp, but I became more confident that everything could work out. Closer to the end of the viewing, I already began to guess that the dream was close to being fulfilled. How did you understand it? When you train every day and live at the base, you still get some talk from the coaching and administrative staff. In addition, looking at the rotation of goalkeepers, I guessed.

When you stay at the training camp after five days, and after ten, and after fifteen, we can conclude that they are counting on you.

Finally the collection is over. Evgeny Gennadyevich Smertin called me for a conversation and announced that they wanted to sign a contract with me, named the conditions. What did I say? I think he said, “Very well.” I was happy that my dream came true. Goal achieved! I’m in a Premier League club!”

Disappointment after Real Madrid

“During my time at Lokomotiv, the game with Real Madrid at the Russian Railways Cup became a special story for me. Goalkeeping coach Valery Kleymenov warned in advance that I would play; I was very glad to have a chance to prove myself. And in the first half everything worked out – we looked good against the backdrop of a top opponent and won 2-0. I heard that they planned to replace me after the first half, but since the match was going well, they decided to leave it to the end.

Before the break, the main players of Real Madrid were on the bench. And in the second half, Guti, Saviola and Raul came out and tore us to pieces. The level of play of these stars seemed prohibitive! On the one hand, I admired their ability to play football, on the other … How far we are from this level – such thoughts came. After the final 2:5 the mood was appropriate. I didn’t feel much joy that I played with Real Madrid, I didn’t feel a surge of desire to consolidate this experience with constant game practice, to quickly go on loan. This was not thought about. When you concede five goals in one half, it’s hard to find reasons for a motivational boost. In the locker room, Byshovets’ words were remembered: “I gave you a chance, but you didn’t use it.”

Unplanned championship

“Going to Rubin, I could not imagine that we would achieve great success so quickly. How could one think of two championships in a row, if before that only the giants – Zenit, CSKA, Lokomotiv, Spartak – won it. Before the start of the 2008 season, I didn’t even dream of trophies. Then I thought more about my prospects. Five matches for Tom at the end of the previous season gave me confidence, I have already settled into the Premier League. I understood that I could succeed in Rubin, but I didn’t know what we would apply for.

And how could there be any talk of trophies if the team changed by two-thirds in the off-season?! At the second training camp, we had 12-13 people training, including four goalkeepers! In the course of preparation, new players came and came, but the squad was finally formed only before the start of the season. Semak and Karadeniz joined us at the Turkish training camp, a few days before the start of the championship.

Then, by the way, looking at the attitude towards Karadeniz, I first thought about the strength of our squad. I did not know Gekdeniz before, but in Turkey I saw how big a figure he is. Karadeniz was warmly welcomed everywhere, waiters in restaurants took pictures with him; and looking at it, I realized that we have a very strong player! And what other newcomers came! Ansaldi, Sharonov, the same Semak, Rebrov, Milosevic. I saw that a serious company was being selected, that it could claim a high place, but it was still necessary to achieve team chemistry, to play. The management and coaches did not set specific tasks for us either. I don’t remember talking about what they expect from us in a particular place.”

Retinue Berdyev

“The success of Rubin is not only Kurban Berdyev. A clear distribution of roles in the coaching staff applied to all stages of preparation. Rubin’s headquarters includes Pavel Cherepanov, who was in charge of physical training and analytics, and Alexander Matsyura, a great tactician. It was very interesting to talk about football with him – I’m afraid to imagine how much he watched it! This is Raul Riancho with his interesting exercises. And we introduced Raoul to our culture. Yakub Urazsakhatov conducted warm-ups and cool-downs, did stretching with us. And, of course, Vitaly Kafanov!

Each coach was responsible for his own specialization, in which the assistants, I think, understood better than Berdyev. Without such a staff, he probably would not have been able to achieve those results with Rubin. The retinue makes the king.”

Beer from Messi

“Two years in a row we played with Barcelona in the group stage of the Champions League, and these matches turned out to be successful for Rubin. We shared the points – we won and lost once, there was a draw twice, and I managed to save the goal from Lionel Messi in all four matches.

Talk about my confrontation with him grew gradually. At first, little was said about this, but when we played three matches with Barcelona, ​​then four, it became more discussed. I was the only goalkeeper in the world that Lionel Messi has not scored once in four matches. Because of this, I didn’t get a beer from him. Seriously! Then he carried out an advertising campaign – to all the goalkeepers whom he scored, Messi sent his branded beer. One bottle for every goal. There was such a hype. Goalkeepers in social networks exhibited these gifts, the same Buffon. Some three bottles, some seven. In Spain, probably, Lionel most of all had to send beer to goalkeepers. And I didn’t get it! And then the portal sports.ru offered in honor of this achievement – four matches against Messi to zero – to send me juice in a jar with a souvenir label. It also shows Messi holding his head. I still have this jar, you can see it in the photo album of my book.”

European Chance “Ruby”

“We had a chance to achieve the maximum result in European competition in the 2013-2014 season. Rubin then switched to playing with three central defenders, it worked – we straightened out the situation in the Russian championship, successfully played the group stage of the Europa League, and the expectations for the spring were optimistic. Our rival in the 1/16 finals of the playoffs was the Spanish “Betis”, he looked like a passable opponent. And in general, the playoff bracket looked so that reaching the semi-finals seemed real. But before the New Year, Berdyev and his staff were fired! Under the new coach – Rinat Bilyaletdinov – we could not get past Betis, although there were chances. After a draw away (1:1), we lost in Kazan – 0:2.

coaching science

“I have been lucky in my playing career – I have worked with many coaches; they are all different, and I took something from everyone – almost all of them influenced the formation of my coaching philosophy. For example, after working at Saturn with Alexander Tarkhanov, I was convinced that a football player is nowhere without equipment. Let’s take Capello – without discipline the team is nowhere. Let’s take Berdyev – without theoretical studies, with a detailed analysis of the opponent, nothing will come of it.

Without a varied training process, like Javi Gracia, the interest of footballers in training falls. Without good human relations in the team, like the same Gracia, Hiddink or Bozovic, it is difficult for the team to reveal their potential.

And sometimes the team needs a tough, direct conversation. Examples of how to express complaints to players in such situations are Vladimir Shevchuk and Vitaliy Shevchenko.

More about each topic is described in the printed version of the book “Goalkeeper of the people.”