He was worn in his arms in the USSR and suddenly thrown out of the national team! Later Kharlamov admitted – he violated the regime

An unpleasant moment in the career of the 17th issue. “The hockey player should dream of success. It should strive to be on the forefront. The athlete who does not dream of becoming a champion is bad, does not dream of defeating, surpassing his rivals. However … I don’t know where the line between ambition and vanity, but I know that it is not good to specifically attract attention. Throwing the puck, I do not rush up triumphantly my club. Not the first goal and, I hope, not the last. You can rejoice, triumph by abandoning the last, decisive puck that brings the team the title of world or country, Olympic champion. But is it worth it to rejoice by scoring a goal at the beginning of the season, when it is still ahead, when they are waiting for the team and you are together with it and good luck and grief? Yes, and you need to think about the opponent. His feelings need to be understood. So why is this demonstrative joy? I do not consider myself a star because my attitude towards hockey is far from impeccable, ”Kharlamov wrote in his book. Kharlamov’s Valery was always an excellent example of a hockey player, in which frantic talent and crazy disability organically coexisted in combination with hard work and modesty. The 17th number of CSKA and the USSR national team was not noticed (at least publicly) in a systematic violation of the regime or suffering from star disease. Valery tried to respect hockey and work for conscience without deceiving fate. But even such outstanding athletes as Kharlamov are not insured from local downs and thoughts about their own greatness.VideoOne of the most unpleasant periods in the career of the legendary striker fell on the-1975/76 season. At first, Valery went perfectly. CSKA won two pre -season tournaments in a row, and on one of them (Chkalov’s memorial in Gorky), our hero received a prize of the best striker. The next personal award found Kharlamov on the drawing of the Cup of the newspaper Sovetsky Sport. After that, Valery relaxed and reduced the requirements for himself, considering that he had already fallen into the necessary rut and gained the perfect shape. Although before, such a cool attitude to the matter was unusual for him. I believed that I have already gained a high sports uniform necessary for the difficult Olympic season and now I can give myself some relief, ”the two -time Olympic champion admitted. As the result, in the first games of the season, the army team began to lose points with rivals, which they previously won confidently. CSKA problems were not only in the weak team result, but also the decline of individual players. Among them was the 17th number. Valery could not feel his game in any way and return to the level that he demonstrated throughout his career. Because of this, the striker’s partners also suffered. “I referred to injuries, they really were, but the truth was that they had not interfered with me before. The reason for the failures was different – that I was far from observing the strict sports regime, ”the striker frank.The RIA Novosti resulted in the USSR national team went to comradely games in Czechoslovakia without Kharlamov. Forward was very worried and ashamed of this situation. And after the national team won two out of two matches, Valery was completely into a panic state. There are no irreplaceable masters – this is not a word, this is a fact that I realized, observing the matches in Prague, ”Valery said. To return the confidence of partners and the coaching staff, Kharlamov trained intensively with those hockey players who also did not get into the national team and engaged in Moscow. The star striker made every effort to return the former form and normalize the psychological state. And he succeeded. A month later, the Olympic champion was returned to the national team, and at the tournament for the prizes of the Izvestia newspaper, he became the best scorer and rehabilitated in the eyes of coaches and comrades.