Masseur "Zenith" Sergei Kolesnikov: "We got used to the hands. Former massage therapist of Zenit Sergey Kolesnikov: He taught the Hulk to go to the bathhouse after the matches The judges were offended by the parrot

“Arshavin calls at night: Anatolyich, I’m tryndets ...”

A lot of stars passed through the hands of the famous Zenith masseur - from Bubka and Arshavin to Hulk and ... Buzova.

From Sergei Kolesnikov a famous football player did not work out - his knee failed already at the start. But he retained his love for the game for the rest of his life. She helped to realize herself in sports - in the role of a massage therapist. On this path, Kolesnikov achieved truly outstanding heights in two different disciplines. In addition, the narrator Anatolyich, as he is called in his own way in Zenit, is amazing - a godsend for a journalist who is ready to listen.

- What prompted you to return from a well-deserved rest? Bored at work?
- It was necessary to change something in the work of the medical headquarters, to create a new team, a microclimate. I am a sociable person, cheerful, but I still consider professionalism to be my main quality: in March I will celebrate my anniversary - 40 years in the massage craft. When they called me back to Zenit, I couldn't refuse. I changed all my plans and went to work. But I have no regrets - so far so good, I can stand it. I'm tired, but it's a pleasant tiredness.

- How many were absent?
- Four or two years I worked at Dynamo and retired for the same amount. He took care of children, went home to his father in Gukovo - this is the Rostov region. He, thank God, is alive. 84 years old and still working! Trains a group of girls in basketball, takes them to competitions. A lot of good guys came out of Gukovo. One of my father's pupils played for CSKA and Kiev SKA, Olya Dvirna is the European champion in athletics. Basketball player Ermakova played in the American League. Honored coach of Russia, honored teacher - all the regalia are in his father. In addition to a normal pension ...

- How did you move from athletics to football?
- On the advice of Dr. Ipatenko, with whom I have worked for more than 20 years. First, he went to football, to CSKA to Gazzaev, and then he advised me: “This is an ungrateful job. Let's play football too."

- Why ungrateful?
- At the European or World Championships, there were 128-130 athletes for four massage therapists. And in football - three specialists for 23 players. And the salary is higher. In general, thought and agreed. Ipatenko brought him together with the Zenith doctor - the club did not even know that a massage therapist of this class lives in St. Petersburg. Brought a resume, talked and went to work. In mid-January 2004, he was already flying to the first football training camp in Turkey.

- Working conditions "before Gazprom" and now - heaven and earth?
- Certainly. The fees were very different. They flew with a double, on a small Tu-134. All places are occupied - you can’t lie down, like now. Hotels, food - everything was more modest. There were two fields in total at the base, and now there are only five grass fields plus one artificial one. The medical rehabilitation center was rebuilt anew: they asked me where to make sockets, where to put bathtubs for hydromassage, fonts. When Sergei Alexandrovich promised to win almost all tournaments in 10 years, not everyone took his words seriously. So we did it in three years - only we didn’t win the Champions League with the Intercontinental Cup. Everything else - the gold of the Premier League, the UEFA Cup, the Super Cups of Russia and Europe - won.

- In addition to workload and salary, what was the difference between working in such different disciplines?
- I have not been at home in the lung for 25 years. Every month - collection, three weeks away. And so constantly, in winter and summer. A cyclical sport: you flow smoothly from one season to another. And in football, the training camp lasts a maximum of two weeks - and then the guys are already starting to get psychologically tired: it’s long, hard without children, without a family.

- But it was in athletics that fate brought you together with truly legendary personalities.
- It's true. I not only traveled with the national team - after 1992, the guys began to take me to the stages of the Grand Prix. He massaged all the stars of world athletics - with the possible exception of Carl Lewis and Ato Boldon. They brought their masseurs. The rest went through my hands - Linford Christie, Donovan Bailey, Michael Johnson...

- How did you get in line?
- In 1993 we arrived at the Grand Prix final in London. The manager of our group was Johan Enkvist, the husband of Lyuda Narozhilenko, she was already playing for Sweden at that time. He advised a colleague who worked with Frankie Fredericks to contact me. It's cold outside, and Frankie is a boy from Namibia, thin and blue. They brought. I kneaded it, rubbed it, prepared it for the start. And what do you think? Won! And it started...

- I'm all attention.
- I'm sitting at the training camp in Podolsk. The conditions, of course, are still the same: cramped rooms for two people, amenities in the corridor ... The head coach arrives: “Seryoga, I don’t know what to do with you, but then a letter came from the Canadian Federation - they ask to go with Donovan Bailey (d two-time Olympic champion in the 100 meters. - Approx. "Championship") to Rome and Düsseldorf. I'm confused. And he with a smile: “Go. Let the Americans take away the gold medal.” Packed up and flew. El-Garruj, the world record holder in the middle and long distances, called for his team for two years. For a long time I worked with Sveta Masterkova individually. Marilyn Otty massaged, Divers.

- Under what circumstances did you meet Sergei Bubka?
- Funny story. I still lived in Gukovo, and I came to St. Petersburg for a training camp - before the 1983 World Cup. I look: I know two shestoviks, Irkutsk ones, but I don’t know the third one. I ask coach Nikonov: who is he? “For the first time,” he explains, “we are taking the kid.” I looked at him - a natural lumberjack! Healthy, chopped face, forelock hanging. “Is this a pole?!” - I ask again. Nikonov nods: “Fantastic potential, just incredible. It will be something." Bubka won the World Championship on the first try. And then six more.

Did any funny things happen to him?
- There was one tragicomic. In 1991, I was supposed to work with him at the World Championships in Tokyo and… I tore my Achilles while playing tennis. Well, I think it came. So Bubka insisted that they make a plaster boot for me - in it I flew to Japan. It turns out that he made a feasible contribution to the next triumph of Seryoga.

- How did the legend of the pole deal with a sense of humor?
- At the level. In Monaco, he performed unsuccessfully. On the way to the banquet, I tell him a joke to cheer him up. He stopped abruptly: “What are you telling me now? Tell me before the start - I would break the world record! So he rarely addressed me, but at the training camp he came almost every day. Big guy - we plowed decently with him.

Isinbayeva massaged at the Olympics in Sydney. She was still quite a girl then, she didn’t even complete the qualification, but you see what a star she has grown into ...

- Foreign stars surprised?
- Dennis Mitchell came with his masseur. He sat next to him and instructed: “Watch and remember how he does it.” Dennis and I worked closely. One day his girlfriend, Kirkland, was running the 100m hurdles in Edmonton. Final with Divers, who beat everyone. And on the spare field, the teams have their own tents, each flag hangs. And suddenly Mitchell and Kirkland rush - they fly past their American tent - and to us, to the Russian one. The Americans opened their mouths - they do not understand anything. And Dennis from the threshold: “Sergey! Sergey! Problem, neck! She needed to urgently "repair" her neck. I do - and she becomes the world champion. They were so happy! Mitchell came to me: "Ask what you want!".

- And you?
- A couch, I say, I want, like your massage therapist. Light, comfortable - 10 kilograms weighs in total (ours were twice as heavy). At the next start, Dennis fitted me with the same one. He kept his word. Remember Marion Jones?

- How not to remember - the legendary runner, Olympic champion!
- She came to me with a coach and a bodyguard. I ask: what kind of scar is this? They click: “Sergey, you can’t tell anyone this!”. Marion's favorite topic was: they say, the Russians are all on doping, but they are not. And then they took away all the medals from her and threw her behind bars - they soldered six months in prison for giving false testimony. We can limit ourselves to a suspended sentence, but she really was sitting ...

El-Garruj came with a "bodyguard" before the Grand Prix final in Moscow. The legs are thin, thin - he ran a half-rule. He began to massage him, and he screamed: “You kill me!”. “Be patient,” I say, but I myself think: “God forbid, if he doesn’t reach the finish line, there will be complaints.” Worried.

- Did you run?
- First! The next morning he meets: “Master, can I still come to you?”. The Moroccans offered me a salary - in Russia coaches don't get that much. We, they say, have our own plane, a base on the seashore. You will live like a sheikh.

- And you refused?!
- Imagine. I have a family with small children. I spent at least a week at home, I saw them. And so he left - and goodbye. The Americans called many times, the Germans rejected everything. It’s hard for me to endure foreign trips - I’m pulling home ...

- Did the authorities look askance when they helped foreigners?
- So their always were in priority. And then, in athletics, the attitude towards people of our profession is special, very respectful.

- Is it different in football?
- After three months of work in the team, I wanted to leave.

- Yah?!
- The attitude was completely different. Yuri Palych Semin - he called our brethren a "convoy" at all ( smiling). A football player plays, does not play - the salary drips. And in athletics, the stakes are symbolic. The main part of the income is prize money. Therefore, upon arrival at the training camp, the athletes raced to sign up for a massage, it was more convenient to choose a time window.

- How many one client was crumpled?
- 40-45 minutes. You need to massage five or six people a day - this is without taking into account morning work, preparation for training and starts. The athlete ran several segments - you need to shake it. Then the second workout is the same, and in the evening a general massage. Work, of course, hard labor.

- Did you have to deal with skepticism in football?
- At first, yes. Management perceived us as janitors or, I don't know, cleaners. The support of my wife helped. She persuaded me to wait at least a year. And then the guys leveled all this negativity. Well, with the advent of the new leadership, everything has changed. Plus, the guys had a word to say.

- Announce the entire list.
- Andryusha Arshavin, Sasha Kerzhakov, Vlad Radimov. Then the captain of the team was like a boatswain on the ship, he decided a lot, they listened to Vlad. And then Petrzhela himself realized the importance of our work. I massaged all the coaches - except for Dick.

- What is it?
- Never massaged - not an amateur. It's like he never got sick at all. A real Little General, such a strong man.

- How did you work with Petrzhela?
- Fine. When he met, he had a slight skepticism: a massage therapist and a massage therapist - just think. Two or three training camps were enough for Vlasta to radically reconsider the attitude towards our brother. He himself came for a massage, and brought his wife.

- First championship...
- Oh, it was the brightest impression! The UEFA Cup and the Super Cup were already perceived more calmly. And I have never seen such celebrations as in 2007. From the airport to Victory Square, a living corridor stood along the road. From time to time the bus slowed down, and we were asked: "Guys, get out - people are waiting." We went out and showed the cup. And so - to the stadium. "Petrovsky" is also full - people on the scoreboard watched the broadcast from Ramenskoye. The tension was fantastic, and the same happiness after - indescribable ...

10 years of the first Russian championship "Zenith". How it was

Memoirs of the participants of that season - Pogrebnyak, Lomberts, Tymoshchuk.

Vlad limped and continued to play, but when he entered the locker room during the break, blood sloshed in his boot: gurgle-gurgle.

- Who was the most disciplined patient?
- Tolya Timoshchuk. Sometimes he called: "Anatolyich, you need to massage." Gathered and went to him. Or he is to me - to the country. And once, already being a Bayern player, I traveled 180 kilometers from Germany to Austria, where Zenit and I were, so that I could make calves for him. While the guys were playing, he massaged Tolya. I have always admired his attitude towards himself and his work. Have you seen what form he is in? Performs all the work on a par with the young! And still comes for a massage - to me or Vyacheslavovich, Ryazantsev. Amazing person, real pro.

- Picky comrades come across?
- Believe it or not. The players were immediately imbued with the importance of recovery procedures. They said: "Anatolyich, you need to join the national team." And Mutko supported. But Semin did not care, and the topic died out. I received an official invitation to the national team already under Advocate. Then five or six people from Zenit were strongly attracted to the national team, well, I combined it.

- Someone besides the Lawyer avoided your procedures?
- The only player who never went to anyone for a massage was Bruno Alves. He didn't need a car. I have never met such people – he just lived for football. Trained, but he is not enough. Everyone has already left, and he is still on the field - playing tennisball, messing around with the kids. Fan! I once asked Bruno: “Why don’t you come?” "I'm fine," he replied. And I believed him. Unique. The rest went - even if they didn't really want to. Teips, for example, not everyone likes.

- Which are glued to the muscles?
- Not really. This is a rigid elastic band, like a band-aid, designed to fix the joints. Danny always had pain in his Achilles after a rest - such a specificity of the foot, running technique. When he was taped for the first time, he said: "Fantastic." Then I filmed the whole process on video. He said: "I'll show my fools in the Portuguese national team how to do it." In the FNL, the second league, even now, many do not really know what teips are. And back in 1981 we started using them in athletics - the Americans taught them. Gazzaev in CSKA had an obligation for teips - a special person did it in seconds. Sasha Kerzhakov, after an ankle fracture, was not only untaped for games - he did not go to training. Before, I didn't like it.

Does the tape restrict mobility?
- A little yes. Naturally, it is like plaster - so that the galik does not go anywhere.

- Are there football players suffering from flat feet?
- Many. Raise the arch of the foot with teips. I made tape on Achilles to Sveta Masterkova - she spat, cursed, tore it off. We had terrible fights! Shouted: “Glue to your sprinters. 10 seconds passed - and that's it. How can I cross-country run 15 kilometers? Nothing, got used to it and ran great. What I myself could not get used to at first in football was the beaten feet. Especially Vova Bystrov got it - because he was fast. They didn’t keep up with him - that’s why they beat him mercilessly. Solid bruises, abrasions.

- The most terrible memory?
- I will never forget the Champions League game against Rosenborg. One of the defenders landed on Radimov's ankle with spikes. Hole punched! Vlad limped and continued to play, but when he entered the locker room during the break, blood sloshed in his boot: gurgle-gurgle. Like a bullet wound!

- Replaced?
- Where there! Plugged it in and went to play. The second half ran off. In the morning he wakes up - the whole bed is covered in blood. I was amazed. Not people - cyborgs! And so constantly. Everyone thinks: they are free there, but I myself played a little and I know what a blow to the periosteum or thigh is. Sometimes it hurts so much, to the point of nausea! We do not treat with cold - we only remove the pain shock so that a person can get up and continue the game. But hematomas, bruises, tears - all this remains. Once Sasha Anyukov's ankle was so swollen that he could not pull on his boot during the break. I had to take a size larger - and so I played the second half in different ones. Vova Bystrov came with such legs - it was scary to look at. Amazing guy.

- In what?
- In relation to life, to the guys. He is so impulsive and explosive. Fast. Many sprinters have “talking” surnames - Borzov, Razgonov. Bystrov. When Volodya returned after Dick left, the team was in a deplorable state. So, almost on his shoulders, he dragged Zenit into third place. Seven games of such issued - fantastic! Scored, passed, penalty kicks, earned removals. And everyone somehow immediately cheered up - Bystrov charged those around him with his indefatigable energy.

- Painfully perceived swearing from the stands?
- More like - despite the fact that he was not to blame for that story. Petrzhela came and said: so that Bystrov would not be tomorrow. The agent agreed with Spartak - he went to Spartak. And who is reluctant to have a player like Bystrov? Volodya never complained, but everyone in the team understood everything.

Denisov's words were misinterpreted, and somewhere they misrepresented.

- Why is Arshavin unique?
- Amazing feeling of the ball and passing. Dribbling. Recently I called to work with me. And I already agreed, but then I changed my mind. I called him: “Andryusha, forgive me, the old one, but Kazakhstan is too far away.”

- In his youth, this company - Arshavin, Kerzhakov, Denisov, Anyukov - was it rather impudent?
- They were just boys - and suddenly fame fell on them. Arshavin and Denisov still address me to you. Denisov is also a great player. I learned a lot from Tymoshchuk, playing under attackers, and after Tolya's departure, he got used to a new role remarkably. Even now, I don’t see stronger defensive midfielders in Russia. Also an exemplary professional.

How it works. RFPL masseurs

A new chapter from our series on football professions is dedicated to people without whom you cannot imagine any team today - masseurs.

- Nevertheless, he did not avoid double references either.
- It was done more and more for the public. No one knows the whole kitchen from the inside. The fans would have known that Bystrov had actually kicked out Petrzhela, Petrzhela and would have been subjected to obstruction.

- Why did you get kicked out?
- Volodya is a direct guy, he joked somewhere, but Vlastimil did not understand the humor. The same rigmarole was with Capello: he and Igor laughed - he pushed them back. Not all coaches like jokes, laughter in the team is to their liking.

- I heard that Bystrov had a similar incident with Spalletti.
- We played in Grozny with Rubin. 0:1 lost. On the plane we gathered with the guys, we play on the tablet in "Who wants to be a millionaire?". We win a million - and Volodya screams with joy: “Ahhh!”. Spalletti glared at him unkindly. And he covered it.

Photo: from the personal archive of Sergei Kolesnikov

- I can't wait for the story about Arshavin.
- Day off, I'm sitting in the country. At half past eleven at night, a call: "Anatolyich, I'm tryndets." In my head immediately flashed: "Knee." It turned out that he went to training in a tackle, and his neck jammed. “Come tomorrow - I will help,” I answer. And he: “You didn’t understand - I’m in Sochi, in the national team. Maybe you should join us?" They were preparing for Macedonia. Half an hour later, the head of "Zenith" calls back: everything is in order, the ticket is ordered. Andrew himself paid for everything.

- Did you help?
- How not to help. After the first procedure, Andrey went running, in the evening I did the second series of manipulations - and everything was in order. They asked me to watch Ignashevich at the same time - the coaches really needed him. I had to upset Gus: nerve contusion, no chance. His leg even dangled - Sergey did not control it. Luckily we won without him. Arshavin calls joyfully after the match: “Anatolyich, you see what a life-giving massage does!”. They were with Bystry and scored a goal each.

- Is the physique "to blame" for the fact that Andrey avoided serious "breakdowns" in his career?
- Maybe. First, it's lightweight. Secondly, a low center of gravity. Push Pogrebnyak a little and he falls: the center of gravity is high. And Andrey is like a tumbler. Footballer as he should be. I had some work with him. Arshavin reacted so sensitively to massage that we stopped doing it two days before the game. “I'm like pasta after your procedures,” he laughed.

Having already retired, he flew to Sasha Kerzhakov in Zurich. To Turkey, for training camp, for 12 days. We are sitting somehow in the room: me, Sasha and Arthur Simonyan, our pupil. A Senegalese comes in, forgot his last name: "Father, help me." Kerzh laughs: “Anatolyich, so you inherited in Senegal - what kind of son did you wave ?!”.

- How did you get along with Denisov?
- He always complained about massage. Plus, my cheerful, sociable character played a role. For me, all of them - Denisov, Olezhka Vlasov, Alan Kasaev - are like children. When I arrived, they were boys. With their mouths open, they listened to my tales - where they were, with whom they worked ...

- What is Igor like in life?
- A very good, honest guy. Fundamental. Sometimes, I ask: "Well, shut up." And he boils: “I can’t!”.

- When they began to expose him as a grabber - how did they react?
- When he refused to play in Samara, he asked: “Igor, what are you doing, starred?”. He just waved it off: “Anatolyich, if you don’t know, it’s better to be silent.” I didn't bother with my soul. Then, already in the national team, they came with Bystrov for a massage and told how everything really happened. His words and desires were misinterpreted, and somewhere distorted. I have no right to tell everything - only after this conversation did I take the side of Denisov. In this we are similar - I also cannot endure injustice for a long time.

- Do I understand correctly that a massage parlor in a football team is something like a confessional?
- Absolutely. I have always been an outlet for the guys. They came to me and cry, and tell something. I know almost everything about everyone.

The women are asked to leave. Mancini tightens regime

Zabolotny's first goal, Kokorin's second and an unusual guest in training: all the latest Zenit news from our special correspondent in Dubai.

- Tell us what we don't know about the top scorer of the current squad.
- At my request, Sasha Kokorin leveled the nasal septum. When Kaka came to Milan, everything was fine. One problem - I got tired quickly, I could not withstand the entire load. They did an examination - it turned out that the septum was bad and the bite was wrong. Horses do not look at their teeth to determine whether they are old or young. Look at the bite. Because if it is wrong, the animal cannot run at maximum for a long time, it starts to suffocate. These things are very important. See what volumes Kokorin is performing now. After him, both Daler Kuzyaev and Dima Poloz did this procedure with us.

- In terms of massaging, was Hulk the hardest client?
- Yes, he was like a discus thrower in terms of volume. Powerful knives, back.

- Were you tired of him?
- After throwers of 135 kilos, it's hard to surprise me with someone. And then the Hulk is quite soft - rarely hard.

- From the world of politics or show business, was someone massaged?
- Buzova. At the invitation of Alan Kasaev, he somehow went to Lokomotiv, already being a pensioner. And Dima Tarasov asked: "Anatolyich, Olya has problems with her back - look?" I did everything. For a long time my phone was torn when she posted the whole thing on Instagram ...

It is impossible to keep up with Sergei Kolesnikov - he is massaging someone all the time. But it would be unfair not to talk at the end of the season with a person who successfully works both in Zenit and in the Russian national team.

And it hurts there, and there

- Sergey Anatolyevich, how were you invited to the national team?

- Sergey Fursenko knows me very well. He carefully selected the medical staff when he was president of Zenith. Then he left for the RFS. Someone once asked: Could you help the team?" I agreed. The lawyer knows me. His assistant Oderland too. There are a lot of guys from Zenit in the national team. Andrei Arshavin, I heard, addressed the leadership with such a request. Why not help?

- Outraged by the episode in which Dyadyun injured Malafeev. Moreover, a goal against Zenit was counted. I say to the judge: Aren `t you ashamed? You saw him hit him!» Malafeev immediately had a bruise on his side - the referee could have looked. Instead, he says: Go doctor, heal, mind your own business". I tell him: If I treat like you think, everyone will die". In general, he understood everything.

This material was published on the BezFormata website on January 11, 2019,
below is the date when the material was published on the site of the original source! BC Zenit vs Panathinaikos. Photo: Nevasport/Veronika Perminova St. Petersburg basketball club Zenit today, January 26, will play against UNICS Kazan in the VTB United League regular season.
Nevsky Sport
26.01.2020 Alena Kostornaya. Photo: Imstagram The European Figure Skating Championships have ended.
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26.01.2020

Masseur "Zenith" Sergey Kolesnikov explained that he did not insult the assistant chief referee Anton Averyanov during the Sunday match "Rubin" - "Zenith" (2:3). It turns out that the masseur did not scold, but simply told a joke. The judging team did not appreciate the joke.

After the victory of the St. Petersburg club with a score of 3:2 in the away match of the 24th round of the Premier League with Rubin, a strange entry appeared in the game protocol. “After the end of the match in the telescopic tunnel, the massage therapist of the Zenit team, Kolesnikov S.A. rudely insulted the assistant judge Averyanova A.N.,” the protocol says. It was introduced by the chief referee of the match Sergey Karasev.

The fact is that the goal of the Kazan club, after which Rubin led 2-0, was scored after a rough attack on Zenit goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev. Forward red-green Vladimir Dyadyun crashed into the goalkeeper with his foot. While he was lying on the lawn, unable to rise to his feet, the Rubin players scored a goal against the opponents. And judge Karasev counted the goal.

Despite the fact that the injured Vyacheslav Malafeev played the first half to the end, he still needed a replacement during the break. On Monday, the player made a post on his Twitter. “I passed the examination: ultrasound and tomography. A hematoma and a bruise in the thigh area, ”the football player writes. Due to injuries, Malafeev will not be able to train until Friday. And, therefore, he will miss the Russian Cup match against Dynamo Bryansk, which is to be held on Wednesday.

The judges were offended by the parrot

The masseur Kolesnikov, who was not indifferent to the fate of his club, was extremely indignant at the behavior of the player of the competing club and tried to influence the judge in the only way available to him - with words. However, according to Kolesnikov, he did not offend anyone, and there are many witnesses to this.

“During the match, I tried to show Karasev that Dyadyun had injured Slava and our goalkeeper was lying for a reason. I say, "Don't you see? There was a blow! To which the answer is: “Go, doctor! Heal!". Karasev refused to look at the injury and counted the goal. Everyone was in shock. If the players continue to play like this, we will be left without collections. One goalkeeper is injured, now the second,” said the masseur.

When a simple remark on the judging team did not work, Kolesnikov decided to rely on sarcasm. “The only thing I did was tell a joke. The parrot swore at the policeman, and the policeman fined the owner. Then the owner punished the parrot. The policeman walks in circles, waiting for the parrot to swear in order to fine the owner again. “What are you walking? joked the parrot. “You already know everything about yourself,” Izvestia quoted Kolesnikov as saying. “I don’t know why these words were taken as an insult,” said the massage therapist.

The massage therapist's jokes will be sorted out in the RFU

According to Kolesnikov, judge Karasev realized that he did not look very good in this situation and decided to “annoy” the club by writing about the incident in the protocol. Now the liberties allowed by the Zenith masseur will be considered by the control and disciplinary committee of the Russian Football Union. There is a possibility that the case will be referred to the Ethics Committee of the RFU. However, on Monday evening, the press service of Zenit stated that they had not received any notifications from the RFU about this.

Recently, the referee Karasev himself found himself at the center of a scandal. During the derby "Spartak" - CSKA (2:2), held on August 28, the leadership of the red and white was very dissatisfied with the refereeing during the match. According to representatives of Spartak, CSKA player Vasily Berezutsky played along with his hand when the first goal was scored. The owner of the club, Leonid Fedun, even stated after the match that he would do everything so that Sergey Karasev would no longer work as the chief referee.

He accused the former masseur of the team, Sergei Kolesnikov, of having performed manual therapy in the neck area of ​​the famous Ukrainian football player, ex-forward of Dynamo Moscow, Andrei Voronin, without special education and examinations. According to Rezepov, it was for this reason that the football player was injured and was forced to continue treatment in Switzerland and America, and then completely leave the sport. Sergei Kolesnikov, especially for Izvestia, told all the details of the story that happened more than 2 years ago.

About the interview with Alexander Rezepov, in which he accused me of causing injury to Andrei Voronin, I learned from my son. He read, called me and told me. I was shocked! It didn't even fit in my head: why? Why? - Sergey Kolesnikov admitted. - When I moved from Zenit to Dynamo, Alexander Rezepov was the team's chief doctor. And one of the massage therapists was his friend Andrey Alekseev, who was sent to work in the youth team, and I was appointed in his place. And Rezepov immediately began to treat me with prejudice, reproaches and misunderstanding.

- What happened then to Andrey Voronin?

Andrei was injured in training. At that moment I was with the Russian national team. Therefore, I could not injure him in any way, but on the contrary, I tried to help him. I did my best to get it back to work as soon as possible. After that, he even played one match. But after that complications began, and he was forced to go to Switzerland. There were no claims against me from Voronin. If I did something wrong, he would immediately blame me. Therefore, Rezepov's words are a lie! After this story, he wrote to the club management a denunciation of me. They even wanted to fire me from Dynamo. But Igor Denisov, Alexander Kokorin, Alan Kasaev and other players wrote a letter in support of me, explaining to the management that the team needed me. The former sports director of Dynamo, Guram Adzhoev, also helped. We had a serious conversation, where he even offered to fire Rezepov, but I was against it. I realized that he had four children. In general, I am not a conflict person, and for me all this was wild. Denunciations, as in the days of the 37th year. I didn't understand how a person could say that about me. But neither I nor Igor Denisov began to do anything and disclose this situation. Then the club sorted it out, and all charges were dropped from me.

- Rezepov claims that manual therapy is not included in your specialization.

I worked for the national athletics team for 25 years, 10 years for Zenit and 2 years for Dynamo. My work experience is 38 years. During this time I have done various massages to many world sports stars. I was lucky to work with such athletes as Dennis Mitchell, Merlin Otti, the outstanding Michael Johnson, Linford Christie, who constantly had problems with his neck, Svetlana Masterkova, Sergey Bubka. Did neck massages and Russian football players. Once, in the middle of the night, Andrey Arshavin called me, who at that time was at the location of the national team in Sochi. Ahead was the game with Macedonia in the qualifying round of the European Championship-2008. He asked me to urgently come and work with his sore neck. I dropped everything and flew. I massaged him for two days. After that, Arshavin and the team flew to the match. There he had an excellent game and even scored a goal. Similarly, when he was with the national team on the eve of the World Cup in Brazil, he helped Vasily Berezutsky, who also had problems with his neck.

Why did you leave Zenith? They say that you had a conflict with the former head coach of the team, Luciano Spalletti...

With Spalletti, we had a misunderstanding about some of our Russian players who were still playing in the team then. We are talking about Igor Denisov, Vladimir Bystrov, Andrei Arshavin and Roman Shirokov. When I came to Zenit, they were all still boys. For me, they are my children. And if any unfair attitude was manifested towards them, then it hurt me. And I stood up for the guys. I left Zenit of my own free will. He moved to Dynamo on the recommendation of not only Igor Denisov. I was called by all the Dynamo players with whom we were in the national team, and there were eight of them at that time. They knew about my disagreements with the Italian and began to actively invite me to them. When Denisov moved, it became an impetus. Then negotiations were already held with the president of FC Dynamo Boris Rotenberg. Now many of the Zenit players are luring me back. Lomberts recently asked when I would be back. He says that without me it's bad.

- However, your relationship with Stanislav Salamovich did not work out either?

This is true. Initially, as soon as he joined the team, everything was fine. Then he started having problems with Denisov, and, accordingly, with me. Now that Cherchesov has left the team and Denisov has returned to the starting lineup, most likely I will be invited back. Although there have been no official discussions on this topic so far.

- Colleagues by profession call you “magic hands” (magic hands, English - “magic hands”). Where did it come from?

I was nicknamed that even when I was working in athletics. Foreign athletes came up with it because no one else does massage like me. I was even invited to work in Morocco and America several times, but I always refused. I am Russian person. I want to live and work only in Russia.

- Why did you leave athletics for football?

My very good friend and doctor Oleg Ipatenko, with whom we worked together for about 20 years, advised me to switch to football. He just then just left to work from athletics to football CSKA. And at that time I was tired of traveling around the world, because track and field athletes have a lot of training camps. For 25 years I have been on the road 300 days a year. I hardly saw my family. Football has become like manna from heaven for me. The difference is noticeable: the training camp lasts only 12 days, I flew away for the away game, but two days later I was already at home. Working in football, I felt like a man.

As it turned out, the massage therapist is the same "blacksmith of victories" as a football player and coach. Sergei Anatolyevich told MK in St. Petersburg about how he ended up at Zenit, about the problematic players, from his point of view, and also about his new position in the Russian national team.

Alves does not need a massage

- Sergey Anatolyevich, how long have you been working as a massage therapist at Zenit?
- Before that, I worked for 25 years in the Russian and USSR national track and field athletics teams. He dealt not only with our athletes, but also with foreign ones. And I got to Zenit in 2004 on the recommendation of the CSKA doctor and my old friend Oleg Nikolaevich Ipatenko. He and I worked together in the athletics team. Once he came to St. Petersburg, we crossed paths, chatted. He said that after all, this is a thankless job - athletics - and you need to go to football. It's hard to be at the training camp three weeks a month, I want to see my family too. And then he offered to talk about me with my friends at Zenith. Then coached Vlastimil Petrzhela. I came in for an interview and got hired right away because my track record was good.

- Were you able to readjust right away?
- No, it was very hard for the first six months. In athletics, massage therapists are worth their weight in gold, as this is a cyclic sport, and football is a speed-strength one. Not all players necessarily need a massage. For example, Bruno Alves never massages at all. Although there are football players who, without massage, are like fish without water. Igor Denisov constantly visits my colleague Alexander Ryazantsev. Everyone's muscles are built differently. For some, they get clogged, so after the match you definitely need a massage, someone needs it before the game. Or you can work with Andrei Arshavin only for 3-4 days, because his massage is too relaxing and then he cannot play.

- Do you always run out onto the field when the players get injured? What do you usually do?
- If a player has some kind of bruise or he has pulled a muscle, we freeze it with a special tool to remove the pain for a while, and finally my technologies remove it. At one time, Alexander Ryazantsev and I were taught to work with Chinese points, which can also be called magical, you press on them - and everything goes away! Once Slava Malafeev had a hip bruise, I ran onto the field and pressed hard on one of these points. Malafeev cried out in pain almost throughout the entire stadium, I remember the referee still saying: “Wow doctor!” But then the pain suddenly disappeared.

- Does it happen that you run out on the field without any work, for example, when the players pretend and - Which of the head coaches did you massage?
- Vlastimila Petrzhela, he had problems with his neck. Dick Advocaat generally only once applied, and also about the neck. Spalletti also massaged only once at the training camp. He said he had problems with his knee. I started work, and Luciano said to me: “You don’t have to spend a lot of time on me, leave strength for the guys.” An amazing person, of course. He constantly thinks about his players.

- Who are the most problematic players?
- Krizanac has back problems, he constantly needs massages. Danko Lazovic recently "broke" - before the game with "Terek" he did not come for a massage, and this was a big mistake for him. After that incident, he is constantly being treated by me. Vova Bystrov needs another thorough inspection. When he came from Spartak, I immediately noticed that he was a problematic player. He's a sprinter, it's built into him to run, even when his muscles aren't ready for it. There is always a risk of tearing ligaments, but massages reduce these risks.

- Where do you work most often?
- During the quarantine at the Nevsky Palace Hotel, we even have a massage room there.

Who contacts you the least?
- I was talking about Bruna Alves. Also Alexander Kerzhakov. But I recommend massage to everyone, it reduces the likelihood of injury.

- They say that Alexander Anyukov often visits you for receptions?
- Yes, and he knows all his points. He also does not like massage with ointment.

Legionnaires are shocked by the sauna

- Is it true that you massaged Anatoly Tymoshchuk after Zenit?
- Yes, when we were getting ready, Tolik specially came from Munich and asked for a massage. He, like many Russian players playing abroad, complains about the specialists there. I also remember that there was a case when Andrei Arshavin urgently called me. He calls at eleven o'clock in the evening and says: "Anatolyich, don't turn your neck, please come!" And Andrey then ended up in Sochi at the training camp of the national team. I told him: “It’s better to come yourself, I have a lot of work at Zenit now.” As a result, Andrei still agreed with Zenit, and they let me go. I gave him two massages, and then he scored a goal for Macedonia.

- Why are our players not satisfied with foreign massage therapists?
- I don't really want to praise myself, but I'll try to explain. The first rule of foreigners is to do no harm. If in Europe an athlete declares for a massage therapist, then his career will immediately end. Our massages are tougher. It’s just that if you don’t press at all, like Europeans, then massage doesn’t help much.

- You recently began to officially work in the national team. How did it happen?
- Everything was for me. First, Sergey Fursenko, who had previously worked at Zenit, became the president of the RFU, then Dick Advokaat was appointed head coach, plus Andrei Arshavin constantly recommended me.

- Legionnaires quickly get used to your massages?
- Yes, at the first appointment they are surprised by the rigidity, but then, on the contrary, they like it. Much more they are struck by the sauna. I taught Danny, Dominguez, Lomberts, Lazovic to the sauna after training. Those who go for the first time are constantly frightened and shout that the Russians are crazy. And our guys just laugh at them. But I tell them that it is necessary, and they listen to me.

- Tell me honestly: when a team wins the championship or the UEFA Cup, do masseurs also receive bonuses?
- It's actually a secret. But if everything was different, I would not look so pleased, - Kolesnikov laughs.