– I came to the Tallinn “Sport” in 1986, there was a very young Valera Karpin, – recalls Valery Viktorovich, who has lived in Tallinn for a long time. She wasn’t even 17 at the time. The previous coach wanted to expel him: they say, he is still very young, what does he need him for? And I liked Valera with something, I couldn’t say what. I went to “Sport” and left Valera.
The following season he hardly played, but in training he worked on equal terms with everyone.
Before the 1988 season, we went to the training camp in Sochi. Almost the entire major league met there. I must say that the tower teams always played with us with pleasure. And so we played with Dnipro, who was trained by Kucherevsky. And they won 2:1.
– Then Dnipro was a superstar, taking silver in 1987. Protasov once again became the top scorer (right after the 1987 season, Protasov and Litovchenko moved to Dynamo kyiv. – Approx. Auth.).
– Dnipro was very strong, I tell you, Kucherevsky trained, with whom I had a very good relationship. So, we beat Dnepr and Karpin gave two assists. Then they played with Zenit 1:1, but the referee of Zenit made a tie at the end. There, in Sochi, Karpin caught the eye of CSKA, he was rushed to Moscow.
– Karpin ruffy, how did you work with him?
– Our relationships were normal, work. Valera left all the harshness out of the field. I saw him as a player with good potential.
What do you think of his career as a coach?
– I cannot say that Valery is my student, but I can say that I contributed to ensuring that a very good football player Karpin first appeared in Russian football, and then a good coach.
– What would you like to wish the birthday boy?
– Cheers, the rest will gnaw with their teeth.
