Ivan Edeshko entered the history of sports as an outstanding master of basketball, the author of the famous pass to Alexander Belov, who brought the USSR national team gold Olympic medals in Munich.
Born on March 25, 1945 in the village of Stetski, Grodno region of Belarus. Father - Edeshko Ivan Alexandrovich (1907-1997). Mother - Edeshko Anna Vikentievna (1912-1988). Wife - Edeshko Larisa Andreevna (born May 25, 1946). Daughter - Edeshko Natalia Ivanovna (born in 1970).
Graduated from the Belarusian State Institute of Physical Culture (1965-1970). By profession - trainer-teacher.
Ivan Edeshko entered the history of sports as an outstanding master of basketball, the author of the famous pass to Sergei Belov, who brought the USSR national team Olympic gold medals in Munich. His sports career began in Minsk in 1963-1970, where he played for Spartak. Since 1970, I. Edeshko has been in military service. In 1971-1977, 1979 and 1980 he plays for the CSKA club, in 1978 and 1981. played for SKA (Kyiv). From 1980 to 1984 - coach of the national junior team and the USSR national basketball team. From 1984 to 1987 - worked as a coach in Guinea-Bissau. In 1987-1990. - coach of the CSKA team and the USSR national team. In 1990-1992. - CSKA Head Basketball Coach. From 1992 to 1995 he worked as a coach in Lebanon. In 1995 he returned to CSKA, where until 1997 he was the coach of the CSKA team. From 1997 to the present he has been working as a coach for the basketball club "Sporting" in Lebanon.
I.I. Edeshko - Olympic champion (1972), Olympic silver medalist (1976), world champion (1974), world championship medalist (1978), European champion (1971, 1979) .), silver medalist of the European Championship (1975), bronze medalist of the European Championship (1973), winner of the European Champions Cup (1971), champion of the USSR (1971-1974, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980) .), silver medalist of the USSR Championship (1975), winner of the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR (1975, 1979).
The victory at the Olympic Games was marked by the Honorary title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR and the Order of the Badge of Honor. For training the players of the USSR national team and winning the world championship, he was awarded the Honorary title of Honored Coach of the USSR and was awarded the medal "For Labor Valour". He was also awarded the badge "For sports prowess" and commemorative medals.
He loves everything connected with nature: work in the country, travel. He is fond of music of the 70-80s, jazz and variety art. Favorite writer is Jack London. Prefers domestic cinema, especially films with the participation of V. Vysotsky, A. Mironov, E. Leonov, M. Ulyanov. He tries not to miss the opportunity to meet old friends, friends of his youth. He considers the main success in life to be that the work coincided with his favorite hobby - basketball.
Ivan Dvorny was born on January 5, 1952 in the village of Yasnaya Polyana, Omsk Region. Sports, athletics, began to engage in high school. At regional competitions, he proved himself and got noticed by sports specialists who offered him a choice between wrestling and basketball. Ivan chose basketball and moved to the city of Omsk. Since 1966, he has been playing basketball at the children's and youth sports school with Honored Coach Viktor Nikolayevich Promin.
He began playing for the Uralmash basketball club in 1969, under the guidance of coach Alexander Kandel. Then, at the invitation of Vladimir Petrovich Kondrashin, he moved to the city of St. Petersburg to play for Spartak.
In 1972, after the appointment of Vladimir Kondrashin to the post of Head Coach of the USSR national team, Dvorny joined the national team. Together with the team next year he went to the XX Summer Olympic Games in the German city of Munich, where he won the title of Olympic Champion. After the Olympics, he successfully played for the Spartak club for another year.
A year after the triumph at the Olympics, in 1973, the basketball team went on a two-month tour of America. Having played more than a dozen matches in different tournaments, the team returned home. With them, the players brought things to relatives and for resale. At the Sheremetyevo airport, all these things were described at customs. They decided to arrange a show trial and the choice fell on Ivan Dvorny. The basketball player was sentenced to 3 years. With the assistance of Vladimir Kondrashin, he was released ahead of schedule and transferred to the village of Nurma, Leningrad Region.
Ivan Vasilyevich was allowed to play in 1976, Spartak-Primorye from the city of Vladivostok, Primorsky Krai took the team. The team played very well with him, and the athlete himself often scored 20 points per game. Two years later, he moved to the Moscow Dynamo club, but did not stay at the club for a long time. Previously, he became the silver medalist of the USSR Championship, the owner of the European Cup Winners' Cup, the silver medalist of the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, the winner of the First World Basketball Festival in the Republic of Peru and the tournament in memory of Yu.A. Gagarin.
In 1980, Dvorny returned home to his village and took up beekeeping. After some time, he moved to the city of Omsk, got a job as a mechanic in the Moskovka locomotive depot. He worked in the depot for 14 years and another 6 years in the fire department. At the same time, he played for the Omsk teams Shinnik and Lokomotiv.
On the advice of a friend, in November 2001 he left for permanent residence in the city of Baltimore, USA. Then he returned to his homeland, lived in the city of Omsk. Later, the story “Block Shot” by Vladilen Lekh was published, dedicated to the dramatic fate of the Olympic Champion.
Dvorny was appointed President of the Basketball Federation of the Omsk Region in February 2012. In October of the same year, he joined the coaching staff of the 1716 basketball club as a consultant coach.
Dvorny Ivan Vasilyevich died on September 22, 2015 from lung cancer. He was buried in the city of Omsk at the Novo-Yuzhnoye cemetery.
For merits in sports activities, Ivan Vasilyevich was awarded the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.
Ivan Ivanovich Edeshko(March 25, 1945, Stetsky village, Grodno district, Grodno region, Byelorussian SSR, USSR) - Soviet basketball player. Height - 196 cm. Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1972).
Graduated from the Belarusian Institute of Physical Education (1970).
Biography
Played for Spartak (Minsk), CSKA (Moscow), SKA (Kyiv).
He was remembered for his “golden” pass to Alexander Belov three seconds before the end of the final match with the US team at the Olympics in Munich (1972).
Coach of the USSR national team at the 1982 World Cup (1st place) and the 1987 European Championship (2nd place). Honored Coach of Russia, Honored Coach of the USSR.
Coach of the CSKA men's team - champion of Russia in 1992. Head coach of the Russian junior team in 1998-2000. Since 2000 he has been the head coach of the Russian youth team.
Achievements
- Olympic champion 1972, bronze medalist at OI-76
- World champion 1974, silver medalist of the World Cup-78
- European champion 1971, 1979, silver medalist of the European Championship-75; bronze medalist of the European Championship-73
- Champion of the USSR 1971-74, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980. Silver medalist of the USSR championship 1975
- Champion of the Universiade 1970; silver medalist - 1973
- Owner of KECH-71.
- He was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1972), the Order of Honor (2006), the medal "For Labor Valor" (1982).
Family
Father - Edeshko Ivan Aleksandrovich (1907-1997). Mother - Edeshko Anna Vikentievna (1912-1988). Brother - Evstafiy Edeshko - works at the Department of Physical Education at the Grodno State University named after Yanka Kupala.
Wife - Edeshko Larisa Andreevna (born in 1946), graduated from Moscow State University, worked as a teacher. Daughter - Edeshko Natalia Ivanovna (born in 1970), tennis player, master of sports, worked at CSKA. Son-in-law - Andrey Artemyevich Nechaev, (born in 1963), former president of the Khimki basketball club (August 2012 - January 2013). Grandchildren: Artem, Ivan.
Sources
- 100 years of Russian basketball: history, events, people: a reference book / Compiled by V. B. Kvaskov. - M.: Soviet sport. - 274 p.: ill. ISBN 5-9718-0175-9
Legends are different. In any case, they cause reverent awe, invariably appearing in contact with the great pages of history. Communication with the best basketball player of Belarus of the 80th anniversary, in addition to awe, also causes professional admiration: not every star is able to interest the interlocutor so much that an hour of conversation seems like a minute, and questions written down in a journalistic notebook for some reason do not want to end.
Ivan EDESHKO does not like beaten themes, which, alas, cannot be avoided. But, speaking diplomatically: “You know, I’d better put a video cassette with my own recording for you,” he repeats the learned answers, and with pleasure delves into philosophical reasoning, catching a fresh thought in the conversation. Last weekend in Vitebsk, where the basketball anniversary was celebrated, our illustrious countryman was constantly in the spotlight, but he unquestioningly agreed to an interview for PB.
FROM THE DOSSIER “PB”
Ivan EDESHKO. Born on March 25, 1945 in Grodno. 195 cm. Defender / forward. Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Honored Coach of the USSR and Russia. He started playing basketball at the age of 14. The first coach is Yakov Fruman. He played for Spartak (Minsk) (1963-67), Radiotekhnik (Minsk) (1968), Burevestnik (Minsk) (1970), CSKA (1971-77, 79-80), SKA (Kiev) ( 1978). From 1971 to 1980 - player of the USSR national team. Olympic champion (1972), Olympic silver medalist (1976), world champion (1974), world championship silver medalist (1978), European champion (1971, 79), European championship silver medalist (1975), European championship bronze medalist (1973) ), winner of the European Champions Cup (1971), champion of the USSR (1971-74, 76, 77, 79, 80), silver medalist of the USSR championship (1975), winner of the Spartakiad of the peoples of the USSR (1975, 79). He was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor and the medal For Labor Valour. Head coach of the USSR junior national team (1980-82), coach of the USSR national team (1982-84, 87-90), head coach of the Russian youth team (1999-2001), coach of the Russian national team (2002). He headed the clubs of Guinea-Bissau (1984-87), Lebanon (1992-94, 95-96), CSKA (1990-92), Shakhtar (Cheremkhovo / Irkutsk) - 2000-2002. Coach of CSKA (1994-95, 97-98, 2002-03), Dynamo (Moscow region) - since 2003. As a coach - world champion (1982), champion of Russia (1992, 96, 98), champion of Lebanon (1993, 94, 96), bronze medalist of the Asian Champions Cup (1996).
Grodno guy with a village residence permit
Curiously, both winners of the survey conducted by “Pressball” are now foreigners. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Galina Savitskaya became a Spaniard, and Ivan Edeshko became a Russian. However, Ivan Ivanovich considers citizenship a mere formality.
I am a Russian only according to my passport. But I have always considered and still consider myself a Belarusian. This is my home, my roots. And now it was not a holiday that seduced me, and not even the fact that I was recognized as the best in the history of Belarusian basketball, although, I will not hide, it was very pleasant, but the opportunity to pay tribute to the country that gave me so much. Therefore, I simply had to be here, to meet with veterans, friends, many of whom I had not seen for a very long time. Now I work as a senior coach-consultant in Dynamo near Moscow. Of course, the position is not entirely satisfactory - I'm used to being a head coach. But I was asked a lot to help the new team. In addition, last season I didn’t really work anywhere, but I don’t want to degrade, because practice is important in coaching.
Ivan Ivanovich, you are a popular person, always in the spotlight. Here, in Belarus, do you feel a special attitude towards yourself than, say, in Irkutsk or Moscow?
I'm probably treated the same way everywhere. Why is a person treated badly, with some kind of prejudice? Because not everyone manages to remain human in the biblical sense of the word. No one in Russia or Belarus can say that sporting achievements have spoiled me, that I am arrogant.
Reference books say that you were born in the small village of Stetski in the Grodno region. How did you get into big sport and basketball in particular?
In fact, I was born in Grodno, where my family had moved earlier. It was just written in the parish register of the church in the village where my parents are from. How did you get into basketball? He went in for many sports, and when the basketball section opened, he signed up. There he stayed. One of the reasons - there were a lot of rings in the city then, in every yard, every school. Even when there was no section, there was an opportunity to quit, play with friends. For a long time he was the penultimate in growth in the team, but between the ages of 16 and 17 he suddenly stretched out by 14 centimeters. Everything was decided by itself. In addition, there were good coaches - Yakov Iosifovich Fruman, Anatoly Ivanovich Martsinkevich.
- Who was your first mentor?
In fact, he began to work with Fruman, and received the basics of skill at the youth school from Martsinkevich. I saw what kind of person he was, how he treated the matter, I saw what a fan he was, an inventor, an excellent psychologist. Now there are few of them ... It was from Martsinkevich that I realized who I want to become. I am very grateful to Alexander Rymarchuk. Much was given to me by meetings with the team of our agricultural institute, in which Yagovdik, the former governor of Grodno Dubko, spoke. Then I was still at school, and our matches were central in all the championships of the city and region. As a tenth-grader, I already played with students twice a week in the Red Banner Palace of Culture. I ran to adults after training at a children's sports school and even then I was a member of the regional team.
After school I studied at the Polytechnic Institute. I passed the exam, but did not pass the competition for the faculty that I wanted. Of course, they kept me in mind as a promising athlete, so they helped me find a faculty where my points were enough. He took up the specialty “foundry” with an eye to the fact that in a year he would be transferred to that more prestigious faculty. But, after completing two courses, I met a man whom you know well. He talked to me, said that he sees my future in sports, and said a phrase that I will remember forever: “It is better to be a good coach than a bad engineer.” And he convinced me to move to Spartak.
And this man...
Kudryashov Vyacheslav Alexandrovich. He was supposed to come to Vitebsk for the holiday, but, unfortunately, he fell ill - he has problems with his leg. I would love to see him.
Belarusian Magic or American Edeshko?
In fact, in “Spartak” Edeshko was trained first by Gukov, then by Kudryashov. And Ivan Panin became the first coach who appointed him to the position that glorified Edeshko as a brilliant dispatcher and allowed him to become the author of the most famous assist in the history of basketball.
Then, after all, with a height like mine, they sent a winger to the place, and I knew how to do everything. Later, when he moved to Moscow, he became, probably, the first in the Union who, with a height of 195 centimeters, was a point guard. Interestingly, at that time in the national team there were many little ones faster than me - they overtook them by 100, 200 meters. But I was faster with the ball. There are a lot of nuances here: a sense of the situation, picking up speed before receiving a pass ... The ball never bothered me during acceleration. And it was easy to distribute gears on the move.
- Do you think this is a natural feeling?
I think yes. In addition, this is also the nuance of the intricacies of the Grodno school, which I absorbed in two training sessions as a child. After all, I was later compared to Magic Johnson, who, however, began to play later. I also liked hidden passes, wedged into the crowd of opponents, made discounts.
In 1970, Gomelsky was removed from the national team, Vladimir Petrovich Kondrashin was appointed, who immediately attracted me to the team, despite the fact that I was already 25. And Gomelsky had to listen to a lot of reproaches: “Where was this player who now works wonders in national team?” And Alexander Yakovlevich became the coach of CSKA and, in spite of the conversations, began to prove his case.
It turned out that at Kondrashin I went out in the top five, and in CSKA - from the bench. The relationship with the coach was strained. Only recently on television Gomelsky said: “If Bobrov was in football, then Edeshko was in basketball. I often did not understand him, but even then he surpassed me in understanding basketball. Yes, I did not put him in the squad because he often lost balls. But Edeshko made basketball spectacular.” If Petrov was the “fifth column” in hockey - this is Tarasov’s statement, then in basketball it was me. We kept ourselves independent, reaching out to families.
Kondrashin played a decisive role in my life. He opened me up for the national team, took care of me, trusted me even in difficult times, loved him like I did - and for this, in particular, Gomelsky “rewarded” me with antipathy.
- When was your first meeting with Magic Johnson?
At the tournament in Vilnius. I think it's 1979. Magic was then only a student. Then we met with him in America. By the way, in Moscow we also played with Julius Irving, David Thompson - the first NBA figures.
- What are the feelings?
Very gifted players. I remember well how Irving just flew over me. Thompson hammered balls from above even through the two-meter Sasha Belov. I always liked to tell that black athletes have amazing data - when they jump out, you can read the size of the sneakers on the sole.
Considered myself a loser before three seconds
Honestly, we did not touch on the topic of the famous pass at the Olympics in Munich. Talking about the Union team, for which Edeshko played until the age of 34, about the huge competition for getting into the squad, about comparison with the current Russian team, Ivan Ivanovich himself switched to talking about the great confrontation with the States.
Last year we were at the World Championships, and the Americans released a cassette dedicated to the 30th anniversary of our victory in Munich. I have it, and, probably, the only person in Russia. Then I set a condition: I will give an interview only if I get a copy of the film. First, they show a safe containing the silver medals of the Americans, which they refused, the symbols of the Cold War between the USSR and the USA - Red Square, parades of athletes, tanks, a strong army, miners in the face, a scarlet banner, a hammer and sickle, a rapidly developing sport .. They give a cut of the moments how the Soviet Union played rudely, they say, our goal was to win at any cost, to kill, to tear ... They show footage of the Munich Olympics, the capture of Israeli athletes hostage, the tough training of the US team. Criticize their coach (Henka Aibu. -"PB". ) who built defensive tactics in vain. And, of course, all the controversial points. Amazing cassette. I want to make a good memory for my grandchildren out of it and other materials.
- Maybe you will try to write a book again? We know, there was already one attempt, but the records were gone.
No. Only for one reason: it would be interesting to read only those who lived at that time. Young people will not understand the intricacies of that period. And I can’t remember all the feelings and emotions that were once expressed.
- Do not want to go through everything again?
Not at all. It's just that in the current state it will not be possible to describe all the moments as richly as it once was. In addition, now much of what has been said does not seem so significant at all.
Involuntarily, we turned to the theme of the Olympics-72. The last moments, replayed twice, etched into the memory of the fans. You took a great risk, giving that pass to Alexander Belov across the court. If you didn’t get a productive combination, would you consider yourself a loser all your life?
- Considering that the Soviet Union scored 50 points in the whole game...
The account says nothing. After all, there were no three-pointers then! And we made three fatal mistakes: the first - Sergey Belov, from whose foot the ball went out, the second - I, when I hit the player and got a personal remark in the attack, the third - Sanya Belov, who removed the ball after a miss five seconds before the end and gave the pass, which turned into an interception, a foul and free kicks by Doug Collins.
It was psychologically difficult, probably, not only during the final Olympic match, but also after it, when the protest of the Americans hung overhead...
Believe me, it's not interesting. But returning to the feeling of a loser: at that moment there was just agony - I wanted to leave the site as soon as possible. Pass and go...
The final of the Munich Olympics was overshadowed not only by the protest of the US basketball team, but also by the tragedy of the Israeli hostages...
Do you know what was the worst? The fact that we were forbidden to go to a rally in which all the teams took part. Instead, we practiced. At that time, the Soviet Union had strained relations with Israel, and a directive was sent down from above: there should not be Soviet people at the rally.
Basketball in the 70s was more soulful
How many generations of basketball teams of the USSR passed before the eyes of our interlocutor? It's hard to even list. Edeshko's generation did not know the three-point line, in the Union they almost never scored from above. Therefore, an attempt to compare the game of the 70s and the present suggests itself.
What is TOT basketball? He was not so tactically armed, he was set for a greater manifestation of individual qualities against the backdrop of team actions. Of course, now you can also talk about the basketball of great players. But a star can be physically rewarded by nature, have strength, jumping ability, but not thought. Then there was more ingenuity, non-standard moves, purely human cunning. Now there is a system from which you cannot deviate, otherwise you will find yourself on the bench. The player is obliged to perform the movements correctly, to put up barriers at the right time and in the right place, to perform exclusively his functions. In our times, there was an element, people on the site created magic. I love to tell one story. I remember we traveled around the States, beat six student teams in a row. Then the hosts assembled a team of basketball players who had just graduated from colleges and had already signed contracts in the NBA. And we won again. The journalists asked one of the Americans: “How could you give in to these red boys, who still play in a uniform with felt numbers peeling off from time to time, long forgotten in the USA?” And he replied: "You know, I just now understood what communism is." The manifestation of individual qualities with us skillfully fit into the actions of the team, no one thought about statistics - only about victories.
- It turns out that basketball in the 70s was better?
Rather soulful. There were other fans who had their own idols. For example, Alachachyan is not such a great player to be praised as much as he was praised by the press and fans. Yes, he was fast, smart, but, most importantly, his height was 175 centimeters, and the person who saw from the podium how the little one beats the big ones involuntarily grew in his own eyes. Then the fans understood basketball more, understood from the inside, got used to the player's shoes, ambitions were strong - how can it be, someone can be stronger than me? Now they demand more shows, throws from above, intrigues. Current viewers are show fans. This term was just born to me. They follow the teams, the results, the money.
Yes, in those days we could play in Europe at a decent level, earn big money. Although, to be honest, such thoughts did not even appear. They received rates of 300 rubles, while the engineers - 140. They were satisfied with everything, and even had the opportunity to travel abroad. We were the first shuttles! Naturally, not on the current scale, but two or three jeans or one tape recorder already made it possible to get some kind of recharge. By the way, the comparison of the two great coaches of the USSR national team suggests itself again. And if you ask which of them is in the first place, the answer question arises: for what? For results or for life? If for the result, then Kondrashin. If for life, then Gomel. Kondrashin is a purely basketball specialist, Gomelsky is a coach plus an organizer. He could arrange trips abroad, provide uniforms from Nike or another company. Who would we prefer? Gomel. After all, he also showed results. And now I am his favorite student. Yes, he has enough toughness, other human qualities that are difficult to get along with, but he does a lot for basketball! Imagine what it's like to organize a match on Red Square, a meeting of amateurs and professionals in the USSR! He can be forgiven everything if things move.
The memory of Belov and Kondrashin is not honored in St. Petersburg
In the confrontation between Kondrashin and Gomelsky, our fellow countryman turned out to be a bargaining chip, fortunately, not falling behind the lining of the coach's jacket. And in the struggle for Edeshko, victory more often turned out to be on the side of Gomelsky.
When you didn’t make it into the starting five of CSKA, were there any offers from Kondrashin to move to Spartak?
From him came another proposal, no less valuable to me. When I decided to hang my sneakers on a nail, Vladimir Petrovich said: “Move to Leningrad, you will play with me until you start to fall on the court.” But somehow... Back then, Spartak was one of the poorest teams...
- Like now.
It's a shame for Russian basketball. This weekend in St. Petersburg there is a tournament in memory of Belov and Kondrashin, a very decent level of teams. But for the first time there is no Spartak on it! How is this possible? I was invited there, but even if the dates did not coincide with the 80th anniversary of Belarusian basketball, I would not go.
- Do you think that the memory of these great people is disrespectful?
Certainly. Petersburg is such a city in which a lot could be done. For some reason, there are good teams in Mineralnye Vody, Saratov, Samara, but not in St. Petersburg, the metropolis! It seems that the former governor, Yakovlev, was the chairman of the regional basketball federation, but ...
- Having finished your playing career, you immediately took up coaching...
In 1979, after the European Championship, I actually stopped playing. And I was appointed coach of the junior team. That was my job! However, a year later he received an invitation from Gomelsky to join him as an assistant to the national team. I tell him: “Alexander Yakovlevich, this is not mine. After all, I was just a player myself, I played next to these guys.” But then the national team coach actually led everything, including the federation. He told me: “Ivan, if you don’t come to me, say goodbye to the national team forever. Let's find another." I had to agree. And then he won the world championship. By the way, Sabonis, Tikhonenko, Sokk, Yovaisha, Volkov, Kurtinaitis have already started playing in this team...
- Which of the compositions of the USSR national team, for which you played, do you consider the strongest?
Probably the one that participated in the 1978 World Cup in the Philippines. Then, by the way, Belov died. We prepared together, then Sasha felt unwell, he was admitted to the hospital, and we left. And suddenly we are told: "Belov is dead." And not ours - Italians! There are no players like Sasha now. I am sure that even now, with the dominance of physically powerful players, he, with his two meters tall, would be one of the best in the world. The feeling of the game, the ball, partners, his jumping ability were phenomenal ...
I don't regret money. We were happy friends
Ivan Ivanovich, you talked about the natural cunning, ingenuity that was present among the players of your generation. Can't you instill these feelings in today's basketball players?
No! Then there were players from nature, now - from the improvement of basketball. Then there was no literature, medical care. Everything was built on ingenuity, experience, feelings. Now - on a scientific basis, developments, systems. Everything is being improved. Example: a carpenter used to work by hand, now he can use programmable machines. But the quality remains the same.
- Maybe the problem is that children's coaches often emasculate future players with loads?
Before basketball players were opened yards, but now - systems, simulators. Each team has five coaches, or even more, the psychology is raised to an unprecedented level. Financial incentives are such that you can go crazy. The budget of the current CSKA is 18 million dollars! They invite Turkan, give him a salary - 1 million 200 thousand! For 10 months! 120 thousand a month, four thousand a day!
- There was no thought that you were born in the wrong era?
No. We were happy friends, the fact that you are in sight, you are respected, you are brilliantly treated. Interests and incentives are different. I once talked about the best moments in my life. This is when you come from abroad, get into a taxi, light up a Marlboro and go home, glad that relatives and friends are waiting there, and you are carrying bags full of gifts.
“ Eh, I knew that there would be “Pressbol ”, and did not prepare, - Ivan Ivanovich complained at parting. - I would bring cassettes, so many interesting things for readers could be added to the article!” We expressed the hope that we would still find an opportunity to get acquainted with the part of the legend named Ivan Edeshko that remained outside the conversation.
3 seconds that shook the world - this is how they will talk about this match. 45 years ago, the USSR team in the final of the Munich Olympics defeated the invincible: the US team. What it was and why this never happens again, the legendary tells AiF basketball player Ivan Edeshko.
Dmitry Grantsev, AiF: Ivan Ivanovich, there is a myth that at the Olympics in Munich, the team was given a plan: to win 50 gold medals by the fiftieth anniversary of the USSR. It was so?
Ivan Edeshko: We then had a planned economy, plans were made for the performances of athletes. Plus the Olympics in Germany, you know. Before the Games, we were taken to the Motherland monument, taken to meetings with Volgograd workers, to the Mausoleum, to the Central Committee of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League. And everywhere there were speeches about fascism: “You are going to the country where this brown plague came from. We must exercise maximum caution, provocations are possible.” In fact, in Germany we were treated very friendly. Moreover, when a survey was conducted among the Germans on the topic of which team they like the most, they put the Japanese in 1st place as the most smiling, and we were ranked 2. I don’t know, maybe in this way they wanted to somehow make amends to our country...
In short, the team in Munich fulfilled the medal plan, and our basketball gold became the fiftieth medal of the USSR, despite the fact that, in principle, they didn’t make a big bet on basketball players: they planned silver for us. In general, if even Soviet sports functionaries underestimated us, what can we say about the Americans! They believed that the victory was in their pocket ... Then many American experts reproached the leadership of their team, saying: "We warned that the Soviet team would be a very strong team!" And we were a team. Nobody thought about personal statistics: only about winning. And, you know, when one of the Americans was asked how they could give in at all, he replied: “I just now understood what communism is.”
On the left, US players McMillen (No. 13) and Henderson (No. 6) start the victory celebration prematurely. Right: Alexander Belov (No. 14) lowers the USSR national team's winning ball into the basket. James Forbes (No. 10) is lying on the parquet. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Rich Clarkson
- Were you surprised when the US team decided to boycott the awards ceremony and refused to accept silver medals? They are still kept in a safe in Switzerland.
“What is there to be surprised about?” After all, the Americans consider themselves the "number one" nation, there are only their interests, around which the rest of the world should revolve. For example, the start of the final match in 1972 was planned in Germany at 22:00, but the Americans were able to reschedule it to a later time. Simply because it was more convenient to show basketball to spectators in the United States. It was a clear violation of the rules of the Games, but no one could stop them. And you don't have to look as far back as 1972 to get an idea of Americans. 2017 - and everything is the same: we will do what is convenient and profitable for us, and you adapt to us. But still, then in Munich, they received a small blow to their pride.
Award ceremony at the Olympic Games in Munich. The "silver" step of the podium is empty: American athletes did not come out for the awards. At the third stage - the national team of Cuba. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
- In an interview, you once said that the Lord helped in that final. And these are the words of a Soviet person?
- There was an episode on the eve of the final. In the evening I went out for a walk in the Olympic village and met American women who were distributing the Bible. We got talking. I ask: “Who is more dear to you: parents or God?” They: "God." Then I decided to connect faith with patriotism, knowing the mentality of the Americans, and asked the question: "Choose: I will believe in God, but we will win against the USA, or I will not believe in God, but the USA will take the gold." They told me: "Let America lose, but trust in God." And handed the Bible, and in Russian. I then hid it. What kind of Bible can a member of the USSR national team have... But then I thought about this match for a long time. Such a coincidence! And foul Sakandelidze, and the solution Kondrashina let me out on the court and my throw Sasha Belov, and the way he caught the ball ... Without the Lord, it definitely could not have happened! (The score was 49:50 in favor of the Americans, when there were 3 seconds left before the end of the match. Edeshko gave a perfect pass across the entire court Belov, and he put the ball in the basket. The result is 51:50 in favor of the USSR. - Ed.)
- How could such a pass be given by a basketball player about whom they joke: “Edeshko has a crooked hand”?
“Look, my hand is really crooked. At the age of 8, I fell off a fence and severely injured my elbow, my joints were crushed. The hospital wanted to cut off his hand. Mother, having learned about this, raised such a fuss that the head doctor said: "I will personally take care of Edeshko, we will try to save." They saved him, but the arm did not straighten at all after the operations. Mom then came up with an exercise: she poured water into a can, threw a ten-kilogram weight into it and forced it to raise and lower. Only in this way - through pain, patience - did I develop a hand. Although it must be clarified: it was the left hand, and I gave the pass to Belov with the right. (Smiling).
- Now the owner of the Olympic gold medal receives 4 million rubles, even the winners are given excellent cars, the governors give apartments to the champions ... And how much did they pay you for Munich?
- In Germany, everyone received 300 marks, and upon returning to the Union they gave out another 3 thousand rubles, minus income. Plus, they were allowed to buy a Zhiguli out of turn for their own money. "Volga" went only to Alexander Belov (note that Sergey Belov, who brought 20 points to the USSR team in that match, could count on a similar award - Ed.). Then only five Volga were allocated for the entire team with 50 gold medals!
- At the end of the year, a feature film based on your "three seconds" is released. Did you advise the film crew?
— Yes, I advised this film. Moreover, the same film crew worked on it as on the hockey Legend No. 17. The picture was shot on the basis of the book of memoirs by Sergei Belov "Movement Up". And the form, and sneakers, and even water bottles are made according to exact copies of that time. This film is a drama about the pressure players and coaches experienced from officials and sports bosses in the seventies. The main role - Kondrashina - plays Vladimir Mashkov. And that this film will be a bomb, I am absolutely sure.
- It happens that the burden of fame is too heavy for an athlete, and therefore they die early ...
- It happens ... Here Sakandelidze And Korkia. They were idols in Georgia! You need to understand what kind of country this is: everyone dreams of having a magnificent feast with Olympic champions. And the guys could not refuse anyone, they became wedding generals. Zurab and Misha did not live to be 60 years old: they left with an interval of 13 days. I was at their cemetery. Many have already been buried. Rest? We are friends with Alzhan Zharmukhomedov, call up our captain Modestas Paulauskas: he has back problems, so he does not leave Lithuania. Anatoly Polivoda lives in Mirgorod (Poltava region - Ed.). He enters into a dialogue reluctantly, and I have almost no communication with him.
- The players called Kondrashin Father, Gomelsky - Papa. Now that's not the name of the coaches?
“Of course they were different. If Kondrashin is a coach from God, then Gomelsky is from life. Petrovich (Kondrashin. - Ed.) loved the players, while he never knocked out housing, scholarships, etc. for them, although he was Vladimir Promyslov(Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council. - Ed.). Alexander Yakovlevich, on the other hand, solved any issue on the move: providing basketball players with apartments, cars, trips, uniforms is no problem. He was a man of boundless energy. Such, you know, the new Russian Jew. (Smiling.) It seemed that he had everything under control. Whether it was the Central Committee of the party or journalists, he found a common language with everyone. But Kondrashin and Gomelsky had a common feature: both selflessly loved basketball. I don’t see such devoted love among modern coaches. Right now it's more about what I can get out of this case than what I can give to basketball. Maybe that's why the qualifications of today's specialists are lower. On the other hand, what do we want from a coach who receives pennies at a regional sports school: 15-20 thousand? Naturally, he cannot fully devote himself to basketball, because he must think about where else to earn money. This is sad.
- If there was money, then our basketball could return to its former positions?
- It is clear that without money in sports, nowhere. I remember well the nineties, when people didn't get paid for half a year. The players went to Poland, Hungary, Luxembourg - anywhere, as long as they paid. I also could not stand it, went to work in Lebanon. But the money itself has nothing to do with the result. Moreover, large amounts often change human psychology for the worse. You can't buy patriotism, ambition, professional attitude to business, just like love. In my time, all this was born in the yards of the guys. Wearing a national team jersey has been a dream since childhood. And now young people have hidden themselves from the world, they are looking for dreams in electronic gadgets, there is very little simple human communication, there is little interest in the past. And my opinion: all those past great victories of our Soviet sports should be at least a little known and protected. It's a shame when they are forgotten.
- Could you even imagine that the Russian national basketball team would not qualify for the Olympics, as happened in Rio?
“I couldn’t dream of such a thing even in a terrible dream!” What can I say, we did not get to the last European Championship! What has been happening to our basketball lately is absurd in general! Such a humiliation. The federation was actually plundered, debts amounted to 280 million rubles, the team began to lose to such teams, which they had previously simply taken out of the site without noticing. Now, with the arrival Kirilenko(Head of the Russian Basketball Federation. - Ed.), Financial affairs are on the mend. Money went under his name, and the main debt is closed. And now these free funds can be spent on the successful work of the federation.
- What about the national team? Is she recovering?
— It seems to me that we have excellent players, each with his own zest. But the problem is that they do not open in their places. And I'm sure that if the guys were in other teams, they would be leaders there. Of course, the “legionnaire issue” also hinders the progress of our national team. The clubs want a quick result, they let foreigners onto the pitches, and the Russians sit on the bench. How to gain experience here? But still, as far as the national team is concerned, my mood is optimistic. I think we are quite capable of showing something worthy at this European Championship.
Ivan Edeshko. Photo: AiF
