The captain of HC CSKA Daniil Shishkarev shared his opinion with Sport Express about the change of the head coach of the Russian national team.
— Velimir Petkovic leaves the national team. How was it to work with him during these four years?
— Firstly, I would like to thank Petko for his work and the experience he passed to us. To the youth and older players. He is a coach with a capital letter, who came here not just to earn money, but to develop our handball, raise a new generation, convey something to them, explain, show, add new blood to the team. And we partly succeeded — let’s remember the World Cup 2021 and particularly the European Championship 2022, where we fought to reach semi-finals. Petkovic is a great professional, a true worker and he formed a competitive team from those players we had in a squad. And then our suspension happened. Eventually, I suppose, Velimir didn’t fulfill his potential completely in the national team of Russia — I don’t like the subjunctive, but if we had continued playing in major tournaments, we would have gotten the maximum. I wish Petkovic good luck, wherever he continues his coaching career.
— You’ve played a lot abroad, can you call Petkovic a European-class coach?
— Definitely. Petko is an excellent motivator, and this is what we had been lacking before. Probably, he is not the most outstanding tactician, but at the meetings before and after the matches Velimir tried to reach out to everyone, look into the soul, and he was good at it. I remember the situation before the match with Slovenia at the World Cup-2021, this game was the key one to qualify for the second group stage. Usually we have a pre-match meeting followed by a pre-game warming up, so, Petkovich motivated us at the meeting in such a way, that we could start the match immediately, even without warming up. We were in such a mood that if you hold up a lit match — everything will explode.
— The Olympic champion Lev Voronin became the new head coach of the national team, who will combine this position with the duties of the HFR CEO. What do you think about it?
— Lev Gennadievich is not a stranger in the national team. He was in the coaching staff at times of Dmitriy Torgovanov. And he said that although he worked in the office, he watched the matches with the eyes of a coach, not of a supporter or an official — he notes something, writes it down. Voronin himself played at a high level, won the Olympic Games, the World and European Cups. Plus we have to take into account the current situation.
— How do you see your future in the national team?
— We have to sit down and talk with Lev Genadyevich in the nearest future, discuss everything. It’s important, which way of the strategic development the team will have, as far as I fit into the plans. After all, I will be 36 next week, probably, the youth should already start playing. Time doesn’t stay still. And I don’t think that we will be conventionally admitted to international competitions in six months or a year in the current situation. So, we’ll see, discuss and decide together. Though I’m not saying that’s all, I finished with the national team. If necessary, I’m always ready to come to the training session and help with pleasure, — Daniil Shishkarev said.
Photo: vk.com/rh
