Valery
KHARLAMOV

I cried hard only once when I was a boy. It was when I started playing for the CSKA junior team, and the referee sent me off for the first time for two minutes. And I sobbed because the guys had to go on a player short. But when I was pushed to the dasher or knocked down on the ice, I braved the pain like it was nothing. *

I remember when we were on our way to training, and coach Tarasov stood at the entrance and watched everyone. Many boys came with their parents who carried their uniform and bandy. The coach immediately began to growl at such boys: "You must carry your uniform yourself! Or do you want your father to score goals for you?" But my son Valery, although he was small, always carried his uniform. Tarasov told him: "Good boy! Something worthwhile should come out of you."
Boris Kharlamov, father of Valery Kharlamov

If I am worth something, is it only because I can dodge two rivals and score a goal against a Canadian or Czechoslovak goalkeeper? A person shouldn’t need such validation. I wanted everyone to realise that I didn’t become a champion only because I was playing on a good team, had a good coach and that I was lucky. I wanted to find the answer to the eternal question: what am I worth?

By Canadian hockey standards, Valery was a small guy, and the rivals got really angry when Kharlamov beat them, so mighty and huge, again and again. And after the 1972 historic superseries, even the NHL professionals admitted that such a small guy as Kharlamov – an athlete made of muscles – could become a star in the game of mighty men.
Alexander Maltsev, hockey player

I never celebrated my goals. I always hated this saying – "don’t spare the rivals’ feelings." I always looked for an opportunity to apologise for using brute force.

We were flying over the ocean. The national team coach was Boris Kulagin... Well, Valery Kharlamov and I had a pull at the bottle during the flight. Kulagin caught us red-handed, fined us a hundred dollars each and did not let us play in the first game. We began to ask him: "You can take away all the money, just let us play. We don’t play for the money, we play for the Fatherland. "
Valery Vasilyev, hockey player

We played across the ocean that day. In the morning, we turned on the TV sets and saw photos of Valery. Only later, when we went out into the street and strangers began to come up to us and say something about Kharlamov, did we realise that something bad had happened to Valery. We were shocked. First we decided to pull out of the tournament, but then we decided to play and win the Cup and dedicate the victory to Kharlamov. And we won.
Vyacheslav Fetisov, hockey player

* The information is based on the accounts of the personas featuring in this section as well as accounts of their family members, acquaintances and colleagues