"Passed and fell." Doctors failed to save the legendary Russian football player - Sportish
Connect with us

Football

“Passed and fell.” Doctors failed to save the legendary Russian football player

Published

on

“Passed and fell.”  Doctors failed to save the legendary Russian football player

Doctors advised Russian Pele to quit football, but he could not imagine life without his favorite game.

Konstantin Eremenko was the main star of the world mini-football in the 90s. You might not get carried away with this game, but you probably heard the name of the Russian wizard. During his career, he scored more than a thousand goals, but he could have achieved even more if it were not for congenital heart problems, which he learned about only at the age of 31.

It was hard for him in big football

Eremenko began his career in big football, because in the 70s and 80s futsal in the Soviet Union was, to put it mildly, far from popular. Konstantin was born in Dnepropetrovsk and took his first steps in Dnipro, in which he even once appeared on the field in the official match of the 1988 USSR Championship against Dynamo Minsk. However, he failed to gain a foothold in the powerful Ukrainian club and wandered around for several more years in other teams.

As Eremenko himself later recalled, it was physically difficult for him on the big field, but there were no problems with technique and understanding of the game. Perhaps the trouble with the heart began to manifest itself even then, it’s just that no one did the proper examinations for the football player. One way or another, in 1991 Konstantin was offered to try his hand at futsal in his native Dnepropetrovsk. He played 10 matches for the local “Mehanizator” and scored 14 times. Moreover, Eremenko even managed to become the winner of the only mini-football Cup of the USSR.

Konstantin Eremenko (center) / Photo: © RIA Novosti / A. Fedorets

“Dina” with the great Eremenko

By that time, it was quite obvious that this sport suits Konstantin perfectly. Then he turned up the option of moving to the Moscow “Dina” – an ambitious club that dreamed of conquering Europe. Eremenko got excited about the idea and agreed to the proposal of the Muscovites. And then – it’s history! In the mid-90s, futsal in Russia gained wild popularity largely thanks to Dina, Konstantin Eremenko and the success of our team in the international arena.

On the subway, you could meet people with Dina’s yellow and green scarves, which was new then, because football paraphernalia was only gaining momentum. In this sense, futsal in the country was even ahead of big football. A big plus was the fact that families with children could go there. The atmosphere there was exceptionally friendly, in contrast to the battles of the conditional Spartak and CSKA in big football, where in those years it was easy to make problems for yourself.

Magnificent players gathered at Dean then: Arkady Bely, Timur Alekberov, Oleg Denisov. But all of them, of course, were in the shadow of the great Konstantin Eremenko, who led Muscovites to 8 Russian championship titles. The same number of times he became the top scorer of the tournament, scoring 1132 goals in official meetings. Absolutely crazy number! Finally, with Eremenko, Muscovites won the European Cup three times and fought on equal terms in intercontinental matches with formidable Brazilians.

Konstantin Eremenko / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Rodionov

Major career success

But, perhaps, the main achievement of Eremenko in his career was his performance at the 1999 European Championship. Before that, he won bronze with the team at Euro 1996, but Konstantin, knowing his ambitions, wanted more. And now the Russian team brilliantly passed through the tournament grid and reached the final, where ours was opposed by the powerful Spanish team. With the score 2:2, it was Eremenko who brought our guys ahead, but the Spaniards managed to level the score moments before the final whistle. Everything was decided in a penalty shoot-out, where Konstantin delivered the decisive blow again – 4:2.

It cannot be said that he single-handedly decided the fate of that European Championship, after all, the composition of the Russian team was very strong. But Eremenko’s contribution to that victory was certainly huge. The magician of mini-football once again did his job. It was not for nothing that he was called the Russian Pele and was officially recognized as the best futsal player of the 20th century. He really wanted to add the title of world champion to all his titles and tuned in to this, but fate decided differently.

Konstantin Eremenko / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko

An unexpected diagnosis

In 2001, Eremenko was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. The doctors were unequivocal in their assessments – it was categorically impossible to continue a professional career in such situations. In November of that year, Konstantin held a farewell match and finished with the sport – but only officially.

Of course, he could not completely quit football. I really loved this game. Eremenko always had a free evening to kick the ball, he also participated in major amateur tournaments, such as the Legends Cup. And, of course, he won them. The passion for winning has not gone away, despite all the health problems.

In parallel, Eremenko achieved great success in politics and management. Since 2002, he was the president of the mini-football Dynamo, then he got into the Federation Council, was on several committees at once and climbed forward like a tank. Whatever Russian Pele did, he achieved victories everywhere. Such was the character.

Boris Gryzlov (left) and Konstantin Eremenko / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Fedorenko

Tragedy on the field

The tragedy occurred on March 18, 2010. Eremenko spent an ordinary football evening with friends at the Dynamo Small Sports Arena. Even during the warm-up, he became ill.

– We ran together in the center of the field. Konstantin had the ball and at some point he gave a pass and stopped in the center circle right next to me. Literally a fraction of a second later, he fell, ”said Dmitry Alenichev, a former Spartak player.

An ambulance arrived in 17 minutes and took him to the hospital. However, all the efforts of doctors and resuscitators did not help. An hour before midnight, the great football player Konstantin Eremenko passed away. He never regained consciousness, and a detached blood clot was named as the official cause of death. Eremenko was well aware of his diagnosis since 2001, but could not live without football. On each occasion, he tried to drive the ball, and one day his heart still could not stand it.

Source: Sportbox

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Champions League

Mbappe responded to Real Madrid fans over Bellingham’s criticism

Published

on

By

Mbappe responded to Real Madrid fans over Bellingham’s criticism

Real Madrid striker Kylian Mbappe He shared his opinions about the midfielder Jude Bellingham Against the background of the fans’ critical attitude towards the club’s performances.

The Madrid team defeated Levante with a score of 2-0 on Saturday in the 20th week of La Liga. Previously, the Blancos were defeated in the Spanish Super Cup final and left the competition for the Spanish Cup.

Santiago Bernabeu fans accompanied the team’s match with deafening whistles and criticism, which did not subside until the end of the match, despite the three points scored.

“Bellingham’s talent is unquestionable. He has enormous potential. When he is at his best, he is one of the best football players on the planet.”

It’s not easy for everyone right now. We accept the anger of the stands. However, complaints should concern the entire team; This is not Jude’s or anyone else’s personal fault. Our task is to correct the situation.

We have achieved success in the championship and now we need to continue in the Champions League. “If the fans feel our determination and quality play, they will support us again,” Mbappe said in his meeting with the press before the Monaco match.

Source: Sport UA

Continue Reading

Champions League

I didn’t train with the team. Yaremchuk may miss Champions League match

Published

on

By

I didn’t train with the team. Yaremchuk may miss Champions League match

Coach of Olympiacos José Luis Mendilibar He talked about the team’s personnel situation, focusing on the Ukrainian striker, ahead of their match against Bayer in the seventh round of the Champions League main stage. Roman Yaremchuk.

Mendilibar said, “Roman left training the other day due to some illnesses, there is nothing serious. He did not train with the team yesterday. We will have to wait until he tells us how he feels.”

The 7th round match of the main stage of the Champions League will be played between Olympiacos and Bayer on January 20 in Piraeus, Greece, and will start at 22:00 Kiev time.

It was previously reported that a third of the Ukraine national team was not at all ready for the play-offs for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.

Source: Sport UA

Continue Reading

World Cup

Zinchenko is just one… You can buy validol from Sweden 2 months ago

Published

on

By

Zinchenko is just one… You can buy validol from Sweden 2 months ago

In March, the national team awaits the 2026 World Cup play-offs. And when you see the situation of the main players, it becomes scary.

Alexander Zinchenko. He is going through the worst period of his career in England. Neither Nottingham nor Arsenal need him. Halfway through the season, Zina receives treatment or regains her old form. Forest removed the Ukrainian from their Europa League candidacy. If Zinchenko doesn’t do game training, even being called up to the national team may not mean anything. Ajax should be a good option in this context.

Artem Dovbik. There is no need for Gasperini. Roma have already announced that the attack will be strengthened in the person of Aston Villa’s Donyell Mullen and have signed 18-year-old Robinio Vaz from Marseille for the future. Most likely, Dovbik could not withstand the loads of the head coach of the Romans, as he began to get injured too often. “Wolves” want to sell Artem, want to leave. As in the case of Zinchenko, Dovbik also needs a club where he can play regularly in the first team and remember to score goals together. True, unlike Alexander, Artem is now still capable of playing in the best club and in the best championship, if the team’s game model suits him. However, Artem has already had surgery in Finland. And – one way or another – Dovbik will be out of action for several months.

Alexey Gutsulyak. The best player of the “goal + pass” system in the national team in 2025 was sent to the U-19 team by Polesye because he did not sign a new contract under the club conditions. The winger was also initially excluded from the training camp, but the club president later changed his decision. If there is no one willing to buy Alexei before the end of the transfer window, he will remain in limbo until the end of the season.

Efim Hemp. I would like to believe that Gutsulyak’s fate will not befall the right. Efim has refused to renew his contract with Shakhtar, which could affect his number of minutes on the field. After all, Arda Turan now has the option of playing more in the Cannabis position with Vinicius Tobias, Pedro Enrique or someone with a Ukrainian passport.

Georgy Sudakov. Mourinho’s arrival did not promise anything good for the midfielder. Jose has long exhausted himself as a coach capable of leading a team to the title, so it is no surprise that Benfica finished 3rd in the championship. But this is not the only problem. Sudakov is at his best in the middle of the field or as an attacking midfielder. What did the Special One do? Exactly what Rebrov was criticized for was that he moved Georgiy to the winger position, which did not allow him to show his best qualities.

Ilya Zabarny. He was the main player at Bournemouth who had no centre-back alternative. At PSG, the Marquinhos-Pacho combination looks unshakable. Zabarny is third choice and given the team’s exit from the French Cup, Ilya is unlikely to get any more match training in the coming months. Especially if the Parisians go directly to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League. As the last match against Lille showed (3:0) Luis Enrique can use a formation consisting of three defenders (Marquinhos, Pacho, Zabarny) if the team needs to switch to a more attacking style. We must also hope that the recent criticism of the Ukrainian footballer from PSG fans after the defeat (0:1) in the capital cup derby will not affect Ilya in any way.

Getty Images/Global Images Ukraine

Vladimir Brazhko. He lost his game plan after a transfer to Wolverhampton fell through. It seems that Brazhko is a reflection of the entire Dynamo, which did not even reach the play-offs of the Conference League, and this can definitely be considered a shame. Vladimir, who was the top choice for the defensive midfield position just a year and a half ago, now looks like he won’t be able to beat Ivan Kalyuzhny’s rival. Here you can add other Dynamo players (Shaparenko, Mikhavko, Voloshin, Karavaev, Timchik, Pikhalyonok), whose form now raises many questions.

Roman Yaremchuk. He has played just 5 times for Olympiacos this season, making 10 appearances as a substitute. Only 4 goals, but all in the Greek Cup. Not a single goal was scored in the Super League and Champions League. There are no prerequisites yet that anything will change for the striker in the near future.

Andrey Lunin. In the autumn, the goalkeeper did not want to come to the national team and watch the matches from the bench, but now the question arises: “Is it worth calling him?” 3 matches per season, 2 of them in the Copa del Rey, where Real was eliminated. Lunin is sorely lacking in consistent game practice. He’s certainly not better than Trubin, and perhaps even picking Riznyk second would be more justified.

Alexander Svatok. Austin finished its MLS season in the fall. The new campaign only starts at the end of February. Whether this will prevent the defender from achieving ideal fitness and getting into the right rhythm of the game is an open question.

Mikhail Mudrik. As long as the sun shines and the water flows, there is hope. The chorus of a famous Ukrainian song performed by the band Mad Heads perfectly describes the winger’s situation. If Mikhail returns to football this winter, a real miracle will happen; He will be conditionally loaned to Strasbourg, where he will gain favorable playing conditions within 2 months. It would be nice if he was the national team leader, but we should definitely not hope for his return.

So what, or rather whom, should we hope for? There are very few such players, but they exist. Now all the hope is that Trubin, Zubkov, Malinovsky, Tsygankov, Vanat, Yarmolyuk and possibly Batagov will not lose their current form and get damaged in the next two months. This picture is definitely not reassuring, on the contrary it points to the potential to buy validol in bulk. Especially if we remember that Sergei Rebrov has not yet assured anyone that he can lead the country’s main team to the World Cup.

Igor YAVKIN

Source: Sport UA

Continue Reading

Trending

All Rights Reserved © 2023 - Sportish | Powered by: