Zinetula Bilyaletdinov is in as the new head coach of the Russian national hockey team, replacing Vyacheslav Bykov, who was ousted in May, in no small part due to the national team's 6th place finish in Vancouver. Bilyaletdinov, was plucked from his position as head coach of the Ak Bars KHL team, which is based in Kazan.
A defenseman, Bilyaletdinov played for the Soviet national team from 1973-1988 and was on the silver medal-winning team in Lake Placid in 1980 and the gold medal-winners in 1984 in Sarajevo. In addition, he won numerous world championship golds, as well as a gold in the 1981 Canada Cup. The world's most-decorated goaltender (and the guy who got pulled after giving up 2 goals in the first period of the 1980 semi-finals against the US), Vladimir Tretiyak, had positive things to say about the new head man in the above linked article (here's some of what Tretiyak said in English, via The Moscow News).
Bilyaletdinov's Ak Bars squad won the first ever Gagarin Cup in 2007 and, in various media sources in Russia, the head coach has expressed repeatedly how happy he was to coach team in the region (Tartarstan) where he grew up.
So why did he leave? Well, let me paraphrase: The question of my appointment was answered at the level of prime minister Vladimir Putin and president of Tartarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov--to refuse in such a situation was impossible.
So there.
No comments:
Post a Comment