Athletes who have achieved the highest results, are sincerely respected by fans and specialists. The Soviet ice hockey team has always been determined to win. The legendary defender Valery Vasiliev made his modest contribution to the common cause.
Hard childhood
A sense of ownership and collectivism is developed in different living conditions. For team sports, these player qualities are most valued. Valery Ivanovich Vasiliev was born on August 3, 1949 in the family of a military man. Parents at that time lived in a small station in the Novgorod region. Father was in office. Mother was engaged in raising two sons. A few months after the birth of the future hockey player, the head of the family was tragically killed in an accident.
After this tragedy, the mother gathered poor possessions and, together with the children, cleaned up their relatives in the city of Gorky. Here she went to work as a seller in a store. Close relatives did their best to support the family. Valery, along with his older brother, watching how hard it was for the mother, tried in every way to help her. They got the hang of making snares and catching birds in the surrounding groves for home keeping. Siskins, tits, goldfinches, bullfinches fell into snares. Each bird had its price in the market. For example, a tit sold for a dime. In this way, the guys at least a little, but replenished the family budget.
It is important to note that the house in which the Vasilyevs lived was near the Dynamo stadium. As a teenager, Valera spent a lot of time on the field, playing football and other outdoor games. Or watched the training of “adult” players and hockey players. When the boy was 10 years old, he went to the coach, and he was recorded in the hockey section. From that moment began training, training camps, control games and other events that the young athlete liked. He tried. He mastered the techniques of the game and the technique of ice skating. Thanks to the diligence and perseverance, Vasiliev was taken to the team of Gorky Dynamo.
First games
The turning point for the future master of sports was 1967. The city of Gorky, and now Nizhny Novgorod, has always been considered a sports center. Sports chiefs for their reasons transferred Vasilyev to several matches in the Gorky “Torpedo”. A team from Moscow Dynamo arrived in the city on the Volga. Muscovites won the game with the owners of the ice. At the same time, the legendary team's coach Arkady Chernyshev noticed a talented player and invited him “to his place”. Without a doubt, Valery accepted this invitation and packed his suitcase.
Later, after many years, a note appeared in the hockey player’s biography that he played seventeen (17) seasons, without a break, in Dynamo Moscow. At the first in the history of sports European Championship among juniors, the national team of the Soviet Union took second place. At the same time, Valery Vasilyev was called the best defender of the tournament. Already in the next season of 1969, Soviet juniors took first place. After these games, coaches of the “adult” national team drew attention to Valery Vasiliev. The young player organically joined a close-knit team.
According to current rules, a beginner always went out on the ice in tandem with an experienced player. Vasiliev was lucky, his teammate was Vitaly Davydov. They quickly "got used" and showed a high class game. Vasiliev spent his first match for the Union team in February 1970. After a short period of time, he became one of the leading defenders in both his native Dynamo and the national team. Valery went out to all games under his individual number “6” on a sweater.
Career heights
From the very beginning of his sports career, Valery Vasiliev has established himself as a tough player. He noticed and quickly adopted the playing skills of his older comrades. The defender of the Union team, if necessary, used his proprietary technique, which is called the "mill". It should be clarified that in a game situation the defender throws the opponent over the back. Of course, the reception is performed within the framework of the current rules. It is interesting to note that both in the national championship and in international tournaments, knowing the tough manner of playing the defender Vasiliev, the opponent's attackers tried not to get in touch with him.
When the Soviet Union team went overseas to Canada, where the first comradely series of games took place, the whole world saw that Vasiliev was absolutely not inferior to Canadian professionals in the technique of the game. In that, in 1972, they talked about Soviet hockey players on the American continent with respect. Valery took all praises and praises addressed to him calmly. What is called, was not arrogant.
