“Master of the Word” is not an accident. Slutsky is a master of all hands, feet, head and tongue, the great Russian language. He has already commented on the World Cup in Russia. But only one match, because after they were behind, Vasily Utkin was removed from the air, coach (aka coach) Leonid Viktorovich, in a sign of solidarity, also left the game and left the microphone.
After 8 years, Slutsky returned from China (where he and his team Shanghai Shenhua won the Super Cup twice and took silver twice in the local championship) and again became a commentator. He did his job magnificently. How accurate was the definitions, the tactical intentions of the teams, the explanation of the maneuvers of individual players and entire lines. He was extremely friendly to our team, but objective, nevertheless, and nothing was hidden from the eyes of the former class mentor. In general, as a fan, but also a connoisseur of the Russian word, I received unheard of pleasure. Sometimes I caught myself thinking that football as such is no longer so important (after all, friendly matches, we are still not allowed anywhere in football), namely, tasting, high, feeling every phrase of comrade Slutsky. It was a great joy, actually.
So, maybe we are watching the movie “Leonid Viktorovich changes profession”? No, he stays in football where he has tried a lot. But what a great commentator! There are nuances, though. These three matches he worked as number two, and the first was Denis Kazansky, once brilliant on Match TV. Big difference, yeah. A person who performs well at No. 2 can't always be a No. 1 presenter, like that. That is, if Slutsky commented alone, then we would definitely decide whether he could or not.
I'm not saying this by accident. Here are examples. Once the best player of Moscow “Spartak” Egor Titov was disqualified for doping, suspended for a year from football. And then he was taken to comment on the World Cup, also number two. It turned out that Egor is an unconditional master, but not in this part. Well, he's not a talker, he's not a storyteller.
Or here is Andrey Arshavin, well known to all. As an expert on the Match, he is just wonderful, so ironic, intelligent, accurate. But here he was taken to comment on the friendly game of Russia and Kazakhstan, where he ended his excellent football career. But here it turned out that as a commentator Andrei does not pull at all. Why is that? Because an expert is a completely different profession. You can be good at one thing and you can be good at another, sorry, no boom-boom. Which is perfectly normal.
I don’t know, maybe Slutsky is tired of coaching, because in this profession he tried almost everything. As any great coach has experienced both ups and downs. Yes, he fell with Kazan Rubin to the bottom, flew to the first league, and all the time complained that his best players went to Europe, justified himself. The spectacle was not comilfo at all, because don't believe, don't be afraid, don't ask. You're a man, Slutsky!
There are two well-known cases in the history of commentary where wonderful players became great masters of their craft, telling us about football. Nikolai Ozerov is now not touched, the famous Soviet tennis player, but that’s another story. But of the big football players, only Vladimir Maslachenko made it. The goalkeeper of Spartak, Lokomotiv and the USSR national team later became a wonderful commentator, simply No. 1. And the second case is Eugene Mayorov. The great hockey player from the very best three attack brothers Mayorov and Starshinov then retrained as a football master of words, and it was also a great pleasure to listen to him. He was so subtly versed in the nuances, in the details of the game - fingers are close.
What, Slutsky's new? I'm all for it. Just one more but: The first channel is not purely sports. Of the sport, figure skating is the most honored here, for which I thank them separately. Football is not in favor, no, only on big holidays. And if before the World and European Championships, the First took over (dividing it with Russia 1), then the last World Cup, as you remember, remained completely (almost completely, because part of the games went to the Internet platform) on Match TV. That is, the constant practice of commenting on Slutsky here, on the First, is not guaranteed. Sign a contract with the Match? But there are obviously no vacant seats, wild competition. Or, perhaps, out of respect for Slutsk Cherdantsev, Genich and the company will move and give the floor to a new, but brilliant colleague? I, as a fan, but also a connoisseur of the Russian word, will only be for.
