Igor Shalimov: the way from footballer to coach

Now Igor Shalimov remembers how the elder brother literally took his hand, seven-year-old boy, to the children's football school "Locomotive". With the light hand of his brother, the future star of domestic football in three years was in a more promising at that time Spartak school. Igor was lucky to be engaged under the guidance of his famous namesake Igor Netto.

Childhood

According to Igor Shalimov, it becomes clear that not all young players are so lucky with their mentors. His coach himself had impeccable technique and did not have the habit to show the young players the tasks and exercises schematically, and demonstrated them on his personal example. In addition, the coach, who has extensive capabilities of the technical arsenal, focused on the technical component of training in the children's school.

Igor Shalimov, whose photo you can see in this publication, remembers how Netto himself took part in sparring with young footballers, personally showed how to handle the ball, how to give it to a partner, and even took part in squaring games. The hero of our publication absorbed the experience of Igor Netto, like a sponge. He quickly mastered the technique of receiving the ball on his chest, on the hip, he learned how to tame the ball in one movement, and also mastered all the subtleties and wisdom of passes. Spartak's school has always taught its students a culture of passing. Players from childhood knew under what foot it is more convenient to give the ball to the partner, with what force to perform the transfer and how to send the ball, so that he does not jump in front of his friend's feet.

Career in "Spartacus"

Then everything was like everyone else: the youth team of Spartak, the transfer of the midfielder to the adult team, the call to the national team and, it would seem, great prospects. Since the requirements in the children's school, in the doubles of "Spartacus" and in the adult team were almost identical, Igor immediately got used to and did not experience problems with adaptation in the adult team.

However, the collapsing Union did not promise much benefit to the players playing in the domestic championship. In addition, feeling the strength to reach new heights, Igor Shalimov decides to go to conquer one of the most powerful European championships.

The beginning of the European career

This was a big risk, because Italy at that time was not particularly favorable to the established venerable stars of the former Soviet Union. What can we say about the 22-year-old football player who does not have international titles behind him? Therefore, Igor Shalimov made the only correct decision. Spartak midfielder decides to accept the offer of the modest club "Foggia" and in 1991 moved to the Apennine peninsula. From now on, he will never return to his homeland as a player.

Igor Shalimov remembers that when they were boys, they were sometimes allowed to look from the balcony behind the games of the first team, whose players seemed to the celestials. And now the young footballer went to the best league in the world, where they played Maradona, Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard.

There everything was different, if we talk about organizational football moments and management. Even in such a modest club as "Foggia", Igor could feel like a real star, he was constantly stopped on the street, asked for an autograph, found out, negotiated an interview. In Italy, a completely different attitude to the game in general and to the players in particular. Tiffozy just live and breathe football. Everything was new, but the close attention of the sports community spurred Shalimov. He gave a fantastic first season and earned the title of the best legionary. It was like a dream.

However, predictably the players in the new teams during the second season there is a decline, and the club's management advised to go on lease in order not to lose the game practice. The third season in the Italian championship and did not ask for Igor. Going out on the field in the Milan Inter Milan, the player felt that the forces were exhausted. For him, it was akin to a catastrophe, because Igor could not afford to be on the team in second roles. He was angry, he did not train on his schedule in the hope of proving something to the coaching staff, but again and again he remained on the bench.

Fatal mistake

Now Igor Shalimov realizes his main mistake: he did not need to change the league and go to play for the German "Duisburg". He believes that a season or two in any team of the Italian championship would have put everything in its place. In the end, Igor could gain invaluable experience and temper the character. But in the Bundesliga, his career as a football player has declined. He increasingly began to notice for himself that he sees the situation on the field not with the eyes of a football player, but with the eyes of a coach.

Coaching field

Shalimov first took command at the age of 34. Igor says that if a player on the football field starts comparing himself with other players, then it's time for him to finish the game practice and move on to coaching. For his coaching career, he managed to work with the women's football team of Russia. But the proposal, which was received in 2015 from a longtime acquaintance of Shalimov Sergey Nikolayevich Galitsky, owner of the football club "Krasnodar", was flattering and attractive. As they say, it is not customary to refuse such proposals.

Even now, being the coach of the Krasnodar-2 team, Igor Shalimov with gratitude remembers Igor Netto and those 7 years that he spent as a boy, under the guidance of a great mentor at Spartak's school. Without a vaccinated technical base, he simply would not have been able to become a great football player, whose services many foreign clubs would like to resort to.

Conclusion

Igor Shalimov, whose personal life does not abound with sensations, does not like to share his experiences with the press, despite the fact that he was married twice. The second marriage with the writer Oksana Robski is best known. Swift married life with a secular lioness lasted only six months. Since October 2008, Shalimov no longer was in official relations.