The untimely death of a favorite of the public has become a uniform tragedy not only for the closest people, but also for millions of fans of his outstanding talent.
Alexey Matveev, a sports journalist and author of books about football, spoke about unknown moments in the life of the famous Spartak player and the USSR national team, especially for the Cheka-OGPU and Rucriminal.info
"FIGHT WITH HIM IS IMPOSSIBLE"
According to the daughter of Fyodor Cherenkov, Anastasia, her dearly beloved dad did not tend to swear at all. She does not remember her father scolding her for something. There were no problems in communication with him.
It can be said that he tremblingly protected his daughter from the slightest grief, especially shocks. Here, at certain moments, my mother could shout, my father could not. It is impossible to imagine such a thing.
- Dad always tried to translate the dialogue into a "peaceful channel", when my mother, for example, raised me, - Anastasia recalls. “Don’t, don’t raise your voice at the child. Let's talk calmly, ”the wonderful, kindest Fedor Fedorovich called. And he managed to reach his goal. The conversation proceeded in a normal, positive tone.
In general, the father always kept the brand of a cool, sweetest negotiator. Although, for example, Nastya was not listed as an excellent student at school. There was something to complain about. But with such a parent as Fedor Fedorovich, nothing is scary, everything was overcome.
In a word, dad is the personification of kindness, gentleness. Not an exaggeration. This is how he was remembered not only by his daughter. Mutual assistance, help came from him both at home and outside.
During his active playing career, his father, for obvious reasons, was rarely at home. Because Anastasia does not remember that he met her after school. But in their free time from football matches, they walked in the beautiful Sokolniki Park. Very good guests came to the Cherenkovs' home. Partners in Spartak - Rinat Dasaev, Stanislav Cherchesov, Sergey Rodionov, other players.
“My mother and I enjoyed such communication,” says Anastasia. - Spartacists at the time of the father's career are busy people, like himself. Sergey Shavlo, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Boris Pozdnyakov also came to us. Almost the entire team was visiting. Nice, great people.
Perhaps the closest person in spirit is Sergei Rodionov. They are like siblings. Most likely, they trusted each other with family secrets, shared their secrets. Rodionov in this sense turned out to be an ideal life companion.
The Cherenkov family did not see people from the creative environment in the house. Although Spartacists of different generations were often friends with artists. Maybe Fedor Fedorovich himself - yes, almost certainly - communicated with one of them outside the family nest.
Already at the age of seven or eight, Anastasia became addicted to football, began to attend matches with the participation of Spartak. I came to Luzhniki with my mother. Of course, at such a young age, she did not attach any importance to what she saw. She did not realize that her father is a very bright personality in football. I began to understand later, when I grew up.
“Football, it seemed to me, was ruthlessly taking my dad away from me,” says Anastasia. - Destiny, probably, all the children of athletes, traveling around the cities and villages. Yes, I missed him in his absence. And, by and large, no one and nothing consoled in such bleak moments.
A shaped catastrophe in the heart, it was literally torn in separation. Now I'm not afraid, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. Yes, football shamelessly took away a loved one. Mom celebrated the days in which our Fedor Fedorovich could be with his family. There were a meager number of those. In fact, only a few days a year!
You won't ask, you won't demand. Please stay at home. Don't go anywhere, be with me. I say that understanding came later, it could not have happened before, objectively. Just due to age, I could not come to terms, as it seemed to me, with a very long absence of my father at home. Frustrated, bored.
My father was returning from another business trip, stormy joy. So Nastya went for a walk in Sokolniki Park with her beloved dad. We visited McDonald's and liked to spend time there. Spoiled my daughter with souvenirs, gifts. He brought many discs and records from abroad. I have a whole collection at home.
Anastasia went to football matches in Moscow and still goes to this day. Of course, with the participation of Spartak, which is close to her. Sick from the heart. It happens that he gets upset because of the not very successful game of his favorite team. But he continues to believe in her.
HOME - ON A STRETCHER
- Dad once mentioned whether I should go to women's football. She was a girl, ten or eleven years old. Refused. Father, of course, did not insist, and could not insist, not in his character.
I never kicked a ball in the yard with my peers, I didn’t feel the need, - recalls the daughter of a football player. - Not my business. I could play for the company with my dad. With great pleasure. Maybe that's why he had the idea to send me to football? Not even an idea at all, more like a suggestion. The desire to see and evaluate how I will react. If Nastenka doesn't want to, then, of course, it's not worth it.
When father's weekends appeared, with oud went to his native Kuntsevo. Visit your grandmother, play football at the same time. Dad necessarily, and with a visible desire, went to the school stadium. I do not know how the fans found out, but the arrival of Fyodor Cherenkov was eagerly awaited. A crowd of fans of the game, from small to large, was already located on the outskirts of the arena.
When granddaughters appeared in the family, the father did not allow them to be given to sports. “In no case, it’s impossible,” is the leitmotif of the pope’s statements. My oldest daughter wanted to do gymnastics. "Don't take her there," he said. In principle, I was not going to captivate my daughters with professional sports. Unless for health, physical development.
Our grandfather not only forbade his granddaughters to study, he explained why. “You see, Nastya, if girls are brought into sports, they may not have health or families. Everything is interconnected". I appreciated dad's care for his granddaughters. And the advice of a professional athlete was very helpful. It is impossible not to listen.
I remember that dad was brought home ... on a stretcher. Injured in a collision with an opponent. Even the prints of the sore on the body remained. I, at that time a girl, was sincerely scared. She sobbed, not embarrassed, tears. Then once again I was convinced of the correctness of the words of my father. Professional sports are associated with injuries and injuries.
With granddaughters, when he returned home, he loved to drive the ball. Somehow we went to the matches of veterans, to the Almaz stadium, in the Preobrazhenka area. I found the time and opportunity to arrange a fun shuffling with my eldest daughter, the youngest was very small. From the outside, it looked cute and funny. Father and grandfather Fedor Fedorovich is just perfect. Not an exaggeration. Grandfather never scolded his granddaughters even for obvious pranks.
He is invariably friendly with everyone, and with each individually. It was interesting for me and my daughters to observe the manner of communicating with people. I could answer fans' questions for an hour. How and why, for example, his "Spartak" did not have a very successful match. What are the reasons.
He did not leave uncomfortable questions, he tried to answer exhaustively. Not everyone is given. I would never say that the fans are intrusive, somewhat impatient, arrogant. No. Everything was normal, civilized.
DON'T SEPARATE WITH YOUR LOVED ONE
- Some details of my personal life were discussed with my dad. With whom else, if not with him? A man whom I believed implicitly. In his deep mind, subtlety of perception, understanding of delicate things.
It seems that he spoke general words: he advised to save the family, dissuaded him from getting divorced, and the like. He did it penetratingly, with soul. Probably, the experience he personally suffered, of course, gave him the moral right to teach in some sense. Again, in terms of unobtrusive, soft advice.
Alas, it did not work out - neither for him, nor for me. What I, for example, do not regret. My dad was sorry. Well, the relationship in my first marriage has become obsolete, what can I do. There was no point in continuing.
... I often go to the cemetery to my dad alone. I brought, for example, my youngest daughter to school, and I'm going to Troekurovskoye. I clean up there, I update something. Granddaughters, of course, also visit the grave with us when time and study allow.
At home there is a mini-museum dedicated to Fedor Fedorovich. Quite often club paraphernalia. Granddaughters very warmly accept everything that reminds them of their wonderful grandfather.
I didn’t think about whether my father had enemies. This category of citizens, frankly, does not fit into the bright image of the pope. It seems to me that he should not have spiteful critics, hostile people. Yes, for what reason to be angry with him, soft, kind?!
On the football field, during the game, I still allow all sorts of unfriendly manifestations towards my father. Of course, the master is very technical, it was rarely possible to neutralize according to the rules. But in everyday life, vicious attacks, in my opinion, are impossible.
Difficult periods in his life? He remained without work, did not bring money to the family? We couldn't have something like that. He lived with us until I was twelve years old. I don't remember any periods of lack of money. Everything was fine. My father played in Spartak, the national team, earned money.
The only thing that I clearly remember was ... Papa's fears, which he told me about. The age of an athlete in the same football is short. The father was worried that at the end of his career he might be left out of work. Lose your favorite job. What to do then? The question was in the father's eyes. And, apparently, the answer was not always found.
It seems that dad did not remain without his beloved football. I went to other cities for matches with Spartak veterans. Activities, one way or another, connected with the popular game, did not leave him. In a word, I earned money for a living.
Mom, as far as I know, does not communicate with anyone from the world of football. After the death of the pope, she, as they say, "withdrew into herself." The memories of the sports period are very difficult for her. As soon as my father left us during his lifetime, my mother lost interest in football completely. For her, it’s as if this sport does not exist. Although she used to be very worried about the successes and failures of her father, she was desperately rooting for the team in red and white uniforms.
Mom once admitted that communication with dad was the best thing that happened in her life. The first time after the departure of the father in a friend my family is the hardest. None of us hid our feelings. Hard not financially, no. Morally, psychologically. The burden of a huge loss for us was felt physically. Mom is a thin, fragile woman, haggard, in my opinion, even more noticeable.
She didn't try to get her dad back. I don't think anyone should be held back. The doors of our house for the father remained open. You can come, call, finally. Being obsessive, as they say, sticky, apparently, is not in the nature of the mother. By the way, mine too.
She did not intrude into the privacy of her parents. Yes, and she was small at the time of the divorce of loved ones. Didn't quite understand what was going on. It's a pity that the parents separated. In my opinion, the life of dad and mom just broke down. This is the impression.
The good, good times of dad's career. And not because he is a "star" on the field. With rapture I remember the days and evenings spent in our apartment. In the company of people close to my father. I'm talking about the Spartak players who looked at the "light".
The aforementioned Sergei Rodionov is almost invariably among the guests, other players. A person who owns a guitar is always the soul of the company, isn't it? In general, my father is not a professional guitarist. Talented self-taught.
Dad, what to hide, wanted to have a boy in the family. To play football with him. And I would not “push” my son into professionals without fail. Just drive the ball with him, say, in the yard. Everyone was waiting for grandchildren-boys, and only girls were born.
A simple, working family with my father. They lived in a communal apartment. All, imagine, in one room. They moved into a separate apartment in Sokolniki when I was four years old. "Spartak" allocated housing. Far from immediately. Only when dad played in the main team. So the path from the "communal paradise" to individual apartments turned out to be very long and difficult.
Today we live outside the city. It's better, more comfortable. My father often said, I agree with him: the city is not for us. The bustle of the metropolis tired him, exhausted him - purely psychologically. Constantly, my dad and I dreamed of leaving the capital. He liked to spend time in the country.
At the slightest opportunity, my father and a company of football friends went to the Moscow region. Barbecues, songs with a guitar. Wonderful, soulful! And, if I'm going to Moscow on business, I feel uncomfortable. Move to Sokolniki? No way! Although the patrimony of "Spartacus". I try to resolve all the accumulated issues in a day. So that not a foot in the city.
Funeral, the first days after the funeral. I am amazed at the number of Spartak scarves, other symbols, paraphernalia. The grave was buried in flowers. And now people come to honor their father, to communicate with him mentally. From young to old, very young people to gray-haired men and women. In any season.
We talk, we remember the game of our father, the most beautiful balls against the opponents, and not only. An open character, his amazing smile, ready, it seemed, to warm everyone and everything. Yes, we still remember a lot of things, can you forget this? People of all ages sincerely lament that dad passed away so early. Many fans are still crying, they cannot fully believe in the tragedy, come to terms with it.
Yes, along with bright, warm moments, bitter thoughts about an untimely death visit me. People are perplexed: how could this happen?
In my opinion, one of the main reasons for leaving early is separation from my mother. No wonder they say, "do not part with your loved ones." It is directly related to our family, the love story of my parents.
After all, a father with the finest psychology is a man, mentally deeply vulnerable. In my opinion, until the end of his days, he was very worried about leaving our family for another “cell”. Yes, almost nowhere, I think. That act, rather, a tragic circumstance further crippled the vulnerable psyche, in general, health. The sad outcome is known.
And the point here is not at all in the mother, the wife of Fedor Fedorovich. Some people paint her almost as a fiend. Like, because of her, allegedly, her unbearable character, the person died, in fact. Attribute non-existent, extremely negative qualities. How wrong they are!
Mom tried her best to save the family. Did not work out. Years later, it’s hard for me not only to say, but to remember dirty slander, unfair accusations against her.
Poor health, some confusion, most likely, pushed dad to leave us. I repeat, in "nowhere", purely my personal opinion. I do not impose anything on anyone. I think that I, the daughter of Fedor Fedorovich, have the right to my point of view. Of course, the father's popularity could attract the opposite side. Yes, and the mercantile component, too. I really don't want to talk about that family.
Dad willingly came to the area of the capital's Deer Ponds, close to his heart. There is now the Academy, named after his father. He loved children very much, each visit there was accompanied by close, detailed, fascinating communication with Spartak children, future graduates of the Academy. In my opinion, the guys doted on Fedor Fedorovich, the sympathy is mutual.
Father returned home after intense battles, first of all, to rest. Mom, it seems to me, also tried to avoid the football theme. What for? Dad had more than enough football - on the field, in locker rooms, airplanes, hotels, etc. We created all the conditions for him to rest. Great time spent with the family. Great happiness for us - dad returned from a trip! Holiday of the soul, heart.
Alexey Matveev
To be continued
Source: www.rucriminal.info
