Hockey fans with experience remember the legendary five organized in CSKA by Viktor Tikhonov, which also included Vladimir Krutov. Hockey player from God - so many hockey experts and fans appreciated the talent of this athlete. Although many do not remember how this hockey player played, nevertheless, thanks to modern technologies and especially the Internet, you can not only hear from experienced fans about this magnificent five, but also see the game recordings with your own eyes.
The beginning of a hockey career
The young hockey player got up on skates early enough. Since Krutovās parents lived in Moscow, the first stadium to which they brought little Vova was Meteor. And the young athlete at that time was only four years old. Then he enters the CSKA hockey school, where he undergoes the main hockey education. Like many boys of that time, imitated on ice Valery Kharlamov, a wonderful hockey player of that time. But unlike the other boys who had never seen their idols in their life, Krutov not only knew personally Valery Kharlamov, but even their families were friends with each other. Krutov-hockey player completed his sports education at the age of seventeen. Then he spent his first match with the legendary Moscow club CSKA.
Vladimir Krutov - hockey player of CSKA
If we talk about the gaming career, it can be noted that he is a one-man. The first club in which Vladimir Evgenievich Krutov began his hockey career was CSKA. And the first match with his participation took place in 1977, when the novice athlete was only seventeen years old. It was this year that an unknown hockey player came out on the ice in a sweater of a famous army club against Wings of the Soviets. After this exit onto the ice, Vladimir Krutov, whose biography is described in sufficient detail, spent eleven seasons with CSKA, without changing his first love for the army team. The only time a player changes his favorite club's sweater is at the end of his hockey career and a trip overseas.
If we talk about his physical characteristics and playing role, it is worth noting that with a small growth by hockey standards, the athlete had a pretty decent weight. Nevertheless, having the role of an attacker, Vladimir possessed incredible speed and high maneuverability, for which he received the nickname "tank".
Krutov and the USSR team
In the USSR national team, Krutov made his debut at the 1980 Olympic Games. By that time, this striker had spent in CSKA, led by Viktor Tikhonov, for three whole seasons and established himself as a successful striker. It was at this time that Viktor Tikhonov coached the country's national hockey team. Therefore, he invited a well-known hockey player to the Olympics in the United States. And although many consider the silver of those Olympic Games to be a failure of the national team, after which outstanding hockey players of that time, such as Petrov and Mikhailov, left it, they were replaced by a new galaxy of āgoldā hockey players of the USSR, among which Vladimir Krutov shone with a separate diamond. Literally immediately after this Olympiad, hegemony of the USSR national team in ice hockey begins. During this decade, the national team lost only a few tournaments, and Vladimir Krutovās great merit is also in this. The last year Krutov played for the national team was 1989. That year, the USSR national team won the world championship in Sweden.
Partners of Vladimir Krutov
If we talk about Krutovās partners in the three attacks in which he spoke, he was extremely lucky. As already mentioned above, an example for Krutov was Valery Kharlamov, and in the first years of his performance both in the CSKA team and in the USSR team he was lucky not only to play on the same team with his idol, but also to play with him in one of the three attacks. Thus, a generational change took place both in CSKA and in the national team of the Soviet Union. Petrov, Mikhailov and Kharlamov are being replaced by Makarov, Krutov and Larionov. Moreover, this generational change took place gradually, and young hockey players not only played in the same team with famous athletes, but also learned from them. Therefore, the rotation took place almost painlessly. It was in the absence of continuity that Vladimir Evgenievich Krutov saw the problem of modern Russian hockey. In his interviews, he noted that young athletes often have no one to learn from: as soon as a person gains a certain form, he is immediately invited overseas, and young inexperienced hockey players who have no one else to learn come to replace him.
But the most famous partners of Krutov were: Makarov, Larionov, Fetisov and Kasatonov. This five army men thundered around the world. Many hockey experts believe that in terms of teamwork and effectiveness this composition was the best in the history of ice hockey.
Krutov's performance in the NHL
While still at the zenith of his fame, Vladimir Evgenievich Krutov (and that was 1986) was presented at the NHL draft. And it was then that the hockey player was selected in the twelfth round by the Canadian team, āVancouver Canucksā. But Vladimir had to wait a long time to arrive in Canada. He spends his first and last season in the NHL in 1989 and scores eleven goals for Vancouver. Vladimir has always been a hockey player who, as it seemed to many, was overweight, but this athlete not only did not interfere with the athlete, but he skillfully used it in order to wage a power struggle with his rivals. Nevertheless, the coaches of the overseas club did not agree with this statement of the question, and the athlete had to leave the Canadian championship.
End of sports career
Having finished his hockey career in the NHL, Krutov, a hockey player, moves to Europe, where he spends the last few seasons in hockey. He plays one season in Switzerland, then moves to Sweden and spends four more seasons there. It cannot be said that Krutovās foreign career was at least a bit like the Soviet one. Nevertheless, after the Swedish stage of his hockey career, Vladimir Krutov finished his performances in big hockey with the puck. He holds his last match in 1996.
Krutov's achievements in hockey
If we talk about the hockey glory of Vladimir Krutov, then, despite a short sports career, he is still considered one of the best forwards of domestic hockey. Vladimir set several records, some of which will not be broken in the near future. So, he took part in three Olympics and has two Olympic "gold" and one "silver". And participating in seven world hockey championships, he returned five times with gold medals and once each with silver and bronze. In addition, he participated in eleven USSR hockey championships and won all of them with his team. He is also a member of the club of the hundred best domestic scorers who scored 289 goals. And one more thing: during his whole career he has struck a lot of penalties, or shootouts, and he never missed.
Athlete's post hockey life
After the end of his sports career in a Swedish club, Vladimir Krutov remained in it as a coach for another year, and then returned to his homeland. He cannot imagine life without his favorite sport and gives himself all to him. He continues coaching and in one of the seasons is even the main mentor of his favorite club - CSKA. But he did not achieve much success in the coaching field. And since 2002, he was the head of the State School of Higher Sports Excellence. In addition, I tried myself on the radio as a commentator.
Wife of Vladimir Krutov
The family life of the Krutov family, according to friends and relatives, was successful. The wife of Vladimir Krutov, Nina, although she was five years older than her husband, was nevertheless able to create the family comfort that many athletes lack so much. Nina and her hockey mother worked in a kindergarten. The marriage with Vladimir was the second for Nina. From the first marriage, the woman left a child who received the name of his father - Denis Krutov. The hockey player, the son of Vladimir Krutov, Alexei, is the second child in the family, named after the best friend of his teammate Alexei Kasatonov. Vladimir very much loved not only his wife, with whom he lived for 33 years, but also both sons. Krutov is a hockey player whose family was a model for many. He was a wonderful husband and father. Vladimir Krutov, the cause of death, which for many is not so important, lived only 52 years.
Children of Vladimir Krutov
Although the eldest son Denis did not follow in his father's footsteps, the youngest, Aleksey, becomes a professional hockey player. But the club that Aleksey Krutov-hockey player will choose is Spartak. In this, the tastes of father and son diverged. Aleksey is a good athlete, he plays quite a lot at a high level, but he never reached the heights of his father. Unlike Krutov Sr., who only played in one team at home, Alexey replaced more than ten clubs for his sporting life. At the moment, at the age of 32, ends his career at the Swiss club Red Ice. During his life he plays in many KHL teams, however, he has never been involved in the Russian national hockey team.
The death of the great athlete
Krutov-hockey player lived a short but vibrant life. The former athlete died shortly after his 52 year of birth, which caused a great shock to relatives and friends. Vladimir Krutov, whose cause of death is still unclear to the end, died young enough. Some doctors claim that he had internal bleeding, while others indicate liver problems. Nevertheless, the great hockey player did not.
Vladimir Krutov was buried in Khimki, where he lived with his family in recent years, at the Novoluzhinsky cemetery. Although the hockey player is no longer with us, the memory of him remained not only in the hearts of relatives and friends. Many hockey fans come to his grave to remember the great striker.