10 football players who did poorly at school. I want to send my son to football. Costs? What problems might there be? The head coach of the Russian youth team answers. - And no one noticed the trick

The start of his career at Tottenham did not go well. Therefore, Gudni began to study as a lawyer. But fate always gives a second chance: the then Bolton manager Bruce Riok invited the Icelander to run a little more, only for his team. Bergsson agreed. And not in vain - already in the next season he became the real leader of the “wanderers”.

Gudni Bergsson

The reward for the efforts was not long in coming - Riok appointed the smart defender as captain. Three times he rose to the elite with the club, where he helped it gain a foothold in the endgame of his career. But Gudni did not forget about his studies - he still received a law degree.

I consolidated the acquired knowledge in my own law office until my heart missed football again. Thus, Gudni Bergsson became chairman of the Icelandic Football Federation.

4. Ian Dowie

"Space" guy. Before the beginning football career received a Master's degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Hertforshire.

Initially, football was just a hobby for Dowie, which helped distract him from his hard work at British Aerospace. But thanks to his brother, who insisted on continuing his football career, Ian did not become a famous aerodesigner.

3. Nedum Onuoha

The only active football player in our top. Nedum currently runs for Queens Park Rangers. From birth, the Englishman of Nigerian origin had two passions in his head: football and study. One did not interfere with the other - the young guy managed to combine everything.

People like Nedum are called “nerds” at school. Almost all grades in the high school certificate (eight subjects) are “A”. The smart football player was not interested in the opinion of the majority, and he continued to “plow” at the university.

Nedum Onuoha

The efforts were not in vain - the diploma shows A's in mathematics, commerce and information technology. Stuart Pearce, then manager of Manchester City, poked fun at the defender, talking about his “brawls” with atoms.

2. Frank Lampard

Even the most devoted Chelsea fans don't know everything about Chelsea legend Frank Lampard. His career and performance resonate with the Swedish study. After all, the midfielder was quite a productive player. For the whole club career Frank scored 259 goals.

Frank Lampard

But an Englishman can be respected not only for sports achivments. It’s not for nothing that when he was a player, Lampard’s teammates called him “the professor”: Chelsea conducted one of the IQ tests to identify football players prone to head injuries.

During the study, Frank was able to score more than 150 points. This result was observed at that time in only 0.1% of Englishmen. Need I add that Lampard graduated from Brentwood School in Essex with straight A's in all his subjects?

1. Clark Carlisle

The 38-year-old Englishman began his intellectual journey at Staffordshire University. It was also no coincidence that he chose his specialty - the profession of a sports journalist attracted Clark due to the “closeness of the topic” and the need to constantly develop.

Clark Carlisle

The peak of intellectual recognition came in 2002, when a television show unofficially named the then Queens Park Rangers footballer the smartest footballer in Britain.
Eight years later, in 2010, he confirmed his reputation in the intellectual game “Countdown”.

The game consisted of manipulating numbers and letters. Carlisle managed to beat the current champion of England, Adam Guest, by literally one wicket - 89:55. Clarke also served as chairman of the FA and was head of the Association professional football players of your country.

Sportbox.ru announces the start of a series of publications “I Can’t Be Silent”, which will explain why there are “no normal football players” in a country with a population of 146 million people.

“Is it really impossible to find 11 football players in such a huge country for whom you won’t have to blush?” This rhetorical question is invariably asked after another failure of the national team at a major tournament.

Inflated salaries of players who stop progressing and see no reason to rise from the golden stove in order to leave the territory of comfort and try themselves in a more competitive environment. Lack of commercial component in professional football: clubs are not interested in making money, because the region or state corporation will still give money. Low interest in sports on the part of the vast majority of the population, who open their eyelids only during major competitions. Poorly developed youth football, in which rarely qualified and almost always low-paid coaches teach children in conditions that are often close to extreme.

The reasons can be listed for a long time. No matter which part of this body you examine, you will find a tumor everywhere. You will be surprised, but each of these problems is addressed in the recently adopted football development program until 2030.

System sports training does not produce enough competitive young football players. For example, in 2013, only 7 youth football players moved to the Premier League, - an excerpt from the football development program until 2030.

According to the RFU as of 2014, there were 2,500 training centers for young football players in Russia (youth sports schools, sports schools, academies, etc.) - since then the number of schools has not sharply decreased or increased. Each of them annually releases a team of 16-17 year olds and recruits a new 6-7 year old group. On average, there are 20 people studying football in a team - in the most developed schools there are more. We multiply 2500 by 20 - we get 50,000 football players who graduate from Russian children's and youth schools every year. This is not just big, it is a cosmic figure.

Obviously, not everyone is suitable for RFPL clubs, FNL and PFL. Someone will get a serious injury, someone will decide to focus on their studies, someone studied with a weak coach, someone does not have the slightest talent... Let only 1000 people pass through these and many other unmentioned filters. Even if so, then these are you-x-cha football players! A thousand trained, not devoid of talent guys who are ready to fight to do what they love.

Such a number of graduates seems to hint at an incredible level of competition for a place in the few clubs in our country. However, in reality there is no competition. Chance to get in big football often received by those who have:

A) Connections, preferably family ones, to get a chance through connections

B) Money, preferably big money, to pay for the chance.

The players who have made it to the top of the game in the last decade without fulfilling one of these conditions are the only ones who can be counted on one hand. Our football dies during the transition from youth football to adult football - this is a fact. Thousands and thousands of young men say goodbye to their dreams every year for completely unsportsmanlike reasons.

Throughout their childhood and adolescence, they chose the latter between study and football - this is understandable psychology. With the coming realization that they cannot succeed in football, they are faced with uncertainty, not knowing what to do next.

The state - 99 percent of football schools are supported by public money - allocates huge funds for football education so that the younger generation is involved in sports. As a result, the state, for its own money (taxpayers’ money), receives tens of thousands of young people who do not know how to use their knowledge and where to direct their hunger and resentment for their destroyed dreams.

The saddest thing is that the system does not work because of a handful of scammers who have received little power and access to budgets, which they are not tired of mastering. They got into clubs and/or have friends there. We have established a network based on bribes and kickbacks, which works without failures, because no one talks about it.

Participants in the process benefit from the current state of affairs. A football player who used the “pay for a chance” service will not admit it even a decade later, since this is a very dubious reason for pride. Older football players, who, no doubt, know the whole system, will not be indignant all the more, because the existing state of affairs allows them to live in comfortable, non-competitive conditions. Coaches and functionaries will also remain silent. Some are in trouble, and the rest are afraid of losing their jobs, afraid to go against the system, or rather, against the people who created it.

The football players who were told: “Do you want to join the club? Pay X hundreds of thousands of rubles.” Obviously, no one is asking them: journalists are not interested in communicating with the unknown 18-year-old “Ivan Ivanov.” And he himself will not come to journalists and ask to interview him. He won’t go to the prosecutor’s office either, because he doesn’t have evidence, and it’s not in our rules to go to the authorities to report corruption. In addition, he is simply afraid of people who can threaten with a finger or a pistol. In addition, if the conditional Vanya Ivanov has not completely despaired and plans to try to play somewhere, then he understands that the clubs will not want to take a person who is not afraid to speak.

The situation is very similar to rape. The victim does not want to talk about what happened because she is afraid, firstly, of the rapist, and secondly, of public censure, including from close people: “it’s her own fault, there’s no point in walking around alone in a skirt in the evenings.” In football it would sound like this: “As if you yourself didn’t know that you can’t get through without money. You're acting like a snitch." Our football is being raped - and we need to talk about it.

As part of the #Icannotbesilent project, every Monday we will publish the stories of Ivanov Ivanov, who, under conditions of complete anonymity, agreed to tell how, where and what exactly they encountered during the transition from children's and youth football to adult football. They told me very reluctantly and only because they know me well over the years of joint attempts to chase my dream. Perhaps their example will inspire openness among other people who, among others, did not get into big-time football because their predecessors preferred to remain silent.

- What was your favorite subject at school?

Khudzhamov: He was a dreamer, he wanted to visit the other end of the Earth, so he loved history and geography. I also liked Russian and Ukrainian literature.

Obradovic: Mathematics. I've loved counting since childhood, and I still do.

- Were your parents often called to school?

Khudzhamov: Just once. I leaned on the window, and it squeezed out. Once again they kicked me out of class - they were fooling around with a neighbor. And when I left the class, my dad saw me...

Obradovic: It happened. He loved to play football in the school yard and broke windows with the ball several times.

- Schoolchildren are graduating soon, how did you graduate from school?

Khudzhamov: No C grades in the certificate. But with a fight at graduation. Four gopniks began to take something from their friends, and 30 of us were sitting in the bushes nearby. They ran away very quickly.

Obradovic: Our education is a little different - there are only eight classes. There I studied with straight A's. Then four years of technical school - there were already C grades.

- Did you often skip classes?

Khudzhamov: During the entire period I skipped one or two lessons. As a child, I was very obligatory, and missing a training session or a lesson, even due to illness, was like death.

Obradovic: Not often, but it happened. When I fell in love, I ran away on dates. By the way, the Serbian poetess Desanka Maksimovic has very beautiful poems about love...

- Did you cheat more often at school or at your place?

Khudzhamov: I remember sometimes I copied something from Pasha Kutas from Chernomorets. I also successfully remembered something in algebra, so my entire test was written off as an A.

Obradovic: Rarely. And he knew mathematics better than anyone in the class, finished all the tests earlier and helped the others. I sent decisions on small pieces of paper.

Brothers Kombarovs at school they enjoyed an “official position.” In their case - the similarity of twins. By the way, they are not alone - Berezutsky also benefited from almost complete identity. When the teacher called Vasya to the board in physics or mathematics, Lyosha went. He answered, received a good grade, and his classmates naturally all laughed. Understanding perfectly well that this is actually Lyosha, and not Vasya.

The Kombarovs also performed similar tricks. Here is a fragment from their interview with a “Championship” correspondent Denis Tselykh.

– What did you have to do instead of each other? Let's say go on dates?

K.K.: I didn’t have to go on dates, but Dima once took an exam at school for me.

- Successfully?

K.K.: Yes, a four. It was geography and he was better prepared. We painted on a mole for him, and he went to take the exam instead of me.

- And no one noticed the trick?

K.K.: No, everything went smoothly. Many people only distinguished us by our birthmark.

He is not afraid to admit: absenteeism occurred in his biography.

I remember with horror all these early rises, eternal pleas: “Mom, I don’t want to go to school, leave me alone!” said the red-and-white goalkeeper. - Sometimes I skipped, I won’t hide it.

- For the sake of football or just like that?
- Just. Football has nothing to do with it. But don't make me a slob, I rarely missed classes! But sometimes I really wanted to sleep...

- Which subjects did you not particularly like?
- Algebra, geometry, physics... Hard sciences for me. I'm more of a humanist.

- But now you’re doing great geometrically in goal. You hit the balls from any angle.
- It’s not for me to evaluate, but maybe geometry helped in some way.

- Did you have a teacher as charismatic as Karpin at school?
- Yes! I immediately remember a physics teacher who loved to repeat: “My pointer-sword is your head off your shoulders.” This, of course, does not mean that Karpin has the same philosophy! But that teacher, like Valery Georgievich, knew how to put people in their place.

So formally, Karpin sometimes adheres to this principle: a few unsuccessful matches, and that’s it, “head off shoulders”, goodbye, place in the team.
- That's it! That’s why I say that in some ways Karpin and my physicist are similar.

There is something to be said about physics and Sergei Parshivlyuk. True, in a completely different way.

Chemistry and physics are not my thing. Geometry was also difficult. Mathematics - more or less. But the Russian language was easy. I wrote without errors.

Until the 5th grade I studied in a regular secondary school, and from the 6th year he moved to specialized class “B” of school No. 1036 at the Spartak Sports School. It is located not far from the ice palace in Sokolniki, and in principle it is also an ordinary school, but it was the “B” classes that were reserved for athletes. By the way, they also studied there Dziuba, And Shishkin, And Rebko... Yes, almost all graduates of the Spartak football school. Naturally, everyone tried to get a general education, but the emphasis was still more on football.

- Did you skip classes?
- I won’t hide it - we were skipping (smiles). We were one team and tried to do everything together. If we decided to go out, everyone took part in it.

-Who was your favorite teacher?
- I always remember our class teacher Lyudmila Fedorovna with warmth.

- Was September 1st a special day for you?
- Yes. On this day it became completely clear that the holidays, unfortunately, were over...

“Like hitting a high school student in the ass...”

Lokomotiv defender Vitaly Denisov. True, independent and earning huge money. It is all the more interesting to understand what he was like at school.

- Did you like school at all, Vitaly?
- I remember before the first lesson in my life I had a lot of enthusiasm! New knowledge, friends, impressions... - Denisov recalled in an interview with the Championship. - But some time passed, I cooked in this cauldron and began to perceive many things differently (laughs). I quickly stopped wanting to go to school.

I was never strong in the exact sciences. Physics and chemistry are not for me. But I “acted out” in tongues. Uzbek, English, French - all were quite easy for me. I even do not know why. Although I’ve forgotten my French a little now.

- That is, you would have easily gotten a job as a translator at Lokomotiv then?
- Well, there’s no need to run that far... A translator, also at Lokomotiv, is a huge responsibility. But foreign languages I really really liked them at school.

- Did you often skip classes?
- No! I was honest. If you didn't homework, I didn’t learn something, didn’t understand - I just had to blush in front of the teacher. But I didn’t have any stories like “Oh no, they’ll tell me off in front of the whole class and give me a bad grade - I won’t survive this, I’ll stay at home.”

If you mess up, take responsibility for your actions. I could formally “take a break” only for a good reason. That is, because of football, some competitions, tournaments.

- In physical education, I believe you were the coolest student.
- Well, that's probably true. (laughs). They always gave only A's. Well, it’s actually strange, if I got a B in physical education...

There was a girl whose pigtails you were always pulling, seeking attention, and she distracted you from physical education, exact sciences, and everything?
- The first classes I kept myself in control (laughs). But from the fifth... Let's say, the “game of love” began. I walked with girls, saw me off, gave flowers... Although I can’t say that I’ve ever lost my head or stopped studying because of a classmate. Everything was in moderation.

- What is the first story from your school years that comes to mind?
- You know, I ended up in the class, let’s say, “not the smartest.” There were bad students, three students and good students. Excellent students were sent to other classes. But in fact, the guys were very smart and quick-witted.

For a long time I did not understand why such smart boys and girls often get bad grades. Then everything became clear: it was all due to elementary laziness. They just didn't want to learn, that's all.

When something happened at our school - no matter what it was - my class was always the first to be checked. Something broke, someone ran away from class, someone was punched in the eye - suspicion still falls on us.

-Have you hit anyone in the eye?
- Certainly! How can we live without it? But I was never really beaten. Because I was physically superior to my peers. So, there was one high school student, a couple of years older. And he and his classmates constantly picked on one of ours. A simple guy, from a poor family, kind, sympathetic, but a terrible slob! And, in general, we always tried to stand up for him.

A year has passed, I have grown up, become stronger and responded properly to this bully! So that he doesn't bother anyone. What exactly did you do? Yes, he hit him on the ass! And since then our class began to dominate (laughs). They didn’t even think about pestering anyone. And everything after that incident...

Speaking of slobs. They were not only in the class of the Lokomotiv defender, but also in some of the St. Petersburg ones. For example, where I studied Andrey Arshavin. And the Zenit midfielder was just that slob. Which he himself admitted more than once.

Arshavin was lazy to do his homework, which is why he regularly received bad marks. And he behaved in a far from exemplary manner. For example, he hid from his mother entries in diaries where they demanded her immediate appearance at school. Due to my son's bad behavior.

Andrey spoke too openly with teachers, clashed with peers and tore up class magazines. But he loved literature very much, and in general he found something interesting in all subjects. And he was considered an extremely talented, albeit difficult child.

Replace the last word with “player” and you get Arshavin the football player. In general, already at school, the current RFPL stars were in many ways what they are now.