Last week, October 14, was the birthday of the Olympic champion, honored coach of the USSR and Russia, Vladimir Salmanovich Maksimov. The world handball legend is 75 years old!
On Saturday, October 17, a celebration was held in Chekhov on that occasion. In honor of the celebrants, a solemn match was played between the Chekhov Bears and the national team of Russian clubs at the Olympic Palace of Sports.
Vladimir Maksimov reached stellar heights both as a player and as a coach. He played for Krasnodar „University“ and MAI, he was the captain of the USSR national team. At the club level, he won the European Champions Cup, the Cup Winners’ Cup, the championship and the Soviet Union Cup. And with the national team, he became the Olympic champion in Montreal in 1976, the winner of the silver medal at the world championships and the two-time world champion among students.
„After the Olympics, I wanted to finish, but they convinced me that I still had to fight, to win the World Cup, but I didn’t succeed in that,“ Maksimov said in an interview with Match TV. „I could also perform at the Games in Moscow. but there was no fire in my soul, I burned out as a player and told coach Anatoliy Yevtushenko that I was leaving. He replied that no one had ever left the national team.
At the age of 33, Vladimir Maksimov became a coach. He worked for a long time in the youth national team of the USSR, with which he won two world championships (1985, 1989), one silver (1981) and one bronze (1987) medal. He led the „United Team“, which won the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
After the collapse of the USSR, Maksimov was at the head of the Russian men’s selection, which became the strongest team on the planet. Under his leadership, Russian handball players won the Sydney Olympics in 2000, two World Championships (1993, 1997) and the European Championships (1996), and also won bronze at the Athens Games in 2004, silver medals at the World Championships (1999) and European Championships (1994, 2000).
The work of a coach is incomparable with the work of a player. It is much more comprehensive and powerful, – says Maksimov. – In Russia, unfortunately, most players are still created at the expense of the menu, and not on the understanding that their future depends on the work done. I keep repeating: it doesn’t matter that you are the champions of Russia – we have to go higher all the time. We have to forget that you won earlier, but this is really the most difficult process.
At the age of 75, Vladimir Salmanovich continues to work actively. The president is also the head coach of the strongest club in Russia, the Chekhov Bears, the champion of Russia for 19 seasons.
The Minister of Sports of the Russian Federation Oleg Matytsin congratulated Vladimir Maksimov.
„People like Vladimir Salmanovic are the pride of our country. And great titles as coaches and players should inspire the younger generation to play sports, to continue our tradition, – said Oleg Matytsin. – This largely reflects our strategy. The success of any endeavor depends on the specifics of the coach and the teacher. I really want the tradition of the handball school to continue, so that people like Vladimir Salmanovic can pass on their experience to the younger generation as much as possible. I hope that our handball team will make us happy with their successes at the biggest handball competitions.
The Russian Handball Federation also congratulated the great coach on this great anniversary: We wish Vladimir Salmanovich good health, longevity, successful and productive work for the benefit of national handball, talented students among players and coaches and, of course, new victories!
