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Where there is no law, but every man does what is right in his own eyes, there is the least of real liberty
Henry M. Robert

Oleksandr ZINEVYCH: "They promised me the moon in Moscow"

10 April, 1999 - 00:00

By Andriy BILEYCHUK, special to The Day

Young forward of Kyiv's Sokil (Falcon) and Ukrainian National team Oleksandr
Zinevych has deserved goods graces of the Kyiv spectators due to his effective
and bold play. Your correspondent met with him.

The Day: I once heard that you had to choose between soccer
and hockey.

O. Z.: True, in the first grade I began to attend both the soccer
and hockey sections. First I ran to the training at the Start stadium,
and then scooted to my hockey coach Kostiantyn Havrylov. Finally, I gave
my preference to hockey.

The Day: I wonder, why did you choose hockey?

O. Z.: It is an extremely spectacular game, the hockey field
is very small, and you can't avoid collisions like in soccer, where you
can outflank the opponent at a high speed. In addition, when playing hockey,
you have to concentrate to the utmost, for if you lose caution and attention
just for a second, you risk to be knocked off your feet and onto the ice.

The Day: Did it take you long to get into Sokil?

O. Z.: It may seem strange to you, but I started with Moscow's
Dynamo reserve team. I was then 16 and responded to the invitation from
the Russian capital almost without hesitation. As is often the case, they
had promised me a mountain of gold, but in reality they even failed to
pay me regularly the money stipulated by the contract, and the promised
apartment was forgotten at all. In a word, I returned to my native Kyiv
empty-handed, and it was just then that an offer from our national youth
team arrived.

The Day: Do you now regret your moving to the Ukrainian capital?

O. Z.: Not a bit. After all, this is where my home, my family
are.

The Day: What impressions do you still have of the Nineteenth
University Games in Slovakia, where Ukraine took first place?

O. Z.: At first, our team was greeted as some outsiders who could
be beaten hands down. But after we had won several matches in a row, they
began to treat us with a high degree of prejudice. This was especially
seen in the match against the Canadians. Also, the referees helped the
hosts a lot.

The Day: If I am correct, you were among the players who failed
to take the bullet in the finals?

O. Z.: This did not actually upset me a great deal, for in the
long run our team won the tournament.

The Day: Are you happy with your partners in the Zinevych-Markovsky-Didkovsky
trio?

O. Z.: We are playing together for the second year now. And we
have learned to understand each other well. They used to consider us promising
debutantes, and now we represent one of the leading units in the Sokil
Club. And we are like brothers with Dmytro (Markovsky - Author): we play
together and spend our free time together.

The Day: Have you had offers from the NHL?

O. Z.: No, but numerous options have been proposed by North American
League clubs. But for the time being I would prefer to play in my homeland,
to gain experience, in order not to sit on the bench in the reserves.

The Day: What NHL clubs do you like?

O. Z.: My sympathies lie with Detroit and Colorado. Quite a few
Russian legionnaires play for the Red Wings, thus there are already precedents.

The Day: Against what player was it most difficult to play?

O. Z.: I would like to name Berkut-PPO halfback Valery Sydorov:
despite his age (of 40 -Author), he is very quick and tenacious, and it
is next to impossible to outplay him.

The Day: I know that many  of our coaches adhere to a
nearly sacred rule: the laughing stops at the locker-room door, and during
instructions for the game one can hear a pin drop. To what degree is Oleksandr
Seukand democratic in this regard?

O. Z.: In principle, as the coach gives instructions no one jokes
- everyone is setting himself for the coming contest. But that doesn't
mean that we don't like horsing around: Sokil has quite a few practical
jokers.

The Day: Are there many restrictions that sports stars have
to put up with?

O. Z.: In the long run, it depends on the kind of sport. Gymnasts
should avoid restaurants, and swimmers can't afford to catch cold, thus
have to take a good care of their wardrobe. The hockey players do not have
any special limitations, but as they say, all things in moderation.

The Day: In one newspaper, a picture flashed past in which
you are holding two bottles of champagne...

O. Z.: Last spring, returning from the B Group World Championship,
where we had been successful, we attended a home football match with Kyiv
Dynamo playing (as a matter of fact, the guys and I all love soccer). At
the stadium stand we met a well-known super-fan Paramon, who happened to
have the fuel.

The Day: Hollywood star Keanu Reeves some time ago went in
for hockey very seriously. During the plays and training he would out loud
recite Shakespeare. He maintained it helped him score goals. And what helps
you?

O. Z.: My girlfriend, Tetiana. She is my continual source of
inspiration, with her I celebrate victories and mourn defeats. As a matter
of fact, we don't like mourning that much: we prefer to cut loose at discotheques,
in a word, to have fun. We plan to legalize our relationship as soon as
this summer.

The Day: As is widely known, hockey is the fastest sport on
earth. Are you as agile and vigorous in your everyday life as you are in
the hockey field, or you can indulge in lying around on the sofa when you
have leisure time?

O. Z.: Of course, after exhausting battles you don't want to
go out anywhere, all you want is to go to bed and relax. And on the weekends,
Tetiana and I usually have active relaxation: going out for shish kebab,
the theater, or a concert.

 

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