307 lines
8.2 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
307 lines
8.2 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
sport
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othersports
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olympics
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2480069
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-----
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# Beijing Handball: Yevgeny Trefilov keeps hardline on Russian team
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## Yevgeny Trefilov freely admits he is a throwback to a bygone era when
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Soviet coaches ruled their players with a rod of iron and helped to make the
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country a sporting superpower.
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Telegraph Staff and agencies 6:59PM BST 31 Jul 2008
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[Comments][1]
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As Russia struggle to match the achievements of the former Soviet Union in
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many sports, Trefilov, coach of the national women's handball team, has a
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track record many of his peers can only dream of.
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Led by their charismatic boss, the Russians have struck gold at three of the
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last four world championships, winning the biennial event in 2003, 2005 and
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again last year, and have qualified for the Olympics for the first time in 16
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years.
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The 52-year-old Trefilov's personality and coaching style make him stand out.
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Usually shy and unassuming, the 1.90-metre Trefilov, who weighs more than 120
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kg, is famous for his verbal outbursts at his charges and has strong views
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about how to treat them.
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"You could say I'm a Soviet-era coach. I was always taught that as coach you
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need a firm hand to keep players in line," he said.
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"For many of our young people the word 'Soviet' has a somewhat bad taste and
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is old-fashioned but in my generation it meant having great pride in your
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country.
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"You must be a dictator if you want to achieve results and working with women
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you often have to be twice as tough."
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To make his point, Trefilov referred to the two-week world championship, held
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in Paris last December.
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"We had games almost every day plus training and the girls started to complain
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that they hadn't seen much of Paris aside from the hotel and the stadium," he
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said.
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"So when we finally had a day off, I let them go sightseeing, do some
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shopping. But you know what? The next day we nearly lost to (rank outsiders)
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Brazil. It just shows you can't be too soft on women, especially Russian
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women."
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He models himself on great Soviet-era coaches such as basketball's Alexander
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Gomelsky and ice hockey's Viktor Tikhonov who won numerous world and Olympic
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titles in the 1970s and 1980s.
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"Tikhonov, Gomelsky...I've always looked up to them because they did our
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country proud," said Trefilov, who has criticised the influx of foreign
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coaches to Russia in recent years.
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"They've come here to make good money but I don't think they're willing to
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give their heart and soul for Russia."
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Trefilov also coaches Russian champions Zvezda Zvenigorod and is just as
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successful at club level.
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He led Lada Togliatti to five consecutive national titles before joining
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Zvezda in 2006.
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Starting almost from scratch, in one season he has built them into a major
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force both domestically and in Europe, guiding them to their first Russian
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title and the EHF Cup, handball's equivalent of the UEFA Cup in soccer, last
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season.
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This year, the big Russian capped that by steering Zvezd to the prestigious
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European Champions League.
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Despite Trefilov's stern demeanour, the players love him.
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"He does have a fiery temper, so when he's angry you don't want to be on the
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receiving end. But he's a forgiving coach if you make an honest mistake," told
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Zvezda captain Irina Poltoratskaya.
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Team mate Oxana Romenskaya agreed: "He really cares about us and is always
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there to help out."
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Romenskaya and Poltoratskaya, who played for Trefilov in Togliatti, have
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followed him to Zvenigorod, a small town about 40 km northwest of Moscow.
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Zvezda players live in a nearby sanatorium, converted into a training centre,
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almost year-round away from their families.
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"That's the price you pay for being an athlete," said Romenskaya's husband
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Yevgeny, who was visiting his wife in Zvenigorod during the New Year holidays.
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"I had a week off, so I came here from Togliatti to be with Oxana. Of course,
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I couldn't just come unannounced, I had to ask the coach's permission first.
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He said okay and I'm here."
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Yevgeny, himself a former athlete, defended Trefilov's coaching style: "He's
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the ultimate competitor, he always wants to win. Besides, this is not a
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ladies' finishing school."
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Despite successes at world championships, the Russian women had not qualified
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for the Olympics since 1992 when they won the bronze playing as part of the
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Unified Team.
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They finally ended their long wait by winning the 2007 world title to book a
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ticket to Beijing.
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"The Olympics is our number one priority," said Romenskaya, 31, who is
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postponing her retirement until after the August Games when she plans to start
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a family.
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Yevgeny, 35, added: "I don't know if she's ready to retire for good but we
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definitely plan to take a year off after the Olympics. She's been in sports
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since she was 14, so it's time we start planning for the future."
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[What are these?][3]
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* Share: [Share][2] [ ][4] [ ][5]
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[Tweet][6]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/2480069/Beijing-
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Handball-Yevgeny-Trefilov-keeps-hardline-on-Russian-team.html
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Telegraph
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## [Olympics][7]
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* ### [Sport »][8]
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* ### [Other Sports »][9]
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* ### [Handball »][10]
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IN SPORT
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[![Olympic Stadium - London 2012 Olympics competition schedule][11]][12]
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### [London 2012 interactive schedule][12]
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[![Sir Chris Hoy - London 2012 Olympics tickets guide][13]][14]
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### [London 2012 tickets Q&A][14]
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[![Sir Steve Redgrave][15]][16]
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### [Olympics email: sign up][16]
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External Links
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* ### [Beijing 2008][17]
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* ### [International Handball Federation][18]
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[X][2] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][3]
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Share:
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* [ ][2]
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* [ ][4]
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* [ ][5]
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* [Tweet][6]
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* OLYMPIC IMAGES
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Latest images from the Olympics and the London 2012 Games.
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Advertisement
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![][19]
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][20] [blog
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comments powered by Disqus][21]
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[![London 2012 Olympics][22]][7]
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Advertisement
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## [THE OLYMPICS BLOG »][23]
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[ ![Simon Hart][24] ][25]
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** [Simon Hart][25] **
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* [Tax rules are depriving UK fans of Usain Bolt preview][25]
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[ ![][26] ][27]
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** [Jacquelin Magnay][27] **
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* [My Hay Festival speech on ethics in sporting events][27]
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[ ![Tanni Grey-Thompson][28] ][29]
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** [Tanni-Grey Thompson][29] **
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* [Paralympic World Cup can help London 2012 be catalyst for success][29]
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Olympic features
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[![London 2012 Olympics: 20 questions with Nicole Cooke][30]][31]
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### [20 Questions][31]
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Team GB road cyclist **Nicole Cooke **talks to Telegraph Sport
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### [Olympics countdown][32]
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[![][33]][32]
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**426 days to go**
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> Theodosius II ordered the destruction of all Greek temples in AD 426. <p>
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### [Send us your view on the Olympics][34]
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sponsored features
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Olympic experts and guides
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### [Olympic Columnists][35]
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[**Steven Redgrave**][36]
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/columnists
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/chris-hoy/">**Chris Hoy**** **
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/jamescracknell/">**James
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Cracknell**
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/olympics/columnists
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/tanni-grey-thompson/">**Tanni Grey-Thompson**
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> <a href="http:/www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/sailing/ben-
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ainslie/">**Ben Ainslie**
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* [**Cultural Olympiad**][37]
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* [**Olympics Business**][38]
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### [Daily London 2012 Olympics countdown][32]
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[LONDON 2012 Sport Guides »][39]
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### [Olympics sport-by-sport guide][7]
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* [Archery][40] | [Athletics][41] | [Badminton][42]
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* [Basketball][43] | [Boxing][44] | [Canoe Sprint][45]
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* [Canoe Slalom][46] | [BMX Cycling][47] | [Mountain Bike][48]
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* [Road Cycling][49] | [Track Cycling][50] | [Diving][51]
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* [Equestrianism][52] | [Fencing][53] | [Football][54]
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* [Rhythmic Gymnastics][55] | [Artistic][56] | [Trampoline][57]
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* [Handball][58] | [Hockey][59] | [Judo][60]
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* [Modern Pentathlon][61] | [Rowing][62] | [Sailing][63] | [Shooting][64]
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* [Synchronised Swimming][65] | [Swimming][66]
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* [Table Tennis][67] | [Taekwondo][68] | [Tennis][69]
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* [Triathlon][70] | [Indoor Volleyball][71] | [Beach Volleyball][72]
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* [Water Polo][73] | [Weightlifting][74] | [Wrestling][75]
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