The childhood of Zinetula Khaidarovich
Bilyaletdinov was born on March 13, 1955 in Moscow. His father, Khaidyar, was not a native Muscovite. He was born in the Nizhny Novgorod region, in the Tatar village of Pitsa, where after school and the army he worked on a collective farm. At the age of 24, he moved to the capital and got a job as a worker at the Krasny Bogatyr shoe factory - he worked there until he retired. The mother of the future outstanding hockey player, Nyaimya, was also a simple worker - a technician at the Red October confectionery enterprise.
Hockey player Zinetula Bilyaletdinov in his youth
The parents met and got married in the capital. Their family had three children. Zinetula often spent the summer months in his father’s homeland, in the village. Later I remembered that golden time - swimming, fires, strawberries, huts, climbing trees. As a schoolboy I also went to a pioneer camp, where it was also fun. He participated in all sporting events and even played the trumpet in the ensemble.
“Why is he so thin?”
At the time when Bilyaletdinov came to the hockey section, there were hockey players who ended up in the sport not thanks to, but in spite of. Krikunov, Maltsev and Myshkin from Kirovo-Chepetsk, Blinov from Omsk, Zhluktov from Inta, Kapustin from Ukhta, Lyapkin from Balashikha... Re-read, if possible, the biographies of these stars, who grew up in the outback, where there were no competent coaches even in the teams of masters, not speaking of children's sections, there was not enough equipment, there were no ice palaces. To understand: in Kazan and Voskresensk LDS were built in 1966, in Ufa and Chelyabinsk - in 1967, in Izhevsk - in 1971, in Gorky - in 1975. Bilyaletdinov’s same age, Sergei Shepelev, kicked the puck in the Nizhny Tagil house management section until he was 12 years old, and only at 13 he moved to a sports school, which, like the players of the main team, trained in the open air. 20 years after this, an ice sports palace was built in his hometown. Another contemporary of Bilyaletdinov, Boris Alexandrov, trained in the yard under the supervision of his front-line soldier father, who lost his leg in the war, and was able to move to the sports palace only at the age of 14, since it was built in his native Ust-Kamenogorsk in 1969.
Until the same 1969, Bilyaletdinov was coached in the yard by former football player Arkady Larionov, who transferred the 14-year-old boy to the Dynamo hockey school to coach Stanislav Petukhov, a legendary former hockey player. Two well-known journalists, Yuri Golyshak and Alexander Kruzhkov, asked Petukhov about young Zinetula.
“There was a stadium on the banks of the Yauza, and neighborhood teams were holding a district championship. We went with the Dynamo coaches to watch. Bill played striker. He didn’t show off his strokes, but they noted that he skates great. Even backwards. They invited him to Dynamo, and, oddly enough, he hesitated: “I don’t know...” “We’re not in a hurry. Think about it." He showed up a couple of days later... Dynamo had a lot of forwards, but not enough defenders. We tried Bill and it worked. Although Chernyshev did not immediately like it. He stuffed Davydov: “Who did you bring?!” Why is he so skinny? - “Let's feed! A promising boy, excellent skating...” Davydov was always behind Bill. Over time, he got stronger, got stronger... Assertive, like all Tatars. Ruslan Batyrshin is the same. Also my pupil... I never saw my father (Khaidyar Bilyaletdinov was a worker). Mom (Nyaimya - worked as a technician) came to the games. Nice woman. One day in the spring, Belyashi brought: “Help yourself! Still hot, I baked it myself...”
World and European Championships in Moscow, 1986. USSR national team - Canadian national team. Photo sports.ru
The beginning of the career of hockey player Bilyaletdinov
He started playing hockey in a courtyard team under the leadership of ex-Dynamo (Kyiv) football player Arkady Larionov. He knew how to captivate the boys - together they built a hockey rink, poured ice, Larionov got them equipment, uniforms, trained them and gave each of the boys a chance to grow into an Olympic champion.
As part of this team, Zinetula, or Alexander, as he was called due to the difficulty of pronouncing his real name, became the winner in regional competitions and the prize-winner of the annual children's hockey tournament “Golden Puck”. Sasha’s excellent playing qualities were noticed by Dynamo mentors Petukhov and Kvasnikov. They took the promising young man to the club in 1969. In just two years, thanks to determination and hard work, he was able to reach the master level.
At first he played as a forward, and at the end of 1971, after a tournament in Poland, the mentors transferred the young hockey player to the position of defenseman. With great zeal, the athlete now mastered new tasks for him - to protect the goal from attacks, closely guard enemy players, impede their movement towards the goal, interfere with shots, skillfully take the puck and help forwards with passes.
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov is Tatar by nationality
In 1972 he was transferred to the main team. Bilyaletdinov, according to him, was lucky with the coaches. The famous master of power wrestling Vitaly Davydov taught him the intricacies of choosing a position, interaction between players and all other techniques necessary in defense. Another mentor, Arkady Chernyshev, was an excellent psychologist and game coordinator who knew the strengths and weaknesses of each player and skillfully used them to achieve the main goal - victory. Bilyaletdinov's debut game for Dynamo was a match with SKA in 1973, held in Leningrad. The hockey player later recalled that he was terribly worried and, as a result, did not even remember any details of the match.
He received his first higher education in 1979, graduating from the State Center for Physical Education.
With the club from 1973 to 1988, he played only 588 games, scoring 63 goals.
The beginning of the sports journey
Bilyaletdinov Zinetula began his sports career in a yard team. The first club of the legendary Soviet defender was called Dynamo. It was discovered by former Soviet football player Arkady Larionov. The guys built the ice rink themselves, and then they all poured the ice together. Arkady Larionov was kind to children. The coach gave them uniforms and taught them hockey skills. It is unlikely that Larionov imagined that the future defender of the USSR national team was training with him. Bilyaletdinov was called Alexander at that time, since his real name was difficult to pronounce. In the courtyard team "Dynamo" Bilyaletdinov Zinetula improved his hockey skills. Many talented guys gathered there, who later joined the clubs of the USSR. The Dynamo team won regional competitions, and then became the winner of the popular Golden Puck tournament. A talented player, Bilyaletdinov made a great contribution to the success of his first team. His performance at the Golden Puck tournament was highly appreciated by the mentors of the Dynamo Moscow hockey club Petukhov and Kvasnikov. In 1969, they took Zinetula to their team. Within a couple of years, the young athlete matched the level of a hockey master.
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Bilyaletdinov's performances for the USSR national hockey team
At the age of 21, Zinetula was accepted into the Soviet Union national team. The first competition in which he was lucky enough to defend the honor of the country was the 45th World Championship in 1978, held in Czechoslovakia. Then our team won gold, displacing the Czechs, who had previously been world champions for two years, from the podium.
Bilyaletdinov forever remembered with what difficulty they achieved victory then, and the feeling of pride that gripped all our hockey players during the raising of the flag and the playing of the USSR anthem, when even our experienced players had tears in their eyes.
Zinetula Bilyaletdinov is now engaged in coaching
In the same year, in addition to the championship title, Zinetula also received the title of Honored Master of Sports of the country.
In total, Bilyaletdinov played 253 matches and scored 21 goals as part of the national team at world championships since 1976.
A special place in Bilyaletdinov’s sports career is occupied by his participation in the Canada Cup. He competed for this trophy three times - in 1976, 1981 and 1984. The year 1981 was victorious for our players, when they beat powerful Canadian professionals.
For many years, Bilyaletdinov was one of the leaders of the Dynamo team and the USSR national team. His skill delighted hockey fans and specialists. Zinetula's teammates were no less famous players - Vladimir Lutchenko, Vyacheslav Fetisov, Vasily Pervukhin. They were united by friendship and high technical skills, tactical flexibility, powerful accurate throws, amazing mutual understanding and coordination of actions on the field.
Bilyaletdinov constantly honed his professionalism, studied the play of other outstanding defenders, achieved the execution of power techniques at the level of automatism, enriched his arsenal with new exercises, analyzed mistakes, looked for ways to improve the reliability of receiving the puck, not only during practical training, but also by acquiring new ones theoretical knowledge. He continued to study, and in 1982 received a second higher education, graduating from the Faculty of Physical Education of the Moscow Regional Pedagogical Institute.
Performances at a professional level
At first, Zinetula Khaidarovich Bilyaletdinov played as a striker. Only at the tournament in Poland, which took place in 1971, was he put on defense. Zinetula had to master a new position for herself. The young defenseman was successful in retrieving the puck, containing certain forwards, blocking shots and passing to forwards. That is why Bilyaletdinov was left to play in this position. The talented defender finally managed to gain a foothold in the main team in 1972. He spoke with great gratitude about coaches Vitaly Davydov and Arkady Chernyshev. Davydov taught him to correctly select a position on the field and make selections. This coach knew how to improve the game of defenders.
Mentor Arkady Chernyshev acted more as a psychologist and tactician. He set up the players for tough games. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov played his first match for the Dynamo main team in 1973 against the SKA team. Later, the legendary Soviet defender admitted that he could barely cope with his excitement. Bilyaletdinov spent 15 years at the Moscow hockey club Dynamo. During this time, he played 588 games and hit the opponent's goal 63 times. This defender was highly respected by the team's fans. Zinetula forever entered the history of the Dynamo Moscow club.
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Coaching work of Bilyaletdinov
After finishing his playing career in 1988, Zinetula took up coaching. In preparation for this stage of his activity, starting at the age of 28, he kept a diary where he recorded the most interesting and effective exercises from his own practice.
At first, Bilyaletdinov worked as an assistant to Yuri Moiseev in his club, and in 1993 he was invited to the Canadian professional hockey club Winnipeg Jets. He became the first Russian coach to receive such an offer from the NHL, as recognition of his highest skill and professionalism. Foreign experts noted that Bilyaletdinov is “the only Russian player playing Canadian hockey.”
During his five-year work in the NHL, Bilyaletdinov acquired a lot of useful experience, which he later successfully used to develop national hockey. He has fully mastered the method used overseas to analyze each maneuver of a hockey player, which ultimately leads to an understanding of the player’s only possible next step and makes it possible to react to it with lightning speed. Zinetula also shared his personal knowledge and enriched the training process in the NHL with techniques characteristic of Russian hockey. The players thanked him, calling him Great Bill.
Returning to Moscow in the summer of 1997, Zinetula again began working as a coach of his native Dynamo. He was known as an intellectual because he never lost his temper, behaved correctly, showing composure even in moments of acute game situations. He was a supporter of strict discipline and maximum physical activity. Such principles of work yielded good results - the Dynamo team became the leader in the Russian championship, and Zinetula’s players, who later left for the NHL, became one of the best hockey players in the world.
Beginning of a coaching career
Even in his youth, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov decided that after his career he would become a coach. His years of experience playing at the highest level of hockey will undoubtedly help him in his new role. From the age of 28, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov wrote down all the most effective exercises in his diary. The legendary defender officially ended his professional career in 1988. By that time, his diary had turned into an entire hockey encyclopedia. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov began his coaching career in his native Moscow Dynamo. In this team, the defender is considered a living legend. The fans were glad that he stayed in hockey. Photos of Zinetula Bilyaletdinov in her youth will forever remain in the Dynamo Moscow museum. The ex-defender of the Moscow club began as an assistant coach with the famous Yuri Moiseev.
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Zinetula Bilyaletdinov currently
In 2001, Bilyaletdinov worked for some time as the coach of the Chicago Black Hawks (NHL), then as the head coach of the Swiss club Lugano, and again headed Dynamo in the period 2002-2004.
Since 2004, Zinetula began his duties as head coach of Ak Bars. Under his leadership, the Kazan team won gold in the national championship, the European Champions Cup and became the first ever winner of the Gagarin Cup.
In May 20012, the Russian national team, led by Bilyaletdinov, became the world champion, defeating the Slovaks 6:2 in the final.
At the 2013 World Championship, our hockey players failed to reach the semifinals, losing to the US team. At the Sochi Olympics, the Russian team also did not perform well, losing to the Finns in the quarterfinals. On March 5, 2014, upon expiration of the contract, Bilyaletdinov left the post of chief coach of the Russian national team and returned to Ak Bars as vice-president of the club.
Continuation of coaching career
In 2001, Zinetula Haidarovich again left to work in the strongest league in the world. This time he became the coach of the Chicago Blackhawks. But after a short period of time, he moved to the Swiss championship, where he worked at the Dynamo club. In 2002, this coach returned to Dynamo Moscow. In 2004, Bilyaletdinov moved to Kazan. It was at Ak Bars that he spent most of his coaching career. Zinetula Khaidarovich managed to assemble the strongest team. The first three, which included Morozov, Zaripov and Zinoviev, struck fear into the rivals of the Kazan club. Under the leadership of the famous coach, Ak Bars repeatedly won the national championship, the Gagarin Cup and the European Champions Cup. The Kazan team was the first to win the Gagarin Cup. “Ak Bars” regularly occupies the top line in the standings during Bilyaletdinov’s work. Currently, this specialist continues to work in the Kazan team.
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