Sergei Gimaev died. Sergei Gimaev died Sergei Nailyevich Gimaev commentator

Today, thousands of Muscovites bid farewell to the hockey commentator and expert beloved by millions. On this sad day, Life decided to publish Sergei Nailievich’s last interview, in which he talked about his unusual car with hockey airbrushing. All that was left was the audio recording, to shoot a video, alas, we didn’t have time...

Sergei Gimaev died on March 18 in Tula. This energetic and life-loving man, hockey maestro and guru of television journalism. More than six thousand people came to say goodbye to Gimaev at the CSKA Ice Palace today. Sergei Nailievich was buried at the Novoluzhinskoe cemetery in Khimki under the Russian anthem and gunshots from the honor guard company... But just on these days, a video shoot of Gimaev for Life was supposed to take place. The TV commentator wanted not only to tell, but also to show his miracle car with portraits of ice battle legends painted on it. A photo of a BMW X5 with hockey graffiti back in January caused an unprecedented stir among fans. But Gimaev kept postponing filming due to being busy with TV...

“Hello,” Gimaev simply greeted the Life journalist over the phone. And, of course, he told the story of the transformation of his car.

In short, the graffiti is dedicated to the 1972 USSR-Canada Super Series,” the TV commentator continued. - The emblem of that Super Series is depicted on the hood. On the sides: on one side, Phil Esposito, who is looking at Vladislav Tretyak, on the other, Valery Kharlamov and Bobby Clarke.

- Why exactly them?

In general, it all started with a photograph of Kharlamov. Then they decided that Clark would be next to him. If you don't remember, I'll tell you. It was this Canadian who broke Kharlamov’s leg in the Moscow part of the series. Valery had previously made a splash in Canada. It was then that he was injured in Moscow.

- How did you get the idea to put such images on cars?

My friends have a salon where they do airbrushing. One day I told them: “Let’s do something cool on my X5, but only hockey.” At first I thought of depicting a boxer dog in a hockey helmet with an adhesive plaster on his face. They told me: “Nailich, this is not respectable for you.” Then they showed me a photograph of Kharlamov and offered to paint his portrait. Made by artist Evgeniy Gritsai. He is the best airbrush in the country. If possible, please mention his last name... That’s what he told me: “Sergei Nailich, we will do everything for you.” Then we found photographs of Tretyak and Esposito, who then scored the most goals against our team. And most importantly, nothing was invented. The car features exact copies of photographs from that Super Series. They even decided not to paint the car in any colors. Everything is exactly black and white, just like in those photographs. They even made the lights black...

- When did the artists work?

It was 2010. I was leaving for the Olympics in Vancouver and left the car in the showroom. These wonderful guys completely removed all the paint, airbrushed it, then varnished it. I was just happy to see the result! When he first appeared on the track in this form, drivers turned around. I was so proud! I looked around, and they waved at me and said: “Cool!”

The only negative is that you need to wash it often. It becomes a little dusty, and the drawings are no longer so noticeable. As soon as I get behind the wheel of this car, I try to thoroughly wash and polish it.

- So you don’t drive it often?

No, rarely. Mostly I go to another one. But I’ll take this one, wash it, and you’ll take whatever photos and videos you want,” Gimaev promised.

Sergei Gimaev is an eight-time champion of the USSR with CSKA, a multiple winner of the European Champions Cup. After finishing his playing career, he worked for many years as a children's coach at an army school. Then sports TV became his vocation - vivid reports and live broadcasts from the studio performed by Gimaev became “classics” of Russian hockey. It is simply impossible to imagine the World Championships and the Gagarin Cup without his voice.

May you rest in peace, Sergei Nailievich.

On Saturday, March 18, at the age of 63, the eight-time USSR champion, famous CSKA defender and popular hockey presenter Sergei Gimaev died in Tula. He felt unwell during the veterans' match, lost consciousness and never woke up.

According to the 1988 Olympic champion Ilya Byakin, Gimaev’s blood clot came off. It was not possible to save him. The editors of “What’s Happening” expresses deep condolences to all the relatives and friends of Sergei Gimaev.

Biography of Sergei Gimaev

The sports biography of the future legendary hockey player turned out very well. His amazing ability to learn extended his hockey career by almost 30 years. As a player, he became the champion of the USSR many times; coach Gimaev conquered Europe. Among other things, the whole country knows Gimaev, a TV commentator.

Sergei Nailyevich Gimaev the Elder was born in Belarus on January 1, 1955. His father was a pilot. When Seryozha turned 56 years old, the family moved to Ufa. The boy grew up in a sports environment and from an early age played football, gymnastics and basketball. Gimaev came to hockey late, at the age of 11, and at first he did not shine with any special achievements. He joined the youth team only at the age of 15. His desire to be a leader forced him to study 8 hours a day. At the same time, Gimaev was also an excellent student.

After finishing school, the young man entered the Aviation Institute. At this time, he was already playing at the all-Union level for the Salavat youth team. In his 4th year, he took an academic leave, as it became impossible to combine study and play. At this time he was drafted into the army. There he played for army clubs. After one of the bright victories in Kuibyshev SKA, the soldier-hockey player was called up to CSKA Moscow. This was Gimaev's dream.

Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. Lokomotiv beats CSKA. Right during pauses, the judges take turns telling the players something, causing them to instantly change their faces. Fans also receive notifications on their smartphones with terrible news. The last time something like this happened in Ufa was on September 7, 2011. Soon a loud “Sergey Gimaev!” is heard from the stands. Everyone's favorite expert passed away overnight.

Almost a year ago, after the second match of the Western Conference final between CSKA and SKA, as usual, a press conference was held by the head coaches of the two army teams - Dmitry Kvartalnov and Sergei Zubov. There were very few questions from journalists - two or three, no more. As soon as the mentors left the press center, a voice rang out from somewhere to the right throughout the entire room:

“So what, you didn’t have any questions for them at all? Why did you even come here then? And then you will complain that Zubov and Kvartalnov give bad interviews!”

It was Sergei Nailievich. Never shy to say what he thinks. Even if it is harsh criticism directed at anyone. No, not like that - especially if it is criticism. But we won't hear from her anymore.

Just a couple of days ago he commentated on the KHL playoff matches. The Gagarin Cup is in full swing, and it seems that when we turn on the matches SKA - Lokomotiv or Metallurg - Ak Bars, there will again be a column “Gimaev says”. Well, or just his traditional debriefing. I can’t believe it, that’s all, that there will be no more comments from him. Our hockey journalism, already not the strongest (compared to Canadian ones for sure), became orphaned on Sunday. What about journalism? All of hockey has suffered another heavy loss. Without having time to really come to my senses after the death of Vladimir Petrov.

As a player, Gimaev was not a star of the first magnitude. A student of the Ufa school, who was noticed by the management of the country's main club while serving in Kuibyshev SKA, spent his entire playing career in army clubs. At CSKA he became a multiple national champion and winner of the European Champions Cup. His impressive size and powerful throw, which Fetisov himself envied, allowed him to gain a permanent foothold in the team and gain a good reputation. But it didn’t work out with the national team - unlike his namesake Irek. They were not any relatives, although they had a lot in common. Gimaev is the most amazing hockey name.

In the coaching field, Sergei Nailievich also did not aspire to world heights, limiting himself to children’s and youth hockey. Although hundreds of grateful guys who learned hockey basics and wisdom from him are perhaps much more valuable than world championship gold. But everyone will remember Gimaev primarily as a television expert.

It's hard to say exactly when he switched from guest status to regular commentator. He was great at speaking, analyzing, and showing on his fingers nuances that were not visible to ordinary spectators who had never played hockey at a professional level. And this was always accompanied by fatherly constructive, but nevertheless merciless criticism. He cut from the shoulder, he was so used to working - in hockey it’s not done differently. And everyone understood this, no one even thought of being offended. And if excessive frankness did backfire on Sergei Nailyevich (let’s remember the same “woman from the Pit”), they stood up for him en masse, and soon he returned to the air.

Was he always right and everyone agreed with him? Of course not - he is also a person. For example, his judgment that the CSKA-Spartak derby should be canceled is by no means indisputable, and our championship will not lose anything from this. Some noticed contradictions in himself. And when Gimaev said that now the main confrontation of the country is CSKA versus SKA, I couldn’t help but think: “Well, yes, what else can a former player of these two teams say!”

But was it only criticism that could be heard from the lips of Sergei Nailievich? But what about Gimaev’s favorite “masteryuga”, which has firmly entered the hockey lexicon? This was our Don Cherry. Only without parrot outfits, but with many tournaments and trophies under his belt. At the same time, he somehow managed to play for veteran teams and give master classes. He was generally successful everywhere. Once, during one of the Dynamo Moscow matches, Gimaev, together with his teammates on the Legends of Hockey team, gave an autograph session for all the fans - despite the fact that he played only 6 matches for the blue and white during his loan for the Super Series. Naturally, the longest line lined up for him, and he didn’t have time until the end of the break, when it was time to move on with his business. They had already begun to rush him, but until the last fan in the queue took a photo with him, he did not move.

Sergei Nailievich never refused anyone an interview, a comment, an advice, or an autograph. He had time for everyone. But I didn’t have enough to look after myself and my own health. His whole life was spent playing hockey, and he left it there. Remaining to live in the memory of each of us.

Tretiak, Kharlamov, Maltsev, Fetisov, Malkin, Ovechkin— the names of these Russian hockey stars are known even to those who are not interested in sports. But there is another category of athletes whose names are not well-known, but their dedication to their favorite game is admirable.

Sergey Gimaev, whom modern hockey fans in Russia knew as Sergei Nailievich, was a very strong hockey player.

In the 1970s and 1980s, becoming a starter for the invincible CSKA already says a lot. With the army team, Gimaev became the champion of the Soviet Union eight times and won the European Champions Cup. He played next to Tretyak, Fetisov, Kasatonov, Larionov, Makarov, Krutov. Arriving at the army team, I found there Kharlamova, Petrova And Mikhailova. A reliable defender with an excellent shot, however, was rarely included in the USSR national team. Although during the matches CSKA in North America played against the main stars of the world, including Wayne Gretzky.

After finishing his career, he headed the CSKA hockey school, one of the strongest in the country, for 20 years, and worked with the youth and youth national teams of Russia.

The voice I wanted to listen to

But Gimaev revealed himself to the general public when he came on television as a hockey expert.

There are honored, venerable athletes who, having become experts, can, like academics, explain the details of what is happening on the ice. It's educational, but incredibly boring.

Gimaev was completely different. He not only explained to the viewer the shades of the game invisible to the eye, he infected people with his enthusiasm and his love for hockey.

In 2013, when at the World Championships the Russian team lost to the US team in the quarterfinals with a score of 3:8, Gimaev was painful to watch. Analyzing the details of what happened on air, he experienced them as if he himself had lost, and was ready to burn with shame for what had happened.

He did not comment, he lived for hockey, which he sincerely loved.

Honest and frank

Sergei Nailievich admitted that he watches a lot of hockey. Not only those matches that are required for work, but also everything that I have time for. Gimaev could easily wake up at night to watch another NHL match, even though he returned late from the actual broadcast, and the next day there was difficult work ahead.

If he didn’t like something in hockey, he would tell the truth without any diplomacy. He could speak sharply to hockey officials who, in his opinion, were doing the wrong thing. He could sharply upset the current hockey stars if their behavior, in Gimaev’s opinion, was unworthy of their favorite game.

Everyone knew how devoted Gimaev was to CSKA, for which he played, where he headed the school for many years, where he had recently been an advisor in the scouting service.

But no one could blame expert Gimaev for being biased. Sergei Nailievich never indulged in cheap curtsies to the army team. Sometimes he was even more picky about them - this showed his love for the club, for which he wished only the best.

Last match

In 2008, in Quebec, Gimaev, together with Roman Skvortsov

The terrible news came during the second period of the Lokomotiv - CSKA match. It is quite possible that if Sergei Nailievich had not gone to Tula for the veterans’ game, he could have worked in the studio. And talk about hockey the way only he could. He was inseparable from his favorite game. And he passed away during the match...

A graduate of Ufa hockey, in 1976 he ended up in CSKA, in a team where stars of the first magnitude shone - Boris Mikhailov, Vladimir Petrov, Valery Kharlamov, Vladislav Tretiak. The young defender did not get lost in this company; together with the best club in the country, he began to win medals of the highest dignity one after another.

After finishing his career, he found himself in coaching. In CSKA, which became his hometown, in the USSR youth team. Team born in 1978, led by Vladimir Shadrin And Sergei Gimaev, became the European champion, Gimaev received the title of Honored Trainer of the country.

Since the beginning of the 2000s, another talent of Sergei Nailievich has been discovered. An excellent memory, an innate ability to express his thoughts clearly and clearly, all this very quickly made Gimaev one of the best television commentators and hockey experts in the country. This season, as always, he appeared almost every day in the studio of various TV channels, commentating on matches of the KHL regular season and playoffs.

For several years, Sergei Gimaev constantly took to the ice in the team of veterans “USSR Hockey Legends”. He played his last match there today.

The Continental Hockey League expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends Sergei Nailievich Gimaev.

Dmitry Chernyshenko, KHL President:

- The sudden death of Sergei Gimaev was a real shock for all of us. Undoubtedly, Sergei Nailievich was one of the most respected and recognizable people in our hockey. Thanks to his highest professionalism and subtle understanding of hockey, he, like no one else in recent years, has contributed to the popularization of his favorite game, in which he lived and completed such a bright and eventful life. I am sure that millions of fans throughout Russia will remember him with gratitude and will very soon feel the irreplaceability of this loss.

The Eastern Conference semi-final match between Ak Bars and Avangard on March 19 will begin with a minute of silence in memory of Sergei Gimaev.