Karpin's goal, Kobelev's injury and congratulations from Yeltsin: 30 years ago, the Russian national football team played its debut match

“There was no feeling that the match would go down in history”

1992 turned out to be an extremely difficult year for Russia.

The country had difficulty going through historical changes, to put it mildly, it was not up to sports.

However, in August a truly historic event took place, which could not go unnoticed - the debut match was held by the football team.

UEFA made a Solomon decision, allowing the national team of the CIS to take part in the final stage of Euro-92.

All players representing the states of the post-Soviet space, with the exception of the Baltic states, could be involved in its ranks.

As a result, in June 1992, the team of Anatoly Byshovets, forced to perform under a white flag with the inscription CIS and entering the field to the sounds of Beethoven's 9th symphony instead of the anthem, ingloriously took the last place in the group and ended its existence.

Byshovets also completed his work, whose place was taken by Pavel Sadyrin, who a year before not only won the last USSR championship with CSKA, but also took the Cup of the country with the army team.

As assistants, he invited Yuri Semin and Boris Ignatiev.

Both subsequently have time to work with the national team on their own.

In the summer of 1992, together they prepared the team for the first meeting, in which they were to meet with Mexico.

On the one hand, the Aztecs did not pose a serious threat at that time, and due to FIFA disqualification, they did not get to the 1990 World Cup.

On the other hand, they were led by the legendary Luis Cesar Menotti, who in 1978 led Argentina to triumph at the home championship of the planet.

According to Ignatiev, when choosing an opponent, the headquarters was already guided by preparations for the upcoming 1994 World Cup and wanted to play with a team from Latin America.

“We understood that within the framework of the tournament we would have to meet with the team from this region.

The selection of an opponent was carried out by a special department of the federation, which formed a list in advance, based on financial capabilities and the sports component.

Many details were taken into account, for example, who will pay for travel and accommodation, ”Ignatiev explained in an interview with RT.

The composition of the hosts was far from optimal.

Almost all legionnaires did not come to the game with the exception of Vasily Kulkov: Igor Shalimov, Andrey Kanchelskis, Igor Dobrovolsky, Dmitry Kuznetsov, Igor Korneev, Sergey Yuran, Sergey Kiryakov, Igor Kolyvanov and others.

In fact, the strongest performers of the recently created Russian Championship were called up.

“There could be no talk that the legionnaires refused to travel to Moscow.

The national team played the game in a “window” specially designated by FIFA, and they had no right to do so.

Rather, the headquarters decided not to pull the guys, since many just moved to new teams, and give them the opportunity to calmly adapt and get involved, ”Ignatiev recalled.

The meeting attracted a lot of attention from the fans.

On a warm summer evening on August 16, 15 thousand spectators gathered in the stands of the still old Lokomotiv stadium - a considerable audience for a sporting event of those times.

For comparison, the average attendance of the first draw of the national championship was a little less than 6 thousand. In many respects, this was facilitated by free admission to the arena.

However, according to the players themselves, there was no excitement around the event.

“There was absolutely no feeling that the match would go down in history, and no one attached special importance to it.

We were waiting for the usual friendly game, and few people thought that it would be the debut for the Russian team.

I don’t remember any excitement around the meeting either, ”forward Dmitry Radchenko said in a conversation with RT.

Among the spectators was Gennady Burbulis, who at that time held the positions of State Secretary and First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia.

One of the closest associates of Boris Yeltsin, before the starting whistle of Belarusian Vadim Zhuk, congratulated all those present on the historic event.

“They might not have had time to sew a new uniform for the game with Mexico”

Some symbolism was added to the confrontation by the fact that domestic football players allegedly entered the field in the old Soviet uniform with the coats of arms of the country that had ended its existence sealed on their chests.

Whether this was really so, the meeting participants found it difficult to answer, but agreed that such an incident could well have happened.

“There were serious problems with ammunition in the country, although the USSR had already collapsed.

This also applied to clubs, which carefully took care of all the kits.

Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that they simply did not have time to sew a new uniform for the game with Mexico.

Yes, and then the attitude to friendly matches was not as serious as it is now, ”midfielder Andrey Kobelev shared with RT.

As for the starting lineup, Spartak, as expected, received the largest representation, in the early 90s they practically did not know competition in the domestic arena and adequately represented the country in European competitions.

From the first minutes, seven red-and-whites appeared on the field at once: Stanislav Cherchesov, Viktor Onopko, Dmitry Khlestov, Dmitry Radchenko, Igor Ledyakhov, Dmitry Popov and Valery Karpin.

And the goalkeeper received the captain's armband.

They were joined by Omari Tetradze (Dynamo), Vasily Kulkov (Benfica), Yuri Matveev (Uralmash) and Sergey Kolotovkin (CSKA).

The hosts, driven by the fans, seized the initiative from the first minutes.

They tried to move the ball forward as quickly as possible.

However, the Mexicans, forced to act as the second number, coped with their duties before the break.

They regularly caught Radchenko and Matveev in an offside trap and managed to interrupt dangerous passes into the penalty area.

And if necessary, goalkeeper Jorge Campos boldly threw himself forward.

Nevertheless, Sadyrin's wards had moments, and Popov missed the most dangerous one.

After drawing a standard position and a partner's discount, Dmitry hit the crossbar from the left edge of the penalty area, and Radchenko was not ready to play on finishing moves.

And in the second half, the Russians finally realized a serious advantage.

The Mexicans began to increasingly make mistakes in their own half, for which they paid.

They had a particularly difficult time with Karpin, who made runs on the right flank and tried to find teammates at the gate.

Another young footballer, Andrei Kobelev, also superbly came on as a substitute.

Only 15 minutes spent on the field was enough for him to earn a penalty.

The striker on the verge of offside opened up great under Tetradze's cutting pass and tried to beat Campos on his own.

He, hoping to play the ball, knocked his opponent down.

The beetle, without hesitation, appointed a penalty kick.

“I don’t remember all the details, but I acted according to the situation.

It's just ridiculous that the Mexicans also claimed that there was no penalty.

How can you say that when Campos frankly grabbed me with his hands?

Kobelev assured.

The active Karpin took over the right to fulfill it.

The future coach of the Russian national team shot into the left corner.

The goalkeeper guessed the direction and even touched the ball with his fingertips, but could not block the path to the goal.

So the midfielder forever went down in history as the author of the first goal of the national national team.

According to Kobelev and Radchenko, no one tried to dispute Karpin's desire to shoot a penalty, but Sadyrin closed this issue at the pre-match installation.

“Valera, apparently, knew that he would go down in history, and people would discuss him 30 years later, which is why he undertook to beat him.

Karpin regularly took penalties, and I didn’t even have the thought of taking the ball from him, ”Radchenko emphasized in an interview with RT.

The second goal was not long in coming, and again Karpin showed himself superbly, performing a neat feed into the penalty area from the right side.

But Popov played even better, who managed to send the ball into the near corner past the dumbfounded Campos in touch on the rally.

“That's why he played for the national team, because he knew how to perform such moments.

Dmitry really did a great job in that episode and sent a difficult ball into the net.

Maybe if Karpin had completed ten more similar innings, Popov would never have scored, ”recalled Radchenko.

“The next morning, four or five syringes of blood were pumped out of the knee.”

In the remaining time, the Russians could well bring the score to a large one.

So, Karpin ran almost one on one with the goalkeeper, but missed the target.

And in the end, Radchenko, taking advantage of another bold move by Campos, almost threw him over with a shot from the center of the field.

It is not surprising that the Mexicans began to lose their nerve.

They increasingly broke the rules and received cards.

The apogee was the roughest tackle by Carlos Hermosillo on someone else's half of the field right at the feet of Kobelev.

The judge immediately showed him a straight red.

And it was absolutely fair, because the victim could not continue the game and left the field with the help of doctors.

“At that moment I thought the consequences would be much more serious.

The next morning, Savely Myshalov pumped out four or five syringes of blood from his knee.

As a result, with a severe bruise and a partial rupture of the ligaments, he missed a month and a half.

As soon as I was replaced, they immediately took me to the base.

Hermosillo didn't even try to apologize.

One hundred percent sure: he acted deliberately and didn’t even get close to the ball, ”Kobelev is perplexed years later.

The guests at that moment acted so rudely that even representatives of the coaching staff of the Russian national team were shocked.

“We thought: maybe they always play like this in Mexico, including in friendly matches?

They had a peculiar attitude towards football.

They acted extremely uncompromisingly and sought to achieve an advantage in every game episode.

But we just didn’t understand why to be rude in an ordinary control meeting?

For us, it was an anomaly,” Ignatiev stressed.

To calm the ardor of the wards and avoid serious conflicts with rivals, Sadyrin began to actively carry out replacements.

The exit of Vladimir Beschastnykh turned out to be especially significant.

At that time, the striker, at the age of 18 years, 4 months and 15 days, became the youngest debutant of the Russian national team.

Only in 2004, Igor Akinfeev will rewrite his record.

Also, the striker with 26 goals will be her top scorer for a long time until Artyom Dzyuba and Alexander Kerzhakov overtake him.

According to Beschastnykh, he was waiting for an invitation to the youth team and was surprised when the club received a call from the main team.

At the same time, he stressed that he quickly adapted to the national team, since many Spartak partners played in it.

“Of course, a thought flashed through: a few years ago I could not even imagine such a thing.

I have always been in leading positions and defended the honor of the country from my youth, but still I did not think that the debut for the adult national team would take place at that age.

Plus, of course, I was lucky to enter the field in the first match in history.

It was a special event, ”the striker admitted in a conversation with RT.

And the most important thing for him was that one of the spectators at the Lokomotiv stadium that evening was his father.

“He attended all the matches with my participation, and he had no right to miss.

Then we went home together.

Of course, I don’t remember exactly what he said, but he definitely didn’t scold.

Dad never criticized me for playing moments, ”added Beschastnykh.

“Yeltsin was the first in the locker room to shake hands with the bus driver”

According to the recollections of eyewitnesses, there were no celebrations of the historic victory at the end of the meeting, because a few days later Sadyrin's wards were waiting for the departure to the tournament in Italy.

Moreover, the players did not receive a penny for the memorable success.

“What could be the bonuses?

At that time, our salary at Spartak was 200 rubles.

In the national team, of course, some money was paid, but, believe me, very little.

The country was moving to other financial tracks.

Sports also experienced difficult times, and a lot of incomprehensible things happened, ”said Radchenko.

Nevertheless, as Ignatiev assured, the locker room was crowded.

Many high-ranking officials wished to personally thank the team.

“There were people close to the team and helping her.

Everyone wanted to thank the guys, shake their hands, see the idols with their own eyes, hug them.

At the same time we received congratulations from Yeltsin.

He thanked the guys for the victory,” said Ignatiev.

Yeltsin himself, who preferred tennis to football, never attended a single match of the Russian national team during his presidency, but a year later he unexpectedly came to the quarterfinal confrontation of Spartak in the Cup Winners' Cup with Feyenoord and even became a participant in a funny story.

“When he went down to the locker room, everyone was very surprised.

The funny thing is that Boris Nikolayevich was the first to shake hands with the bus driver Kolya.

Apparently, he decided that it was Oleg Ivanovich Romantsev.

Kolya was in shock, but at the same time he was pleased.

Moreover, Yeltsin came in when no one had time to change clothes.

They all took a picture with the president in their dirty uniforms.

And then he left his signature “With victory” on the frame, Radchenko recalled.

Unfortunately, not many members of the first convocation of the national team have achieved serious success under the flag of the country.

Some were content with just a few meetings.

And for Lemish and Kobelev, who so successfully came on as a substitute, the first confrontation was the only one left.

“Of course, I could not imagine that I would no longer play for the national team.

It just so happened that immediately after the end of the season in Russia, he left for the Spanish Betis.

They didn't call from there.

And then, upon returning to his homeland, he played quite well, ”complained Kobelev.

Most of the participants in that match after the end of their career devoted themselves to the coaching path.

Three even managed to work with the national team.

Cherchesov headed it from 2016 to 2021, after which he gave way to his former teammate Karpin.

In turn, the specialist invited Onopko to his headquarters.

Chernyshov in 2003 was first appointed sports director of Spartak, and then led the team for several matches.

A similar position in the club was twice held by Popov.

Ledyakhov was also noted in the capital's team, but spent most of his coaching career at Akhmat.

Kobelev stood at the helm of Dynamo several times.

Alas, some are no longer alive.

Kulkov, who spent more than an hour on the field, died in 2020 from cancer.

A year later, Lemish, who replaced him, passed away.

And the ex-defender of Spartak Andrei Ivanov, who had serious problems with alcohol, died before anyone else.

As for the path of the Russian national team, in October 1992 it held its first official match and beat Iceland 1-0 at home.

As a result, Sadyrin's wards passed the 1994 World Cup qualifying tournament in the same breath and confidently left the group from second place.