King of Bandy: seven-time world bandy champion Durakov died at the age of 90

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Nikolai Durakov was born on December 5, 1934 in Krasnogorovka in the Donbass, but soon after the start of the Great Patriotic War he was evacuated to Nizhny Tagil, where he and his sister were raised by his stepmother.

He became interested in bandy at the age of 12 and, at the suggestion of the famous specialist Alexander Petrenev, signed up for the section.

However, at first, things weren’t going well for the future legend.

In city championship matches, he mostly remained in the reserves, but continued to train hard and four years later he made his way first to the local Stroitel, and then to Metallurg, with whom he made his debut in the USSR Championship.

Subsequently, his career developed rapidly.

In the spring of 1953, Durakov showed himself well in a friendly match with the Sverdlovsk ODO (District House of Officers).

It was then that he, along with teammate Nikolai Nazarov, was penciled in by mentor Ivan Baldin.

And a year and a half later he was drafted into the army and found himself in the strongest team in the country.

At first he played as a defender, but was later transferred to the middle line and shone there.

“In general, I think I revealed myself quite late.

Probably, only at the age of 27 - 28 did I master all the intricacies: when to speed up the development of an attack, when to hold the ball, when to shoot... Although the team was sometimes offended by me for not passing the ball.

But here’s the thing.

I joined the attack from the depths of the field, when the first wave of our attack had already died down, the guys were being dismantled by the opponents... And making a pass in such a situation was not so easy, and I’m not such a master in this area - with (Valentin) Atamanychev or ( Alexander) Izmodenov cannot be compared,” the athlete later admitted.

Great sniper

In 1956, Durakov, as part of ODO, became the champion of the USSR for the first time, and in the period from 1958 to 1960 he helped the team take three titles in a row, which no one had previously achieved.

And this despite the fact that during this time the team changed its name twice.

First it was renamed OSK (District Sports Club), and then SKVO (Sports Club of the Military District).

And Nikolai himself receives the award for the best midfielder of the tournament for the first time.

True, it was in the 1957 season that Baldin’s charges stumbled and let CSK MO advance.

Subsequently, SKVO changes its name to SKA, and its confrontation with Dynamo Moscow comes to the fore.

Over the next 15 years, they would dominate the national championship, only allowing their competitors to rise above third place five times.

And it was during this period that Durakov would finally strengthen his status not only as the leader of the army team, but also of all Russian bandy.

In total, he will play 461 matches and score at least 584 goals in the championship, setting a club record for this indicator.

He will be named the country's top scorer eight times and the country's midfielder twice.

And he will be included in the list of the strongest players of the season as many as 12 times, thanks to which he will earn the nickname Master.

“Until that time, I hadn’t taken any free throws or corners, even in SKA, let alone in the national team... But I trained my shot both in winter and in summer.

We brought special sheets of plywood to the training camp in Chebarkul - that’s what I beat with.

Although I can’t say that my blow was the most powerful... I think that by nature I am very resilient... I never had any problems with the regime: I didn’t drink, I didn’t smoke.

Well, God, of course, had mercy: I had practically no serious injuries.

True, I suffered a concussion three times,” the legendary striker described himself.

In addition to his success at the national level, Durakov also shone on the international stage, both as a member of SKA and the national team.

So, in 1974, he will help the Sverdlovsk team win the first ever European Champions Cup.

In the final, the army team will prevail over the Swedish “Falu”, and the next time they will reach this stage only 20 years later - already under the name “SKA-Zenith”.

However, it will not be possible to repeat that result, and the trophy will go to the Swedish Västerås.

At the same time, as part of the national team, Fools will achieve much greater success.

In 48 matches, he would score 47 times and become world champion seven times, and also collect a scattering of individual awards.

Three times he will be included in the symbolic team and named the best midfielder of the World Cup, and another time he will be recognized as the strongest forward.

At the same time, one of the most significant for him will be the 1965 tournament, which he will finish at the top of the scorers' table.

King Bendy

And although Durakov would hang up his skates only in 1976, even in the previous decade he would not only receive the first of his three orders (the Badge of Honor), but would also strengthen his status as a legend of his sport.

And after 1969, many will call him nothing more than “the king of bendy.”

The reason for this will be a curious incident that occurred at the end of the victorious 1969 World Cup for the USSR national team.

Then King Gustav VI Adolf of Sweden was unable to participate in the award ceremony for the winners of the championship, which took place in the castle-palace in Uppsala.

And he explained his absence from the event by the fact that “two kings in one castle will be cramped.”

“The award ceremony took place in the ancient royal castle.

After the USSR team was awarded the gold medals, Durakov was asked to remain on stage and a scroll with a ribbon attached to it in the colors of the Swedish flag was read out.

The Swedish team stood up and began to applaud.

This was the proclamation of Nikolai Durakov as the king of bandy,” Mikhail Azerny spoke about this episode in the book “Sports Stars.”

As a result, Durakov’s meeting with the King of Sweden did take place, although only two years later.

Then the USSR national team again won the World Cup, held in 12 cities of the Scandinavian country.

And in 1973, Nikolai won his last gold medal at the world championships, although he was not among the strongest hockey players in the competition.

“A huge loss for domestic sports”

After finishing his career, Fools did not leave bandy.

Even before retiring from sports, he became a player-coach for SKA, and then from 1977 to 1980 he was part of the staff.

And although he then took a long break, at the turn of the century he returned to the army camp.

First, he served as chairman of the coaching council for eight years, and then worked with the second and first teams.

In addition to the “Badge of Honor”, ​​Durakov was awarded the Orders of Courage and Honor, and in 1974 received the IBF medal “For outstanding services in the development of bandy”.

In November 2022, Durakov’s achievements were immortalized in the form of a sculptural composition “Epoch”, erected not far from the Yekaterinburg Arena football stadium, where FC Ural plays its matches.

The opening ceremony of the monument was attended by the legendary athlete himself, who by that time was using a wheelchair.

And a year and a half later, King Bandy was gone.

“On Saturday, March 9 in Yekaterinburg, at the age of 90, the seven-time world champion and the best player of the 20th century, the legend of Russian hockey Nikolai Durakov, passed away... The Russian Bandy Federation expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Nikolai Alexandrovich.

This is a huge loss for the entire domestic sport,” said the press service of the FHMR.