Eternal Stars At Cherkizovo
Today Lokomotiv’s new arena hosted the RFU’s legendary tournament called ‘Eternal Stars’, a competition held for the 14th time and organized by Vladimir Stepanov. ‘Eternal Stars’ featured football vets aged between 50 and 70.
Its laws are simple: six teams (five Moscow teams plus one squad made up of referees) are split into two groups. This time, Lokomotiv were playing against Torpedo and Dinamo, while the other group was comprised of CSKA, Spartak, and veteran refs. Group winners advance to the final, the runner-ups argue who takes the bronze. During the season, each team hosts the tournament. The winner is decided when all games have been played. Thursday was Lokomotiv’s turn.
In the first game, the Railwaymen’s veterans played against Torpedo and won 1:0. The winner was scored by Khabib Ilyaletdinov:
‘Today we had the advantage and the initiative, - said Ilyaletdinov. - We created many chances but lacked the last touch. I don’t score often, but always try to threaten the opponents’ goal. There’s no rough play at the tournament: we all used to play on a high level, and we’re here to get together and remember the days when we were young. And to win, of course! We’re playing on our home stadium. When you’re playing at home, you have to aim at the final and fight for victory. Besides, Lokomotiv are one of the leaders of the tournament’.
Lokomotiv won their second game against Dinamo 1:0 and advanced to the final to meet with Spartak Moscow. Full time ended in a goalless draw, but the Red-Whites were stronger in the penalty shootout. It’s interesting to note how the shootout is played: a striker takes a shot at the empty goal from the centre spot. A goal is scored if the ball crosses the goal line in the air. Alas, all Lokomotiv’s attempts crossed the line rolling on the grass.
The Red-Greens received a runners-up cup - a great result for our vets’ team. Our MVP was named Alexey Ilyin, 1977 Youth World Cup winner:
‘The victory at the tournament is very important to our team, - said Ilyin. - But we come here mainly to get together, to talk, to remember what is high-class technical football. All veterans are high-qualified and experienced players. We get pleasure both on and off the pitch’.
When the tournament was over, the teams received winning and encouraging cups, and the best players got their individual awards. Besides, the organizers congratulated those who were born in March. The legendary Soviet players Nikita Simonyan, Anatoliy Isayev, Maryan Plakhetko gave out the memorable awards.
At Lokomotiv’s invitation, the club’s vets Anatoliy Piskunov and Viktor Davydov attended the tournament. The two played at Lokomotiv in the ‘70s. The Assistant to the President of Lokomotiv Vladimir Korotkov also met the participants.
On the whole, the competition was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere: everybody was happy to see each other, to remember the old days, and to live them on the pitch once again. Family photos, memorable gifts and souvenirs, and vivid emotions accompanied the football festival at Cherkizovo. After it, the club bar ‘Vagon’ invited the visitors to a dinner. Lokomotiv congratulated its former goalkeeper Boris Kogut on his 65-year jubilee and gave a present, #65 jersey. The ceremony was held near a steam locomotive, designed specially for the event and made of balloons.
The veterans thanked the organizers for the tournament that was held on a high level.
We are always happy to see you at Cherkizovo!
