The legendary Red Devils coach: The road to success

Kanchelskis came from the Dnieper River with wings spread, but flew away with heavy shackles. He was once a Soviet star who amazed the English football world, and a favorite that Manchester United fans cheered and loved. For this busy shrike, football and Manchester United mean a lot...

--Inscription

When Andrei Kanchelskis left the Red Devils, many reluctant fans suddenly realized that he was a star from the other side of the Iron Curtain, from the Soviet Union.

Kanchelskis' identity has been deliberately hidden, but it was once again talked about when he left the Red Devils. As a Soviet native whose hometown is Ukraine, Kanchelskis has a mysterious aura.

Kanchelskis has a brave and aggressive character. He doesn't like to drink, but he has the traditional style of "take up the weapon and do it, and if you dare to do it, you must beat you." Kanchelskis is reserved and quiet, and seems a little shy, but he has always been cold and alienated, and he is not very close to all his Red Devils teammates.

Andrei Kanchelsky was born in Kirovograd, Ukraine in 1969. His father, Antanasovich, served in the Soviet Red Army. After retiring and returning to Lithuania, he became a gravekeeper. His mother, Frosya, was a traditional Ukrainian woman. Their family lived an ordinary but somewhat difficult life. Their livelihood depended entirely on his father's low income, but his father was an alcoholic. More than half of his salary went to drinking, which was not enough for Kanchelsky to live a prosperous life. Antanasovich had a bad temper and would grab his son and beat him up when he was angry. Kanchelsky began to practice running away quickly since he was a child. He ran from the head of the village to the end of the village, like a flexible puppy, and successfully avoided his father's murderous hands every time.

When Kanchelskiy was in elementary school, he was selected for the school track and field team, but his father forced him to sign up for the football team. Neither of these two goals was his goal. Kanchelskiy's childhood dream was to become an ice hockey star, and his idol was Valery Karamov, a Soviet national hero. Karamov won gold medals in two consecutive Winter Olympics, but unfortunately suffered a car accident, and his legendary jersey number 17 was directly retired by the CSKA team. Kanchelskiy admired this legendary superstar very much, but he could only follow his father's arrangement and join the football youth training camp in Kharkiv. After his debut, Kanchelskiy always chose the No. 17 jersey to commemorate and pay tribute to his childhood idol Valery Karamov.

Kanchelskis quickly stood out in the youth training camp and was poached by the giant Dynamo Kyiv team at the age of 1988 in 19. Kanchelskis met his mentor Lobanovsky here, and his technical and tactical level improved by leaps and bounds. The famous coach Lobanovsky's tactical thinking was very radical, always emphasizing wing attack and frontcourt pressure. Kanchelskis continued to improve in such a tactical system. Despite the favor of the famous coach, Kanchelskis was too young when he just joined, and it was inevitable that he would be bullied in the locker room. The team's boss Bezsonov was very harsh and harsh on Kanchelskis, often humiliating him, and even some of the team's main players were not kind to him. Only the main core Mikhailichenko admired Kanchelskis very much. He not only took the initiative to stop his teammates' behavior, but also often encouraged him to work hard to improve.

Mikhailichenko said, "Kanchelskiy is definitely a superstar embryo. This kid is as agile and fast as a hare. It may take a gun to stop him."

Kanchelskis first played as a striker in the team, but he lacked the ability to fight. His hard work in the team gradually won the recognition of his teammates, and the captain Bezsonov suddenly changed his attitude and suggested that he play as a winger.

This advice was invaluable and opened the door to a new world for Kanchelskis.

In his first season, Kanchelskis came off the bench against Dynamo Moscow in November 1988, scored the equalizer and assisted Mikhailichenko to help the team reverse the opponent. The 11-year-old boy was so brilliant that he became a hero in Kiev.

Lobanovskyi later said: "Kanchelskiy's speed is unique in the world. No defender can race with him. He also has unique flexibility. He changes direction like a ghost. Even fast defenders find it difficult to catch him. Our team plays as a whole to advance the formation, but Kanchelskiy can open up space and lead the offense. He is a key node in my tactics."

Kanchelskis became a hot new star after one season, and Shakhtar Donetsk immediately spent a high price to sign him. Lobanovskyi warned Kanchelskis when they left, "Andrei, I believe you will play abroad in the future. I am not your coach now, but I hope you promise me not to play in Germany. Please remember our history."

Lobanovsky's obsession stems from the painful historical memory. In 1942, when the German army occupied Kiev, they organized a football "friendly match" between the German Air Force and the Kiev bakery workers. The Ukrainian workers fought bravely on the field, and scored five goals in a row to reverse the opponent when they were three goals behind. After the game, the Gestapo was furious and brutally shot all the players of the team. This is the "death match" that shocked the world and an indelible scene in the history of world football. The Kyiv Dynamo Football Team is the successor of this bakery workers' team, so Lobanovsky would teach every player: "German fascism is our enemy, and we must not go to Germany to play football!"

Kanchelskis shined after joining Shakhtar Donetsk. In his first season, he scored 3 goals and 13 assists, leading Shakhtar Donetsk to a close match with Dynamo Kyiv. He was also selected for the national team, and his performance attracted worldwide attention. Ferguson quickly decided to buy this shining winger, offering Shakhtar Donetsk £65 and giving Kanchelskis an irresistible salary.

This transfer caused a stir in the English football world, because before this, the English Football League had never bought any players from the Soviet Union. The British media rushed to ask Ferguson: "What kind of player is Kanchelskis? Can he cope with the English league?"

"Why did you decide to buy such a player?"

"Aren't you worried that he might be a KGB spy?"

Ferguson's response was very official. "We consider things from the professional perspective of football. Kanchelskis is a perfect fit for us. It's that simple. KGB? This shouldn't be something we worry about."

At the board meeting, Ferguson explained in great detail, saying: "Why introduce Kanchelskis? A Soviet player? We are not the only ones playing football in this world. There are excellent players in many places. We should not have any concerns. Why reject such an excellent player as Kanchelskis?"

Kanchelskis didn't know any English at all. After joining the team for a long time, he still couldn't understand Ferguson's words and didn't understand the team's tactical deployment. But even so, there was no obstacle on the court that could stop him. Kanchelskis' first game for the Red Devils was against Newcastle. As soon as he came on the field, he changed the situation on the right side, constantly breaking through and attacking on the right side, and then passing the ball to the bottom. His performance was so confident and outstanding that the commentators kept praising him. After the game, the whole audience was stunned, and the Red Devils fans were jubilant, as if they had won the lottery. Magpies defender Alan Paris said in a gloomy voice on the news, "I can't keep up with him at all. This guy is so fast that it's desperate!"

Kanchelskis became a fan favorite and a hot topic in the news after one match. The British media began to dig up all kinds of news about Kanchelskis, and his girlfriend was also harassed. Kanchelskis quickly clashed with the paparazzi, "If you dare to do this in Ukraine, I won't even need the KGB, I will break your legs myself!"

Kanchelskis struggled to adapt to life in England, but the news of the collapse of the Soviet Union in late 1991 still made his mind blank. After much suffering, Kanchelskis finally chose to join the Russian national team, and he was regarded as a traitor to Ukraine.

In the 1992-93 season, Kanchelskis' outstanding performance helped the Red Devils win the Premier League title, and he also won the love of the fans. At this time, Kanchelskis began to have new troubles. He met the casino owner Bolculi and was led on the road of gambling.

In the 93-94 season, the Red Devils successfully defended the league title. Kanchelskis' performance on the field was still excellent, but the interference outside the field was getting bigger and bigger. Kanchelskis' addiction to gambling quickly made him lose all his savings and even owed a huge debt of more than pounds. Kanchelskis was unable to pay, and selling all his valuables was not enough to pay off his debts. Kanchelskis once hid in the Carrington base for training to avoid conflicts with the gangs. But the creditors rushed directly into the Red Devils base and even put up huge banners to force Kanchelskis to pay back the money. The training and games of the entire Red Devils team were still disrupted. The gangs have been looking for trouble, and Kanchelskis even had to ask Ferguson for help. Ferguson was furious, "You came to the UK to play football, not to gamble. Competitive football is your profession, and gambling will make you fall into the abyss! Think about your family, think about your life, how could you become like this?!"

Ferguson drove away the hooligans at the training base and assigned the club's security to Kanchelskis. Ferguson talked to Kanchelskis alone and suggested that the Red Devils arrange financial means to pay off the gambling debts, and then concentrate on playing football, try to get rid of trouble, and steadily move forward on the career path.

Kanchelskis was forced by foreign debt and did not accept this safe suggestion. He was also a little greedy and directly offered a price beyond Ferguson's imagination, including a high signing fee and weekly salary.

Ferguson said: "Andy, everyone has his special value, but that doesn't mean he is really irreplaceable. You should be better and deserve a better life. You don't need to put yourself in such a low position."

Ferguson saw that he could not change Kanchelskis's mind, so he agreed to let him transfer to Everton. Ferguson did not bother about the transfer fee and agreed to Everton's offer of 500 million pounds. This was equivalent to helping Kanchelskis get a high signing fee and a high weekly salary in disguise.

The Red Devils fans were disappointed that they had lost their hero; Lobanovsky was disappointed that his favorite player had to leave the Premier League's biggest club because of a gambling scandal. The most disappointed was Ferguson, who had relied on a player who had turned his back on the path to success in football.

Kanchelskis' performance after moving to Everton was not bad. He scored 20 goals and 25 assists in two seasons. He also scored a key goal in the Merseyside derby and became a hero of the Toffees. But these were completely incomparable with the Red Devils. Everton later sold a number of star players due to financial problems, which became a fatal blow to Kanchelskis. Serie A Fiorentina and Bundesliga Dortmund both made offers for him, but Kanchelskis finally chose Fiorentina.

Kanchelskis suffered a serious injury while playing in Italy. He scored only two goals in a season and was sold to Glasgow Rangers a year later. His experience in Scotland was even more difficult. After a conflict with the coach, he was loaned to Manchester City. Kanchelskis was returned after playing 10 games for Manchester City, and Glasgow Rangers never renewed his contract. In 2003, Kanchelskis joined Southampton for a short time, but was fired after playing only one game. Kanchelskis later played in the Saudi League. In 2005, he rejoined Dynamo Moscow, then transferred to Saturn, and later played briefly in Samara Soviet Wings. In November 2007, Kanchelskis officially announced his retirement.

Kanchelskis joined the Red Devils in 1991, played 158 games, scored 36 goals, won two Premier League titles and one FA Cup. In addition to the classic scene of him breaking through the opponent's defense like a high-speed train, his wonderful goal against Liverpool is a story that Red Devils fans talk about with relish. It is a pity that Kanchelskis left the Theatre of Dreams at a high moment like a shooting star.

Looking back on the past after going through so many ups and downs, Kanchelskis finally realized that he was the most popular winger and the most trusted winger among the Red Devils; he also knew that only Ferguson was a true mentor and friend, and his biggest regret of losing the opportunity to create glory in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, he didn't think so at the time.