Shura Uvarov, the Yellow & Blue’s current goalkeeping coach and former keeper spoke about his friend, rival and teammate from the days of the former Soviet Union, Viktor Chanov who came to Israel, played for Maccabi Haifa and paved the way for Uvarov to come to the country as well :
“I got to know him at the World Cup after playing against him numerous times. We were three goalkeepers and none of us knew that we would one day be in Israel together. Viktor is one of the reasons that I came here to Israel. When he came to the country he helped Maccabi Haifa to the title. We became good friends and we got together a lot with our families, but it was here that our relationship really developed.”
Chanov’s situation:
“I knew he wasn’t doing well, but I prayed for him and I spoke to friends about what had happened and hoped that he would get out of the situation he was in. He had two head surgeries and it just wasn’t something he could recover from apparently after falling on his head.”
Playing back in the early 90’s in Israel:
“It really was a totally different level of play back then when players of such a high level came to play in Israel. Most of the foreigners of our time were from the former Soviet Union and it’s hard for me to say it, but the play during our time was terrific.”
Final words:
“He really loved this country.”
