Valery Belousov: The last romantic coach
KHL.ru continues its series about the coaches and players who became legends of the league. The late Valery Belousov instilled an attacking, combination style of hockey in his teams and won a total of 12 medals in the Russian championship.
First medals
Since Valery Belousov decided to become a coach, sooner or later he had to take charge of Traktor. After all, he spent eleven seasons in their lineup and became the team’s all-time leading goal scorer. When Belousov wore the ‘K’, Chelyabinsk won a medal in the USSR Championship for the first and last time, securing the bronze in 1977. Sixteen years later, the side repeated this success. By 1993, in just three seasons, Belousov had built a strong team in Chelyabinsk. In May of the same year, five representatives of Traktor – Andrei Zuyev, Andrei Sapozhnikov, Igor Varitskiy, Konstantin Astrakhantsev, and Valery Karpov – became world champions in Germany as part of the Russian national team.
In 1994, a full-fledged, five-man unit and a goaltender from Traktor represented the team at the Olympics: the same Zuyev, Varitsky, Karpov, along with defensemen Oleg Davydov and Sergei Tertyshny, and forward Ravil Gusmanov. Chelyabinsk took third place again. They were just a tiny bit short of winning medals of a higher level in both seasons. In 1993, in the semifinals, they suffered a SO loss to Dynamo Moscow. And in 1994, when medals were awarded based on regular season standings, they were only one point behind Dynamo again.
10.12.2015 Traktor Arena takes Valery Belousov’s name
Russian champion in 1999, 2001, and 2004
Winner of the European Champions Cup in 2005 and European Supercup in 2000
Triumphs with Magnitka
In those times, financial issues concerned many people, including Chelyabinsk residents. Leading Traktor players were leaving for North America and Europe, or moving to more affluent Russian teams. In 1995, Belousov also moved – to neighboring Magnitogorsk, where he was well acquainted as he played there closer the end of his career. In Metallurg, he became an assistant to Valery Postnikov.
Postnikov had been coaching Magnitogorsk since 1971, with a three-year break. Under his guidance, Metallurg won its first medals – bronze in 1995. The following year, Metallurg reached the final of the MHL Cup. However, after three consecutive losses in the early stage of the 1996-1997 campaign, Postnikov was fired. Belousov’s first head coaching spell began with an ironic twist, as his first match was against his former team Traktor (3:3).
In 1997, Metallurg narrowly missed out on medals, losing to Salavat Yulaev in the third-place series (1-2), and in 1998, they finally won their first silver. Then came the Russian Cup, in its last edition. In the final series, Magnitogorsk defeated Dynamo 3:1, winning not only the trophy but also a ticket to the prestigious European Hockey League.
The legendary confrontation between Metallurg and Dynamo can be traced back to 1996. In the fourth game of the MHL Cup final, Postnikov took his team off the ice, protesting the referee’s decision not to award a penalty shot with the scoreboard saying 5:3 for the Muscovites. Referee Mikhail Galinovsky violated the rules and reviewed the replay of the episode, although at that time, video reviews were only allowed for goals. He then called for a penalty shot, but Evgeny Koreshkov missed, and in the end, the cup went to Dynamo.
The full-scale rivalry unfolded later. In the season following the Cup final in 1998, each encounter between Magnitka and Dynamo turned into a real battle. Boris Tortunov got a misconduct call for slashing penalty, Vadim Glovatsky was carried off on a stretcher, players argued with referees, fought, and, of course, showcased excellent hockey. In the 1998-1999 season, the two sides met nine times, and only one of them ended with a three-goal difference. They faced each other in the finals of the European Hockey League and the Russian Championship, and both times Magnitogorsk emerged victorious, securing their first major trophies under Belousov’s guidance.
Metallurg became the European Hockey League and Russian champion the following year. In the semifinals, Magnitogorsk trailed TPS 0:3 after two periods but scored five unanswered goals; Magnitka then defeated Sparta Prague in the final. Later, the Steelers under Belousov won gold (2001) and two bronzes (2000, 2002) in the Russian championship, as well as the European Super Cup (2000).
Conflicting with Metallurg
In 2003, Metallurg finished the regular season only in sixth place, and in the playoffs, the side suffered a first-round, 0-3 sweep by the hand of Severstal. Belousov left Magnitogorsk but didn’t remain without a job for long. In the following season, he took over Avangard, which was struggling at the bottom of the standings under Sergei Gersonsky’s leadership.
The Omsk side quickly turned their tournament position around, finishing the regular season in third place. In the playoffs, they recorded 3-0 wins over both Dynamo and Lada. The plot of the final was thrilling: Belousov against Metallurg! The Urals team won two home games, and then the Siberians won their two home contests. The deciding battle in Magnitogorsk became one of the most vivid page in the Russian championship’s history. Numerous disputes arose, but in the end, Belousov and Avangard emerged victorious in the post-game shootout.
During the four seasons with Belousov, Avangard never stopped short of the semifinals. In 2006, they finished as the runners-up, in 2007 the Hawks ended in third place, and in 2005 they secured a fourth spot. During those years, another intense rivalry was born – Avangard versus Magnitka. Belousov eliminated Metallurg from the playoffs two more times and only lost to his former team in 2007. In 2008, he was invited back to Magnitogorsk.
27.03.2013 First coach in the Russian hockey history to reach 100 playoff wins.
17.04.2013 First Traktor’s silver medal in Russian championships.
04.03.2014 Last KHL game.
In 2010, under the guidance of Andrey Sidorenko, Traktor had a rough start to the championship with seven losses in ten games. Belousov replaced him as the head coach. Although he couldn’t immediately turn things around, the team’s management showed patience and didn’t replace the coach. The following season, Traktor won the regular season and reached the semifinals in the playoffs, securing a bronze medal. In the 2012-2013 season, they went even further, reaching the Gagarin Cup finals.
After the silver season, Traktor lost several key players and failed to make it to the elimination stage. Belousov departed, and as it turned out later, it was for good.
How did Belousov achieve these results? All his teams had a distinctive style – they played an attacking, collective, and entertaining brand of hockey reminiscent of the Soviet era. In the late 1990s, Belousov was even referred to as the last romantic coach due to his approach to the game. His Magnitka team was the brightest embodiment of the Soviet style of play. Avangard and Traktor adopted a more pragmatic approach, but that was the trend of the time – a shift towards simplifying the game and playing a more conservative style to achieve results.
Belousov never had significant conflicts with players. He always tried to keep his distance from them. At the same time, he didn’t tolerate interference in his work from management. In Metallurg, he asked Gennady Velichkin to leave the dressing room when he expressed dissatisfaction with the team’s performance. In Avangard, when offered to flip flop goalies during intermission, he handed the clipboard to the adviser, saying, “You coach then.”
Belousov commanded respect and had a positive influence on the team’s performance. Players enjoyed working with him. He not only respected their individuality but also implemented an interesting training process and promoted a visually appealing style of play – he encouraged his players to go out on the ice to create, not just to work hard.
Dossier
Valery Konstantinovich Belousov
Born Dec 17, 1948 in Novouralsk. Passed away Apr 16, 2015 in Chelyabinsk.
Playing career: 1971-1982, Traktor; 1982-1984, Oji Seishi, Japan; 1984-1985, Metallurg Chelyabinsk; 1985-1986, Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
Honors: USSR championship bronze medal (1977).
Coaching career: 1990-1995, 2010-2014, Traktor; 1996-2003, 2008-2010, Metallurg; 2003-2007, Avangard.
Honors: Russian champion (1999, 2001, 2004), silver (1998, 2006, 2013) and bronze (1993, 1994, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2012) medal winner. European Hockey League (1999, 2000) European Champions Cup (2005), European Super Cup (2005)
