Collecting "Gazprom-Ugra" of all time: central blockers

How many interesting, we saw bright personalities, considering the history of Gazprom-Ugra! Top binders, elite diagonal, legendary finishers… Today it’s the turn of the central blockers and here it’s just eyes widen.

Start with at least Alexei Ashapatova, with which the club left the major league "A". Alexey was supposed to make his debut in the Super League with the team, but a tragic story led to the loss of a leg. And what? Ashapatov did not give up and became a four-time Paralympic champion, multiple champion and world record holder, Europe and Russia in athletics, was the standard bearer of the Russian team at the Paralympics in Beijing and London.

Olympic champion played one season in Surgut Nikolai Apalikov, needs no introduction, here he tried to retrain as an after-gamer, but in the end began a career revival in the center of the grid another London champion, Alexander Volkov. How to forget Konstantin Poroshin, which cemented the sky in Surgut for several years, and then with special inspiration he played against us in Kuzbass?

We already spoke, that Gazprom-Ugra is an excellent platform for restarting a career, and for takeoff. We have experienced a rebirth Artem Smolyar, Ruslan Hanipov, realized Artem Dougan, found himself in a new role diagonal Maxim Proskurnia. Oleg Sogrin, now famous coach, played for Gazprom-Ugra in 2005-2007 gg and was before coming Igor Shulepov a kind of uncle-mentor on the court and in the locker room. And for Alexander Gutsalyuk, Alexey Safonov, Denis Chereisky, Egor Yakutin Surgut has become a pass to the big volleyball world.

The Surgut legionnaires showed themselves very clearly in the position of blocking, starting with almost legendary Lukasz Kadzhevycha. The Pole came to our club twice, first of the season 2004-2005 gg, and then returned five years later after a triumphant season at Belogorye and helped the team maintain its place in the Super League in its first play-out.

Teodor Todorov, Bulgarian national team player with a phenomenal jump, spent four outstanding seasons in Surgut together with his countryman Todor Alexiev. His dominance on the net was often total - sometimes it was enough for the setter to simply “hang” the ball in the third zone higher, and Todorov filmed it from a space height. Todorov also played well on the block, just remember it 11 (!) covers in a match 1/8 came out on the third installment more charged 2012 of the year against Belogorye. Five years later, Gazprom-Ugra signed Todorov for performances in the CEV Cup, and Teodor did not disappoint, put 7 blocks in a home match with the Czech Karlovy Vary.

Well, of course, you can't get past the Serbian Peter Krsmanovich, become in three years (2016-2019) a favorite of the Surgut public. Petar's game in the attack was especially impressive - the blockers did not know the opponent, what to do with his passing shots, and Krsmanovich himself often became the most productive player of the match as part of his team. It was from Surgut that he paved a reliable road to the Serbian national team, in which he became the champion of Europe 2019 of the year.

Not surprising, that it was Todorov and Krsmanovich who topped the top of the best central blockers of Gazprom-Ugra according to fans in the club telegram channel. Bulgarian 50% votes, voted for serbian 57% surveyed. 38% scored Artem Dovgan, who moved to ASC in the current off-season, and this can be seen as gratitude for the years spent in Surgut. 33% at Nikolai Apalikov, 32% - Denis Chereisky, 30% scored by Alexander Gutsalyuk. Oleg Sogrin (14%) and Lukasz Kadzewicz (12%) hardly well known to telegram users, but old fans remember and appreciate them.