"I have long since linked my football career with Russia and now I see no point in changing the colors of the national team," Karpin commented on his decision. "If the Estonian football authorities had really wanted to, they could have invited me to their team back in 1992, when a choice could still be made, but then nobody even contacted me. I have at most a year or two left in big-time football. I hope to finish my career in Spain, which is where my future lies. My children are practically Spanish already – they were born there, and an Estonian passport will make my life easier in the European Union."
Spain has long become a second homeland for Karpin. One eloquent proof of this is the appearance of a volleyball team called "Vigo Valery Karpin". Perhaps we would never have learned that somewhere in Spain, in the town of Vigo, there is a volleyball club of the same name, if Valery Karpin, the Russian legionnaire of the Spanish football club "Real Sociedad", had not recently become its sponsor. The club has existed since January 2004. The president of "Vigo", Guillermo Tosa, has already introduced Karpin as the sponsor.
The club, which for the last four seasons had been considered ownerless and experienced great financial problems, was on the verge of extinction, and Karpin's appearance on the horizon was akin to a meeting of the poor, tormented Cinderella with a good fairy. However, there is no need to talk about buying the club – as Karpin emphasizes, he only provided sponsorship assistance: "I didn't buy this club, as some publications wrote. I just helped with money. I supported the team's budget."
Moreover, the help will come not even from the footballer himself, but from a company that belongs to him – the construction firm Valery Karpin S.L. When asked why volleyball and the club "Vigo" specifically, Karpin replied: "Because Vigo is the city where I lived for a long time and will live after finishing my football career. There was a team there that was on the brink of disappearing, so I decided to help it. Whether I will help 'Vigo' after I finish playing, I don't know yet. So far, only one-time assistance has been discussed."
Nevertheless, this very help, despite being one-time in nature for now, seems to have stunned the president of the volleyball club, Guillermo Tosa. After signing the agreement with Karpin, Tosa noted that the footballer can, at any moment he wishes, take to the court and play for "Vigo": for this, a number would be specially reserved for him and he would be added to the roster. Karpin himself, however, took these words as a joke.
According to the newspaper Marca, with the help of the company that bears his name (Karpin founded it three years ago), he has already earned more than in his entire football career. Now, as the sports adviser of Vigo put it, "the footballer has decided to donate part of his income to save a volleyball club that was famous in the past from disappearing.
Karpin himself, commenting on the event, said: "When I was at school, in Russia (meaning the USSR), I also played volleyball. Life is not just football, and I hope to set an example for Vigo firms in helping other sports. I hope that my ties with this volleyball team will not end in 2005."
It should be noted that Valery was a little disingenuous. Perhaps he did occasionally appear on the volleyball court at school, but that hardly happened very often. After all, in childhood he was seriously into hockey, and then he completely switched to football, which eventually brought him to Galicia, to the great joy of local volleyball players.
Apparently, the current season will be the last for the 36-year-old midfielder as an active footballer. Age takes its toll, and Valery has already announced the end of his career several times, but each time he was persuaded otherwise. But this time, it seems, Karpin is serious about playing out, as he promised the management of "Real Sociedad", until the summer, and then transfer all his attention to his construction company and real estate agency.
Perhaps the Karpin family will have more time to escape to their native Narva. "Not only friends, but many residents of Narva know that I am a footballer, that I come from here and that I have been playing abroad for many years, but they don't pester me," Valery admits. "People here are more reserved, more delicate, so I rest in Estonia with body and soul like nowhere else. You meet up with the guys – and memories flow like a river. How we played together, how we went on dates, how everyone's life turned out later. By the way, I met my wife Sveta in Narva. She worked here. And she lived 27 kilometers from the city. There weren't any prettier girls closer..."
From the dossier 'Zagranitsa'
Valery Georgievich Karpin. Midfielder. Born on February 2, 1969, in Narva. A product of the Narva football school.
Played for the teams: "Sport" Tallinn (1986-1987), CSKA Moscow (1988), "Fakel" Voronezh (1989), "Spartak" Moscow (1990-1994), "Real Sociedad" San Sebastian (1994-1996), "Valencia" (1996-1997), "Celta" Vigo (1997-2002), "Real Sociedad" San Sebastian (2003-2005).
He played 73 matches for the Russian national team, scoring 17 goals.
A participant of the 1994 and 2002 World Cups. A participant of the 1996 European Championship.
Russian champion in 1992, 1993, and 1994. Winner of the USSR Cup in 1992 and the Russian Cup in 1994.
He played 49 matches and scored 3 goals in the USSR top league. He played 68 matches and scored 25 goals in the Russian top league. He played 372 matches and scored 67 goals in the Spanish top league.