He was not the only one. Several dozen Ukrainian lads, tempted by the promises of our neighbors, did the same. But far from all of them can boast of having played for the best club in England of the last decade - Manchester United - and winning the UEFA Super Cup with it. Kanchelskis can.
Travelers' Club
Fate forced Andrei to wander around the world. Kirovograd, Kharkov, Kiev, Donetsk, Manchester, Liverpool, Florence, Glasgow, Southampton. He spent part of his life in each of these cities. And how much more he saw, going with his teams to away matches, training camps, and with friends and family on vacation! It is no coincidence that in his book “My Geography” Kanchelskis devoted considerable importance to his “wandering.”
Now the former Kirovograd resident is discovering a new country - Saudi Arabia, where he has been since February 2003 as the main star of one of the best local clubs - Al-Hilal. The Arabs have long been using their “oil” money and luring famous footballers from all over the world who are at the end of their careers (for example, four games of Brazilian Bebeto cost his club Al-Ittihad $1,500). Who would not want to earn some extra money before retiring? Especially since the guests are given due honor. Kanchelskis, for instance, often plays chess with the prince who funds their club.
“Before we first sat down at the board, he let slip: they say, my stake per game is $50,000 or $100,000. I refused to play for such money. If only I had known his level! Now I need to somehow make him an offer he cannot refuse,” Andrei laughs.
In Saudi Arabia, many princes sponsor football teams. Prince Abdullah, who plays chess with Kanchelskis, is considered educated. He often visits Europe, adopts advanced experience, and recently studied how things are done at London's Arsenal because he wants to create a professional club. “He does not interfere in the process of determining the lineup and tactics. In other teams, that is standard practice. For instance, in Al-Nassr, which is going to acquire Russian Mostovoi, the prince sits on the bench, gives instructions, and manages substitutions,” Kanchelskis admits.
Saudi Arabia differs significantly from Europe not only in having a hotter climate. The social order and traditions here are very different from ours. For example, only men are allowed into the stadium. In the Emirates, Kuwait, and Qatar, women have the right to be in the stands, but in Saudi Arabia this is forbidden even for members of the royal family. You also do not see women behind the wheel.
In a word, there is plenty of exoticism. When prayer time comes, life freezes. Strangers are not allowed into the house - they are usually received in a special tent in the courtyard. There is both a TV and food there. Neither the host's wife nor children can be seen. You can walk down the street in shorts only in the district where Kanchelskis himself lives, and the population of the district is 75% British, French, and Americans.
Zigzags of Fortune
Kanchelskis has spent almost all his adult life abroad - since 1991. At home, he is not much remembered by fans. From Kirovograd, he was “called into the army,” which he served in Kyiv's Dynamo. Then, when his compulsory military service time expired, an offer from Donetsk's Shakhtar arrived. And although the Kyiv club was rated very highly in those days, and its lineup featured such stars as Mikhailichenko, Protasov, Belanov, and Kuznetsov, Andrei agreed.
“Do I regret that transfer? No. And it's not that Lobanovsky didn't want to let me go, and the red tape dragged on for several months. And even not that the star Dynamo players dispersed abroad a year later, giving the young a chance. I still think: would I, being a Dynamo player, have ended up in Manchester United? Not a fact. And in Shakhtar, where I felt very free, they did not try to hold me back.”
The transfer happened very quickly. At the training camp, Kanchelskis was called by the Shakhtar coach Valeri Yaremchenko and asked Andrei about his desire to try himself abroad. The tryout lasted a week and ended successfully. And the English football officials, known for their bureaucracy, did not resist the appearance of a USSR native on the foggy Albion very actively. Apparently, the title of European youth champion, which he won in 1990, made itself known.
Life abroad began with success for Kanchelskis. In 1991, a brilliant Manchester United (featuring Eric Cantona, Mark Hughes, Andy Cole, Peter Schmeichel and, naturally, Kanchelskis) won the UEFA Super Cup, and in 1993 and 1994 - the English Championship, while adding to the club museum the English League Cup, two English Super Cups, and the FA Cup.
Andrei regularly played in the right midfield position. And the question is still relevant: would David Beckham have become a football star if Kanchelskis had not left Manchester United? Andrei himself believes that his place would have been guaranteed in any case, and Beckham would have had very few chances to get into the lineup.
But the lack of a competent agent who could have told him at the right moment what to do, and warned him against a rash step, pushed Kanchelskis into the abyss of obscurity. It was after leaving Manchester that Andrei's career began to zigzag. Following English Everton were Italian Fiorentina, Scottish Rangers, English Southampton, and finally Al-Hilal.
He managed to add to his trophy collection only in Scotland. And recently in Saudi Arabia, Kanchelskis's team won the national cup. That is not much. Especially against the backdrop of Andrei's early successes. But that is fate - doing what should not have been done. The kind of thing that later makes you regret.