Hockey Fetisov: Zubov can be the next

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Chief coach and general manager of Russian Olympic team Vyacheslav Fetisov named the next two players in the interview to SE correspondent Igor LARIN yesterday. They are: forward Sergey Samsonov from Boston and Alexey Zhamnov from Chikago. Thus we already know 12 hockey players who will play in Salt Lake City. These are: forwards Pavel Bure, Jashin, Kovalev, Fedorov, Karionov, Samsonov, Zhamnov, backs Gonshar, Jushkevich, Tverdovsky, Kasparaitis and goalkeeper Habibullin. The rest 11 players will be named before December, 22, but they are likely to be selected these days. Specially to this end, RHF president Alexander Steblin and head coach of Cloten (Switzerland) Vladimir Jurzinov, Fetisov's assistant on the oncoming Olympiad, have arrived in America to conduct negotiations with Fetisov.

Samsonov and Zhamnov are the 11th and 12th players in the team. When have you decided to take them?

Several days ago. Frankly speaking the situation with the composure is almost clear to me.

When are you going to name the rest 11 players?

I have already said in the interview to SE that I will name them gradually - two players each time. But it's rather difficult to follow this principle - RHF and other hockey organizations are urging me to take decision. I think the situation when the Olympic team's composure should be named two months before the start of the tournament is rather absurd. Because everything can change during this time.

RHF president Alexander Steblin went to Amerika. He wants to discuss preparation of the team for the Olympics with you…

Yes, I know that Steblin has some business here, and wants to meet me too. Why not? Maybe it'll help to solve some problems.

According to your statements you are not satisfied with your cooperation with Russian hockey administration.

That's right. Let's take for example San-Jose goalkeeper Evgeny Nabokov, who is forbidden to play for Russian team. I'm sure that if this problem be raised a year ago and not before the Olympiad we could have won the case.