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Russian Winters: The Story of Andrei Kanchelskis
Andrei Kanchelskis was one of the stars of the first great side Sir Alex Ferguson built at Old Trafford; the team of warriors that included Peter Schmeichel, Roy Keane, Mark Hughes and Eric Cantona.
In Russian Winters,
Andrei tells the inside story of his departure from Old Trafford; a departure dogged by persistent accusations it had been engineered by the Russian mafia. Here, Kanchelskis reveals why his agent presented Ferguson with a box containing £40,000 and what it was like to be the nearest player to Cantona on the night he leapt into the crowd at Selhurst Park.
After leaving Manchester United, Kanchelskis tells what it was like to play alongside Duncan Ferguson at Everton and Gabriel Batistuta at Fiorentina and how in Florence he witnessed a real-life mafia murder.
His move to Rangers ensured he would be the only man to score in a Manchester, a Merseyside and a Glasgow derby.
After a fall-out with the Rangers manager, Dick Advocaat, he returned to Russia via a spell at Manchester City and in the Middle East, Kanchelskis explains what life was like as a foreigner in Saudi Arabia and how he was playing chess in the desert with a member of the Saudi royal family as a murderous Al-Qaeda attack shot up the centre of Riyadh.
With Russia due to be the centre of the football world when hosting next year’s World Cup, Kanchelskis examines the sad decline of one of the game’s great powers told through his time as a manager in his native land; a story of ignorance and corruption.
In Russian Winters,
Andrei tells the inside story of his departure from Old Trafford; a departure dogged by persistent accusations it had been engineered by the Russian mafia. Here, Kanchelskis reveals why his agent presented Ferguson with a box containing £40,000 and what it was like to be the nearest player to Cantona on the night he leapt into the crowd at Selhurst Park.
After leaving Manchester United, Kanchelskis tells what it was like to play alongside Duncan Ferguson at Everton and Gabriel Batistuta at Fiorentina and how in Florence he witnessed a real-life mafia murder.
His move to Rangers ensured he would be the only man to score in a Manchester, a Merseyside and a Glasgow derby.
After a fall-out with the Rangers manager, Dick Advocaat, he returned to Russia via a spell at Manchester City and in the Middle East, Kanchelskis explains what life was like as a foreigner in Saudi Arabia and how he was playing chess in the desert with a member of the Saudi royal family as a murderous Al-Qaeda attack shot up the centre of Riyadh.
With Russia due to be the centre of the football world when hosting next year’s World Cup, Kanchelskis examines the sad decline of one of the game’s great powers told through his time as a manager in his native land; a story of ignorance and corruption.
- GenresBiography
240 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 9, 2017
About the author
Andrei Kanchelskis
3 booksAndrei Antanasovich Kanchelskis (Russian: Андрей Антанасович Канчельскис) is a retired Soviet and Russian football midfielder of Lithuanian and Ukrainian origin. He played for a number of teams, most notably Manchester United, Everton and Rangers. Kanchelskis is the only player in history to have scored in each of the Glasgow, Merseyside and Manchester local derbies.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 9, 2019
I loved this book. I imagine it would be a 2 or 3 star book for most - it's far from the best football autobiography - but as a United fan, and as someone who remembers Schmeichel's throws down the line for Kanchelskis to bomb onto it's a good read. Kanchelskis was born in the USSR in the 60s, and I loved his stories of his early life in Russia and the Ukraine, the culture shock of moving from Russian football to English football in the early 90s, his contribution to a great United side playing with Cantona, how it unraveled for him with poor advice, then his onward career taking in Everton, Serie A, a fascinating bad relationship with Dick Advocaat and his "Dutch clique" at Glasgow Rangers, and then the spiral down which included Manchester City, one game at Southampton, Saudi Arabia, and then an interesting but failing management career across Russia. Perhaps the best thing about the book for me is that it was signed by Andrei himself, and I enjoyed the afterwords by Sergei Baltacha and Joe Royle. In many respects there are aspects of Kanchelski's playing and management career that were a disaster, but for me he will always be a United legend and it was fascinating to learn how varied and complex his life's been. The quote at the beginning is apt, "I don't think I could love you so much if you had nothing to complain of and nothing to regret. I don't like people who have never fallen or stumbled. Their virtue is lifeless and of little value. Life hasn't revealed its beauty to them." Boris Pasternak, Doctor Zhivago
Thanks Andrei Kanchelskis for those great United memories while I was 13-16.
Thanks Andrei Kanchelskis for those great United memories while I was 13-16.
October 23, 2021
Great read. Smashed some myths about his involvement with the Russian mafia.
Andrei gives his opinions on his coaches and does not pull his punches on some of Europe's top coaches.
He is happy to share some of his novel achievements as well as highlight his vast success with both Manchester United and Glasgow Rangers.
This book is about the man who was the last scorer in a shirt representing the Soviet Union and the first man who scored in a Manchester Derby, Merseyside Derby, and a Glasgow Derby.
Andrei gives his opinions on his coaches and does not pull his punches on some of Europe's top coaches.
He is happy to share some of his novel achievements as well as highlight his vast success with both Manchester United and Glasgow Rangers.
This book is about the man who was the last scorer in a shirt representing the Soviet Union and the first man who scored in a Manchester Derby, Merseyside Derby, and a Glasgow Derby.
October 25, 2017
My review of this can be found on 'The Two Unfortunates' website, here: http://thetwounfortunates.com/book-re...
Read it, enjoy it, bask in it.
Read it, enjoy it, bask in it.
August 17, 2020
An amazing book about his career and life in Russia.
From how he joined Man Utd to Where he grew up in have the career he had.
A great book for any neutral fans or man utd or Everton fans.
From how he joined Man Utd to Where he grew up in have the career he had.
A great book for any neutral fans or man utd or Everton fans.
November 14, 2021
Harmless and good fun
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews