Today the "patriarch" of Ukrainian football journalism, Valeriy Mirskyy, passed away. A chapter about him from my new book "From Everywhere About Everything".
His texts - clear in thought, often harsh and unflattering, always remarkable in style. What do you want, the school of fine diction at the University of St Petersburg.
They didn't want to admit him there at first. Mirsky's student fate was decided by the university's vice-rector Gennady Ivanovich Shatkov, former legendary Olympic champion and twice European boxing champion.
Having looked at the short, skinny applicant, he asked only one question: "Boxer? That's right, a boxer! Probably a 'mukhach'?". Without waiting for an answer, Shatkov wrote only one word on the documents: "Enrol!". To the surprised looks of the other members of the admission committee, Shatkov replied only with a line: "Have you had many boxers admitted to the Faculty of Journalism? This is the first one. Hemingway also first performed in the ring, and only then began to write". Teachers accepted it - there is no turning against a crowbar, especially when the crowbar is held by the vice-rector of the university, who is also a famous boxer.
The younger generation will hardly believe that the newspapers in which Valery Isaevich's articles were printed were followed by queues at press kiosks from early morning. Nowadays such kiosks are "a bygone era".
Isaich worked in many editorial offices of mass media of Ukraine, but by nature he was always a loner, moreover a loner poorly controlled by his superiors, that's why he had to change editorial offices more than once and more than twice.
And Valery also worked for many years as a speechwriter for very big bosses, though he never recognised this word. Would you believe it? I used to go to meetings of top-level sports officials to get a buzz from the way these very bosses quoted Faulkner, Steinbeck and Camus in their speeches from the rostrum, completely unaware of the existence of the latter. It was great trolling on Mirsky's part.
He and I made more than one film about football. Working with Mirsky, I admit, is not easy: we argued over episodes until the hoarse end. But it's terribly interesting to work with him. Also. I am terribly grateful to him for the fact that he introduced me to two unique professionals from different professional worlds and at the same time true intellectuals: the great footballer Yuri Voynov and no less great actor and director David Babaev.
We had our own ritual. I would jokingly address Mirsky: "Listen, lone wolf". Every time he would interject: "Why am I a lone wolf? - As why, your eyes are wolfish...."...
Semyon Sluchevsky
