e have certainly had our fair share of characters in this Country. Some local and some imported. Some great and some you would like to forget!

Russia

Of the forgettable ones, we had a young Russian who came to play here a couple of years ago. The extent of his English language was to look the referee straight in the eyes and say "F*** you!’ The first time he did it, I just couldn’t believe my ears. I said "Excuse me" very politely — and received the same reply. The rest , as they say, is history!

That was also the same guy who tried to take on a French player (who later played in the Salt Lake City Olympic team) twice his size and complained when the linesman stopped him from getting a beating. Strange kid. He fortunately didn’t stick around too long.

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