If until recently the city of the Samara region, bearing the name of the famous Italian communist Palmiro Tolyatti, was famous exclusively for the production of domestic cars, in the last decade it has taken a prominent place on the map of Russian football schools.
Konoplev Academy (Tolyatti): the main milestones of creation and formation
Here, the basics of football art were received by such stars of the domestic Premier League as Alan Dzagoev and Arthur Yusupov. Football Academy named after Konopleva (Tolyatti) is one of the most famous nurseries of Russian football talents to date. Six graduates of this sports training center triumphantly completed the junior championship in 2006. The most famous of them is the former Spartak I. Gorbatenko, who is now quite successfully playing for “Wings of the Soviets”, his native Samara.
Konoplev Academy (Tolyatti) originates from the school of Olympic reserve "Lada", opened in 2003 in the town of Primorsky, Samara Region. The main inspirer of this process was the local businessman Yu.P. Konoplev, who set himself an ambitious task - to turn an ordinary football school into one of the best educational institutions in the country, whose graduates could compete on equal terms with the best similar institutions from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov and Kazan.
Success exceeded all expectations. Konoplev Academy (Tolyatti), which in the mid-2000s became known as the “Wings of the Soviets”, through the efforts of its founder in a matter of years has reached the forefront in the Volga region. The teams representing it began to regularly take prizes at regional and national competitions, and the highest level of infrastructure allowed the academy in 2006 to win the title of best in Russia.
True, it was in this year that misfortune happened. In the fortieth year of life, Yu. Konoplev died, which led to a significant reduction in funding and a fairly noticeable drop in results. Konoplev Football Academy (Tolyatti) (this name was assigned to her a year after the death of its founder) went through many very difficult stages, several times stood on the verge of complete closure, until in 2013 the administration of the Samara region took it to its balance. State support made it possible not only to overcome financial and infrastructural difficulties, but also to reaffirm itself at the national level.
Konoplev Academy today: infrastructure breakthrough
Today Konopleva Academy (Tolyatti) is a first-class sports and educational center that allows teenagers and young people aged 10-18 to learn the basics of football skill from leading experts and teachers. At the same time, the leadership of the center pays special attention to the educational process, making sure that the students of the academy receive good knowledge and general educational skills.
Konoplev Academy (Tolyatti) has all the necessary infrastructure. Its core is ten football fields, exactly half of which are natural. All of them have international certificates of conformity and allow not only to carry out the training process, but also to hold competitions at the children's and junior levels from regional to international level.
Konoplev Football Academy (Tolyatti): modern technologies for the recovery of athletes
Today's sport is impossible without a modern medical rehabilitation base. Konoplev Academy (Tolyatti) includes not only several baths and a swimming pool, not only a gym equipped with the latest words, but also several jacuzzi baths, which, thanks to the increased oxygen content, contribute to a much faster recovery of young athletes.
Problems and prospects for the development of a sports center
One of the main problems for the development of any Russian football academy is the availability of the opportunity to promote their students in the team of masters. Konoplev Academy (Tolyatti) is in this regard in a much less favorable position than educational institutions of such giants as Spartak and Dynamo. The flagship of the region - “Wings of the Soviets” - has experienced a noticeable crisis in recent years, so the teams of Russia of different ages have become the main springboard for the pupils of the Academy. It was in this way that the same Dzagoev and Yusupov went at one time, it is the youth teams that are considered by many guys as an excellent springboard for getting into the top Russian teams.
The Konoplev Football Academy (Tolyatti) is an excellent example of the fact that with a professional approach to business you can achieve impressive results not even in the football region of Russia itself.