Alexey Spiridonov can be quite a polarizing figure. On one hand he is an outstanding outside hitter. He is explosive in his approach, and has an attacking prowess that landed him on the Russian National Team. The other side of Spiridonov is a firecracker who is always one incident away from being ejected from the match. He taunts the opponents, he taunts the crowd, he kicks chairs, he kicks pole pads, and probably has done many more things that coaches teach young athletes not to do. Some of his most notable incidents include:
- Kicked a chair and broke the time-out button in a play-out match for his club Yenisei Krasnoyarsk in March of 2018 which led to an ejection and a two-match suspension
- Made a rifle gesture to the Polish fans in 2014 at the World Championships in a match against Poland that also led to a two-match suspension
- Insulted Poland after the World Championships in an interview, calling it a “rotten nation” with a “poisonous language.”
- Was suspended by the Russian Volleyball Federation in 2011 for six months due to alcohol abuse
- Instigated a fight with Sergei Grankin in a 2009 semifinal match between Iskra Odintsovo and Dynamo Moscow
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQjSZYbMM20?rel=0
For all of these drawbacks, his talent on the court will always be valued by teams. After spending two seasons with Yenisei Krasnoyarsk, Spiridonov will be going back to Zenit Kazan. He previous played there from 2014-2016. Kazan decided to have fun with the news of his return by posting a video to Instagram in which current players on the Kazan team (including their coach, Vladamir Alekno) are pasted over characters from the show “Sherlock.” The scene is one which Jim Moriarty, a criminal mastermind, is making a return. The video can be seen here:
Leave a Reply