Andrey Vatutin, CSKA President:
Surely, I am sorry to lose a good player, the fighter, real pro, great person. At the same time we understand the goal of experienced player, one of the National Team leaders to play more. CSKA never wanted to be a dog-in-the-manger, we always tried to link our and players’ interests. I would like to continue our cooperation but I respect Sergey’s ambitions, his desire to try himself in another team where he will try to become a leader. I sincerely wish Sergey success in reaching his goals. Bykov’s departure is a loss for us, especially in means of team chemistry. Don’t want to hide that we did not plan his leave, and our selection will be corrected accordingly.
Sergey Bykov:
I would like to thank Andrey Vatutin, Natalia Furaeva, all the management and staff. Despite the unsuccessful season for me I felt they supported me, they believed in me and did not make difficulties to my desire to leave. Thanks to the fans who supported me even when I played short periods of time, they waited for me to step on the floor. We had great friendly relations with some of the fans who met us after the games. I know that the apples we were presented with are not just vitamins… Unfortunately I wasn’t able to show everything I can. But I don’t want to go deep into analysis and to try to excuse myself. Some people believe that was a negative experience for me. I disagree. I had a chance to see the great CSKA organization from inside, felt the level of competition. I am glad that I played alongside such a masters as Holden, Langdon, Smodis, Siskauskas, I observed their professionalism, their impact on team’s game and chemistry. That’s a special, positive experience. Now I understand that I’d like to feel more responsibility, to play other roles. And I have a lot of positive emotions left from CSKA period.
