August 9 is a historic day for ice hockey in Russia. On this day, Danis Zaripov, the only five-time winner of the Gagarin Cup, three-time world champion, the legend of HC Ak Bars, officially retired. The farewell match was held on the ice of Tatneft Arena and gathered a huge number of hockey stars: Alexander Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Alexey Morozov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Sergey Mozyakin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and others

Ak Bars made the best possible farewell match for Zaripov. A full house in the stands, a large-scale show program, touching speeches and much more. Total sold-out on the first day of sales. There was no such excitement even in April, before the Gagarin Cup final. At the beginning of the meeting, a colorful show took place, during which Zaripov’s awards were listed

One of the highlights of the evening was the raising of Zaripov’s sweater under the arches of the Tatneft Arena. In the history of the Ak Bars, this is the first time that someone’s number has been withdrawn from circulation. Number 25 is now permanently assigned to the legend of the club Danis Zaripov

Danis Zaripov became not only the record holder of Ak Bars in terms of the number of matches played and goals scored. In the image of the Captain of Tatarstan, he became a kind of hockey symbol for the whole republic. Nail Maganov, President of Ak Bars and CEO of PJSC Tatneft, recalled this during the ceremony:

– Danis Zaripov is a legend of Russian ice hockey. His impact on the development of our favorite sport throughout the country, and, of course, in Tatarstan, is impossible to assess. HC Ak Bars is especially proud that Danis won most of his trophies here in Kazan. He won the Gagarin Cup three times as an Ak Bars player. For many years he helped our team to win and go to the status of a top club. It was a great honor for all of us to watch the play of this master

One of the honored guests of the event was Vladislav Tretyak, President of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia: – Today is really a great evening, because we have all come to confess our love to dear Danis. He deserved it. He devoted his whole life to hockey, his team and his country. Of course, I must say a big thank you to his family for supporting him. The teams he played for. And to you, dear fans. For love, for devotion.

It is important to note that the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin announced that Zaripov was included in the Book of Honor of the city: – It is a great honor for me, on behalf of the capital, Kazan fans, to present you with this honorary title

The farewell match was held in the format of two periods of 20 minutes each. As part of the “Russian National team”, hockey players with whom Zaripov crossed paths at various times in the national team and Metallurg took to the ice. Those players with whom Zaripov crossed paths at the Kazan club played for “Ak Bars”. Interestingly, Danis played for both teams. He spent the first period with “Ak Bars”, and the second for the “Russian National Team»

Danis Zaripov: – That’s the day when my career came to an end. And I am very pleased that today the stands of our ice palace are filled to capacity. Throughout the entire journey, stretching for 24 years, I almost always went out on the ice with full stands. We have become one big family with you, dear fans