Daisuke Takahashi is heading back to Nikolai Morozov, Icenetwork reports. Takahashi originally trained with Morozov from 2005 to 2008. He reportedly left Morozov after Morozov took on Japanese rival Nobunari Oda without telling Takahashi, but the Icenetwork article asserts that the relationship may have ended before that when Morozov asked Takahashi to choose between him and his agent.
Takahashi's current coach, Utako Nagamitsu, will continue working with the skater as well. Morozov was the man behind Takahashi's lauded cyber swan lake routine. Since leaving Morozov, Takahashi has won a world championship and an Olympic bronze medal. He has developed and changed and in my opinion, is a superior artist, but he felt something was missing. Morozov states that Takahashi is the best skater he has ever worked with and he is the one who contacted Takahashi for the return.
Though Takahashi is one of the best artists on the ice, he has not been able to best Patrick Chan in the major competitions in recent seasons, such as the Grand Prix events and the world championships. He says he is looking to improve all aspects of his skating.
From the article:
"I want to improve every aspect of my skating," he said. "I was very comfortable with my training environment last season, but maybe a little too comfortable. I think I need a little extra push.
"Also, I felt having a Russian coach on our team could be a big help preparing for Sochi."
However, Takahashi and Morozov's relationship will be very different from last time, according to the skater.
"I'm a different person and a different skater now," he said. "When I was with Nikoli last time, I totally relied on him for every decision we made. But now I'm more independent and capable of making my own judgments. This will be a strictly professional relationship for our project toward the Sochi Olympics.
I wonder how the relationship will evolve compared with four years ago, and I'm interested to see the influence on Takahashi's style.