He arrived after TT was already a monster. But it's also possible young Sergey deserves more credit than we gave him for since a lot of TT kids think so much of him and have left TT to go to the academy where he now is working.
The-Sergei-with-fangirls-base definitely deserves a credit and respect, it's just that in his fangirls mind it's like he was the only one who worked there while the rest was sunbathing at Copacabana all the time.