The Cup final was without Moscow team and since the game was always played in Moscow… it was like fans had 6th sense – 75 000 attended to see Dinamo (Minsk) vs Dinamo (Kiev) and were not disappointed. The final was rare show of attacking football and drama. Minsk scored first – Kondratyev in the 20th minute.
Ratz equalized in the 45th minute: 1-1 at half-time.
The next goal was scored in the first minute of the second half – Zygmantovich made it 2-1 Minsk from penalty kick.
In the 60th minute Aleynikov made it 3-1 and it was… all over? Not at all – Kiev came back. Kuznetzov scored 3 minutes later and in the very last minute of the game Zavarov equalized. 3-3. Kive’s strong come back perhaps crushed Minsk psychologically – after all, Kiev equalized twice in the last minute: made it 1-1 in the 45th and 3-3 in the 90th. But no goals were scored in the overtime and penalty shoot-out had to decide the winner. Only at this stage Minsk lost – Borovsky and Aleynikov failed to score (Aleynikov missed, Chanov saved poor shoot by Borovsky). Metlitzky and Kurnenin scored for Minsk, but Kiev players scored 4 penalties without fail (Demyanenko, Mikhailichenko, Baltacha, and Evtushenko) and the Cup was theirs.
Opposite moods after Evtushenko’s penalty: teammates Zavarov, Gorily, Bal, Kuznetzov, Demyanenko, Yakovenko, Ratz rushed to congratulate Evtushenko (number 10). At the same time disappointed Satzunkevich, Aleynikov, Metlitzky, and Kondratyev having nothing to say.
Dinamo (Kiev) won the Cup for 8th time. Apart from anything else, the battle for supremacy between Dinamo (Kiev) and Spartak (Moscow) continued: this year Spartak equalized Dinamo’s record of 11 titles. Spartak also was leading with 9 Cups, but Dinamo now was only one trophy behind.
Too bad Dinamo (Minsk) lost – they did not have many trophies and would have been great to add a Cup, but… no. Played a great game and to a point fell victims of classier squad – perhaps another team would have given up after the result was 1-3 against them. However, Minsk had nobody by themselves to blame: they permitted Kiev to equalized twice in the last minute. They also failed to close the game after scoring their third goal, so Kiev was left free to attack. Even the penalty shoot-out: it was the leaders of Minsk Borovsky and Aleynikov who did not score. Small things, but put all together…
Top row from left: Vassily Dmitrakov – doctor, Andrey Shalimo, Nikolay Shpilevsky, Sergey Omelyusik, Aleksandr Metlitzky, Gennady Lessun, Sergey Pavlyuchuk, Pavel Rodnenok, Leonid Vassilevsky – administrator.
Middle row: Sergey Borovsky, Viktor Yanushevsky, Vyacheslav Nikiforov, Yury Trukhan, Anatoly Bogovik – assistant coach, Mikhail Vergeenko – team chief, Aleksandr Gorbylev – assistant coach, Sergey Aleynikov, Lyudas Rumbutis, Sergey Gotzmanov, Sergey Shiroky.
Sitting: Yury Kurnenin, Viktor Sokol, Aleksandr Kisten, Ivan Zhekyu, Ivan Savostikov – coach, Andrey Satzunkevich, Andrey Zygmantovich, Georgy Kondratyev, Aleksandr Dozmorov.
8 times Cup winners! Not the team at the final, but that was Dinamo (Kiev) at the time – even with some injured or out of form players, it was formidable squad. Standing from left: Viktor Chanov, Aleksey Mikhailichenko, Andrey Bal, Oleg Blokhin, Pavel Yakovenko, Mikhail Mikhailov.
In the middle: Vladimir Bessonov.
Crouching: Aleksandr Zavarov, Sergey Baltacha, Igor Belanov, Vassily Ratz, Vadim Evtushenko, Anatoly Demyanenko, O. Morozov, Oleg Kuznetzov, V. Gorily.
Injured Bessonov and Belanov did not even go to Moscow for the final and Morozov was not selected even as a reserve for the final, but the rest played and prevailed. V. Evseev and V. Karataev completed the group of 16 at the final. Plus I. Yaremchuk, who replaced Blokhin in the 57th minute only to be replaced himself in the 70th minute by Gorily.
Important victory for Dinamo (Kiev) – the season was not good for them, they lost form and were not a force in the championship, had a string of injured players and some with psychological problems, so winning a trophy was important to boost confidence. Dramatic final like this one was important for moral: Dinamo showed character, did not give up when everything looked lost.
USSR I Division
First Division. 50th championship of USSR, time for celebration, but the season was not all that festive – Dinamo (Kiev) suddenly was not a factor at all and there was practically no intriguing battle for the title: Spartak (Moscow) was first all the way. More drama unfolded at the bottom of the table, but that was not exactly positive drama. The rule limiting ties to 10 was still intact and four teams lost because of it, including the champions. Torpedo (Moscow) had the record tied games – 12 – and lost 2 points because of that, but the rule had positive effect as a whole and few teams reached the limit of ties. The crisis of CSKA continued, Dinamo (Tbilisi) was also steadily going down, but the biggest shock was the disappointing season of Zenit (Leningrad), which barely escaped relegation.
Guria (Lanchkhuti) finished last with 18 points and was relegated. The league debutantes lasted only one season… too bad and one can be really sorry for the modest club from Georgia, but reality was against them: they did not have a strong enough squad for objective reasons – the Georgian pool of players was naturally small and currently not very talented.
CSKA (Moscow) ended 15th with 24 points and was also relegated. Like Guria, they were just promoted, but sunk right away. Both newcomers failed, but CSKA’s story was different from Guria’s: first of all, they were in crisis for a long time and unable to get over it. Somehow, CSKA was unable to recruit enough good players for a solid team – true, their goalkeepers Vyacheslav Chanov and V. Novikov were former members of the national team, but apart from them there was very little (one defender Galyamin and two midfielders – Vedeneev and Broshin – were the only experienced field players and they were not first class). Second, CSKA was unlucky – if there was no limit on ties, they would have escaped relegation – 1 lost point did them, for they had worse head-to-head record against Zenit.
Zenit (Leningrad) survived at 14th place with 24 points. Lucky to finish ahead of CSKA – which they knew before the last round: they lost the last match and CSKA won theirs, but it did not matter because Zenit had better direct record against CSKA. Zenit, however, was arguably the most criticized team this season – it was ‘only yesterday’ when triumphed with the title and the squad was pretty much the same, but the coach was new and some key players were no longer around. At the end, the coach was largely blamed for the grand failure.
Dinamo (Tbilisi) ended 13th with 25 points. Also lucky to survive, but their struggle was hardly a surprise: they were going down for quite some time. The problem was that they were unable to find good enough young players – the great old guard was retiring one after another and the newcomers were not at the same level.
Kairat (Alma-ata) – 12th with 26 points. Well, nothing new.
Metallist (Kharkov) – 11th with 27 points. Their prime aim was establishing themselves in the top league – so far, so good. May be not in the first half the table, but they were becoming experienced and confident team, which was difficult to beat.
Dinamo (Moscow) -10th with 28 points. Depending of viewpoint, they were either miserable failure this season or their previous season was lucky one-time wonder – they almost won the 1986 championship. May be the previous season was unusual, not this one: Dinamo was not real factor for a long, long time – practically, since the early 1970s. Top row from left: A. Uvarov, A. Borodyuk, V. Popelnukha, B. Pozdnyakov, I. Bulanov, A. Novikov, I. Sklyarov, I. Dobrovolsky, I. Kolyvanov, A. Prudnikov.
Middle row: S. Kiryakov, A. Timoshenko, A. Gassov – masseur, A. Golodetz – assistant coach, E. Malafeev – coach, I. Mozer – team chief, M. Gershkovich – assistant coach, V. Mozalyov – doctor, A. Kobelev, S. Ushakov.
Sitting: G. Morozov, S. Stukashov, V. Lossev, ?, V. Vasilyev, V. Karataev, S. Silkin, V. Demidov.
Although the coach was blamed for the failure, the real reason was the quad – hardly very strong and balanced. Dinamo had plenty of young talent – Dobrovolsky, Borodyuk, Kolyvanov, Kiryakov – but they would come to their peak in the 1990s.
Neftchi (Baku) – 9th with 28 points. Pretty much, familiar performance – in a good year.
Ararat (Erevan) – 8th with 29 points. Hanging on…
Shakhter (Donetzk) – 7th with 30 points. Middle of road, but solid, even if the team was somewhat weaker than earlier vintages. Top row from left: Valentin Elinskas, Sergey Zolotnitzky, Oleg Morgun, Oleg Serdyuk, Sergey Ovchinnikov, Nikolay Fedyushtenko, Yury Belichenko, Viktor Grachev, Oleg Smolyaninov.
Middle row: Valery Goshkoderya, Evgeny Dragunov, Vladimir Parkhomenko, Mikhail Sokolovsky, Sergey Yashtenko, Igor Petrov, Sergey Gerasimetz, Sergey Akimenko, Sergey Khlysta.
Bottom row: Vladimir Bedny, Konstantin Vikhoronov, Mikhail Olefirenko, Anatoly Radenko, Yury Gulyaev, Aleksandr Sopko, Sergey Svistun, Vladimir Yurchenko, Viktor Onopko.
Dinamo (Kiev) – 6th with 32 points. Deja vu… 10 years ago Dinamo suddenly slumped right after winning the Cup Winners Cup. Now – the same. Both times the squads were the same as in the greatly successful previous season. Very suspect drops of form, but this time there were some objective difficulties: Bessonov and Belanov suffered heavy injuries, Blokhin was 35 years old, Demyanenko was coming back from injury and was still shaky. Yet… Dinamo had plenty of strong players – a good 10 national team members after discounting the mentioned 4.
Dinamo (Minsk) – 5th with 33 points. It was clear even when they won the title that the success will not be repeated, but Dinamo was doing well enough for a team which did not add significant players to their winning squad, inevitably aging, and on top of everything lost their great coach Malafeev, who went to coach Dinamo (Moscow).
Torpedo (Moscow) – 4th with 34 points. Great position – and against the odds. Not a bad team, but not a great one either. Young talent – Kharin, the Savichev brothers, and few worthy veterans – Shavlo, Prigoda, Kruglov, but that was all. It was pretty much middle of the road squad, so they overperformed somewhat.
Zalgiris (Vilnius) – 3rd with 36 points. The best season of Zalgiris, but hardly a surprise – by now, the team was experienced, but not old yet. The squad was somewhat short, so a title very likely was out of question, but what they had, they used well – a well knitted team of players playing together for years, serious and high-spirited boys. Since the core of the team went all the way from Third Division to success and invitations to national selections (mostly to the Olympic team of USSR), it was very pleasant story – and Zalgiris was often pointed at as shining example.
Dnepr (Dnepropetrovsk) – 2nd with 39 points. The other great story of success from this period: Dnepr managed to stay on top, even to perform better than mighty Dinamo (Kiev). Perhaps the title was impossible this season – they closely pursued Spartak and finished close, but that was all – Spartak led from start to finish. Sitting from left: A. Sorokalet, O. Taran, A. Cherednik, S. Bashkirov, A. Lysenko, V. Bagmut, N. Kudritzky, V. Tishtenko, E. Shakhov.
Middle row: V. Chebanov – masseur, V. Gerashtenko, N. Cherny – doctor, V. Gorodov, I. Nadein – assistant coach, G. Zhizdik – team chief, E. Kucherevsky – coach, L. Koltun – assistant coach, S. Krakovsky, S. Puchkov, V. Maslov – administrator, N. Chernysh – doctor.
Top row: A. Tevs – deputy chairman of the club, O. Fedyukov, G. Litovchenko, I. Vishnevsky, A. Shokh, V. Lyuty, A. Sidelnikov, O. Protasov, R. Kanafotzky – administrator.
Success against the odds – ‘Perestroyka’ or not, Dnepr was in the shadow of Dinamo (Kiev) and had no way to prevent the powerful club from taking stars – Litovchenko and Protasov were in biggest danger at the moment and actually Dinamo took Oleg Protasov right after this season ended. Keeping strong squad was difficult, so Dnepr really managed to beat the odds so far – and their great years were not over yet.
As if on cue, Spartak (Moscow) won the 50th championship – almost a symbolic victory, suggesting that the original strong Moscow clubs still rule. Spartak did it in very convincing manner – they led through the whole season and finished with 16 wins, 11 ties, and only 3 lost games. 49-26 goal-difference, 42 points. Even the point lost to the tie above limit did not endanger their title – they were even theoretically unreachable two rounds before the end of the championship. Sitting from left: Oleg Kuzhlev, Almir Kayumov, Konstantin Beskov – coach, Fedor Cherenkov, Andrey Rudakov, Babkan (?) Melikyan.
Middle row: Aleksandr Hadzhi – administrator, Nikolay Starostin – team chief, Petr Shubin – assistant coach, Fedor Novikov – assistant coach, Yury Susloparov, Viktor Pasulko, Aleksandr Bubnov, Vagiz Khidiatulin, Boris Kuznetzov, Rinat Dassaev, Genady Belenky – masseur, Genady Shibler – chief of Spartak Society, Boris Ivanov – chief of Spartak Society, Daniil Khodorkovsky – doctor.
Top row: Viktor Kolyadko, Valery Shmarov, Zaur Kharda, Aleksey Eremenko, Andrey Mitin, Sergey Rodionov.
Spartak waited 8 years for this title – their 11th,which also equalized the record made by Dinamo (Kiev). This 8 years Spartak was the most stable team – always in the top 3 – but also always failing short of winning the title. In part, it was the squad – somehow always kind of short, without enough depth and dangerously depending on the health and current form of about 10-11 regular players. This time everything clicked right, although not without some difficulties: the picture above shows the squad at the beginning of the season – some starters from the second half of the season were not even in it. Four players left during the season to play elsewhere, largely for failing to satisfy Beskov (Eremenko, Melikyan, Kolyadko, and Rudakov – note, that all 4 were well established players, but not top stars, brought exactly to provide depth to the squad). Instead of them, Alekasandr Mostovoy, Mikhail Meskhi, Yury Surov, Aleksandr Boky, and Evgeny Kuznetzov were introduced – except Meskhi, all became regulars right away and eventually Mostovoy became huge international star in the 1990s. The changes in the squad practically beg for another photo of the actual champions:
The winners of the 11th title – sitting from left: E. Kuznetzov, O. Mostovoy, O. Kuzhlev, N. Starostin – team chief, K. Beskov – coach, V. Shmarov, A. Boky.
Middle row: P. Shubin – assistant coach, A. Hadzhi – admisnistrator, S. Novikov, F. Cherenkov, Yu. Surov, V. Khidiatulin, R. Dassaev, V. Pasulko, Yu. Susloparov, F. Novikov – assistant coach, G. Belenky – masseur, D. Khodorkovsky – doctor.
Top row: V. Kapustin, S. Rodionov, S. Cherchessov, B. Kuznetzov.
The solid regular team, which practically won the title in the second half of the season – standing from left: F. Cherenkov, Yu. Susloparov, Yu. Surov, R. Dassaev, S. Rodionov, A. Boky.
Crouching: E. Kuznetzov, A. Mostovoy, V. Khidiatulin, V. Novikov, V. Pasulko.
Bubnov was also regular player, but since all later additions are here, one can thing that the team uneasily shaped during the season – it was not made before. And still the version above is a bit suspect: of course, Dassaev, Khidiatulin, Cherenkov, Rodionov, Bubnov were big stars and national team regulars for many years and Mostovoy became big star in the next decade, but Susloparov, although successful addition, reached his peak in his former club, Torpedo Moscow, and even by his current teammates he was considered a guy who could no do better. Pasulko, the two Kuznetzovs, Novikov – reliable, but middle of the road players. Kuzhlev, Shmarov, Meskhi… well estabished, but it is somewhat telling that unknowns like Mostovoy, Boky and Surov kept them at the bench. As a whole, this squad was deeper than most previous ones, but still was far from perfect. The shortcomings of the team were easily detectable in the post-season introduction of the team by its captain Rinat Dassaev: he was not exactly excited about Kayumov, Shmarov, Kuzhlev, Boris Kuznetzov, Kapustin, Meskhi, Boky; cautious about Susloparov, Surov, Mostovoy.. and praising Bubnov largely for his loyalty to Spartak and great fighting spirit, but also pointing at his limited skills. Unfortunately, this makes 11 players of a squad which just won a championship after leading during the whole season – not a great recommendation for champions. But they were and it was great. Spartak maintained all-time top position in Soviet football and as for the team – well, Beskov had to continue his search and constant building.
USSR II Division
Second Division. 22 teams, the top 2 promoted, the last 3 relegated. Long season, but without much intrigue, as usual. There was battle for survival at the bottom to the end, but no drama at the top. Chernomoretz (Odessa) domineered the championship, leading from start to end. Second place was also settled rather early and the usual suspects had their usual sedate championship, playing well enough for mid-table position, secure to stay in the league, satisfied with that, and not looking up.
Krylya Sovetov (Kuybishev) ended last with 32 points. They were just promoted and relegated right away. The club was ailing for quite some time and the persistent policy of hiring players from elsewhere was blamed for that. So… going again to dreadful third level.
Torpedo (Kutaisi) – 21st with 34 points and out. Only recently they played top league football, but now were going to third level. They differed from Krylya Sovetov, though: the reason for their decline was the general decline of Georgian football. Georgia was small and if there were not 50-60 quality players at hand, even two classy squads were problematic – but now not only there was weaker new generation, but there were 5 clubs dipping into small pool (Dinamo Tbilisi, Guria Lanchkhuti, Dinamo Batoumi, Lokomotiv Samtredia, and Torpedo) and inevitably someone would get weaker as a result: Torpedo, on this occasion.
Fakel (Voronezh) – 20th with 34 points. Like Krylya Sovetov and Torpedo, former First Division member, now going down to third level.
Dinamo (Batoumi) – 19th with 35 points. Escaping relegation was success in itself for them, but also was the strange story of ‘the battle for survival’: it was based largely on hopes that the opposition will lose their games. Dinamo lost their last two matches, and if Fakel and Torpedo got one more point each, than Dinamo most likely would have gone down. But Torpedo lost their last games and Fakel won one and tied the other, so they were unable to reach 35 points too. Meantime Krylya Sovetov lost their last game at home to the other team in danger of relegation, Spartak (Ordzhonikidze) and went down, helping Dinamo as well. A matter of luck, that was it.
Spartak (Ordzhonikidze) – 18th with 36 points. Escaped relegation in the very last round of the championship and in direct battle with equally endangered Krylya Sovetov. It was a matter of life and death, Spartak came out alive.
Rotor (Volgograd) – 17th with 36 points. They also lost their last two games, but had more points than the other teams in danger and had much better chance for survival. However, given this season it was absolutely unbelievable that Rotor would soon come to fame and success.
Zarya (Voroshilovgrad) – 16th with 38 points. Faded away long time ago and plummeting down to third level, so now they were just happy to avoid relegation and stay in Second Division. Revival was seemingly impossible.
Dinamo (Stavropol) – 15th with 38 points. Modest club modestly performing.
Shinnik (Yaroslavl) – 14th with 38 points. Perhaps weaker season than their usual, but Shinnik was one of the ‘eternal’ teams in the league: too strong to be relegated, too weak or disinterested to go for promotion. A bit up, a bit down… no matter.
Kotaik (Abovian) – 13th with 38 points. A pleasant surprise really, for the tiny Armenian club was not expected to last in the second level. They did, but may be largely on enthusiasm. For how long, though?
Geolog (Tyumen) – like Kotaik, the team from the deep North was newcomer not expected to last. Their very geographical position was against them… but even in the absence of summer, they did well: 12th with 39 points.
SKA (Rostov) – one of the many in recent years former top league clubs in sharp decline. 11th with 39 points.
Rostselmash (Rostov) – not really better than their city rivals, but unlike SKA they were not winners of the Soviet Union Cup and never played First Division football. From this perspective, coming ahead of their city rivals was sweet: 10th with 40 points.
Metallurg (Zaporozhye) – 9th with 40 points.
Kolos (Nikopol) – 8th with 40 points. May be becoming ‘eternal’ mid-table team.
Pakhtakor (Tashkent) – 7th with 44 points. The aircrash killing their whole team in 1979 had long-term consequences: Pakhtakor had to build anew and so far was not really successful.
Kuzbass (Kemerovo) – 6th with 44 points. One of the ‘eternals’, so nothing new or unusual.
SKA Karpaty (Lvov) – 5th with 46 points. Not as strong, as it was imagined when the city brass decided to amalgamate Karpaty with SKA.
Pamir (Dushanbe) – 4th with 46 points. By now, the club most criticized for their lack of ambition. Club and players denied the accusations, of course, but the full record of Pamir was rather strong evidence: they were practically always good, but not running for promotion.
Daugava (Riga) – 3rd with 50 points. Hard to tell.. on one hand, they were the big pleasant surprise of the season, looking like going for promotion. Then they dropped out from the race quite suddenly… Was it deliberate or was it just that they were not all that good? They still finished way ahead of the clubs bellow them, but they also ended far behind the second-placed team, which did not even play seriously their last games.
Lokomotiv (Moscow) – 2nd with 58 points. Strange season… in the first half of it they did not look like candidates for promotion, but gradually they squirreled points, climbed up to second place, and even looked like they may try to run for the top place. But as soon as it was sure they secured promotion… they took it easy: their last two games were at home and Lokomotiv got only 1 point from weak opposition from the lower half of the table. The squad, however, had some bone and perhaps with few additional players… but that was for the future. Presently, they were going back to First Division.
Sitting from left: Igor Konyaev, Oleg Tabunov, Evgeny Drozhzhin, Renat Ataulin, Evgeny Mileshkin, Khabib Ilyaletdinov, Valery Abramzon, Dmitry Gorkov, Vladimir Pachko.
Middle row: Rashid Gallagberov, Valery Gladilin, Yury Vasilkov – doctor, Yury Semin – coach, Aleksandr Petrashevsky – assistant coach, Vitaly Shevchenko – team chief, Nikolay Larin – masseur, Boris Udovenko – administrator, Aleksandr Kalashnikov.
Top row: Andrey Shiryaev, Sergey Gorlukovich, Aleksandr Dozmorov, Igor Terenin, Andrey Kalaychev, Sergey Bazulev, Yury Gavrilov, Vitaly Karmi, Sergey Baburin, Igor Makarov.
Chernomoretz (Odessa) – they led during the whole championship and naturally finished 1st. Won 25 games, tied 12, lost 5. 68-31 goal-difference, 62 points. Their recent relegation looked like short-term tremor, not a deep crisis – they practically got promoted right away and in domineering manner.
Thus, Chernomoretz (Odessa) and Lokomotiv (Moscow) earned promotions and returned to top flight.