USSR. This were times of uncertainty – on one hand, there was very talented generation and at least the prospects of the national team looked fine. On the other hand, champions changed every year and although it was great to see new names and faces none of them looked like a long-lasting great team. It was more competitive championship, more goals were scored, the football was more open and adventurous, but… There was third hand too, may be the most important one. Dinamo (Kiev) was not performing well. Spartak (Moscow) was able of no more than finishing second. A bunch of clubs either suffered decline or at least were not developing. Second division was the same as ever, reduced to two-three usually former first division clubs interested in promotion, a large group trying only to escape relegation, and disinterested mid-table clubs going nowhere. Third division produced few quality players, there were coaches openly saying that they have no interest developing talented youngsters, for that was sure way for disaster of the club – the talent would be taken by the big clubs and they will be left with nothing. Some clubs even hided their talented players from the eyes of specialists and various republican and national teams. Not only that, but third division practically disappeared from the central media, it was hardly ever mentioned – and to begin with, the coverage was scarce and limited. It was time of uncertainty because despite the talented generation of players nothing great was happening and some coaches were openly questioning the system and calling for radical changes of it. Never said at the time, but what they meant was professional football and according structure. But it was not to be yet. Not to be truly to the end of the Soviet Union.
Third Division. In the past one can get at least the general picture of this championship, but not this years – practically nothing was said in the central media, even the promotional tournament was not covered. So here it is in few words: 191 clubs played in this division and they were divided into 9 Zones (10, actually, for Zone 6, the Ukrainian zone, had 2 groups of 13 teams each). The numbers differed widely for some reason – 4 zones had 17 teams, 2 zones – 16, but Zone 7 had 21 teams and Zone 4 – only 14. True, it was the Far East zone, where little football was played. The Ukrainian Zone 6 was the largest by far – 26 clubs in it, so it was divided into two groups, the champions of each going for final play-off. All third clubs had to have at least one 18-year old player among the starters and this player could be substituted only with player of the same age. That rule was made with the aim of developing young talent – how useful it was is anybody’s guess. Usually coaches – not just the Soviet ones, but in every country similar rule was tried – were skeptical at best, founding it useless as rule of thumb, and openly hated it, at the worst. At the end of the zonal championships the winners preceeded to promotion tournament for 3 open places in Second Division.
Some of the teams, playing in Third Division:
Krasnaya Presnya (Moscow)
Tzelinnik (Tzelinograd)
Niva (Vinnitza)
Chkalovetz (Novosibisrk)
Spartak (Zhitomir)
Lokomotiv (Chita)
What happened during the year perhaps is not particularly important – at the end the winners going up to Second Division were:
Kotaik (Abovyan) – a small Armenian club, which never played Second Division before.
Dinamo (Stavropol) – perhaps that had a bit Second Division experience, but not much, and
Krylya Sovetov (Kyubishev), which after sinking that low, was trying to recover ground – after all, they had been almost regulars of First Division. And they were the kind of club expected to be promoted – former second division member, may be fading, but with long past in higher levels of Soviet football – there were whole bunch of such clubs in Third Division, but only Krylya Sovetov climbed up.