USSR III Division

USSR. The best ever ranking – 2nd by UEFA. Of course, this was strong period for Soviet football in 1988 was very successful year, perhaps the peak of a great generation, so the ranking seemed right. Yet, it was relative ranking based on the performance of the clubs in the European tournaments and therefore not entirely objective – Soviet football was not all that great, if one looks deeper. There were old problems remaining, especially in the lower levels; there was difficult adjustment to new realities – the Perestroika opened mouths and minds, but there was also huge opposition of powerful old guard and persistent habits. Professionalism was a big issue: it was largely big talk, but rules were vague, if existing at all and professionalizing a club was more or less a gray area. Export of players was slowly starting, but that was conducted by state body, not the clubs. Imports also started – on even slower pace. It was all new and unclear, enmeshed with rising political problems – the violent tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia had a peculiar effect on football: because of them Karabakh (Stepanakert) played in Zone 1 of Third Division, which was Russian group of team largely based near Moscow. Geographically, Karabakh belonged to Zone 9 – but their very name suggests why they played in different group. Well, the end of USSR was coming, but nobody felt that, so mostly for the sake of present time some clubs nobody outside USSR heard of back then will be mentioned: when the Soviet Union collapsed they came up in the top Russian league and thus became more or less familiar names. So far they played in the vast Soviet Third Division – or Second League, as it was called. Massive number of clubs played in it, divided in 9 groups – or Zones – somewhat geographically divided. The Zones were very different in strength and also in numbers: Zone 6, the Ukrainian group, was the largest with 26 teams. Zone 4, largely far East Siberian group, and Zone 9, largely made of Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Armenian clubs, were the smallest this year – 16 teams in each. After the regular championships the zonal winners went to the final promotional tournament – 3 teams were promoted to Second Division, as usual, so the 9 winners played in 3 groups of 3 teams and the winners were promoted.
Let take a look who played in the vast Third level universe:
CSKA-2 (Moscow) – 12th in Zone 1. Also Dinamo-2 (Moscow) played in the group – the only second teams of the big clubs in Third Division.
Arsenal (Tula) – 17th in the group of 20 teams. Today they play in the top league of Russia – who imagine that in 1988?
Zone 1 was won by Fakel (Voronezh).
Krylya Sovetov (Kuybyshev – today Samara) – 3rd in Zone 2. That was the biggest name playing Third level football at the moment – and also the first Soviet club to import a foreigner – the Bulgarian defender Tenyo Minchev.
Gastello (Ufa) – 4th. Never played higher than Third level.
Torpedo (Toliatti) – 15th. Top row from left: Valentin Kapelyushnikov – doctor, Mikhail Khudyakov, Alfred Fedorov – coach, Oleg Lukonin, Vadim Malyshev, Aleksandr Fomenko, Igor Gorokhov, Pavel Tabakov, Vyacheskav Kobzev, Oleg Stepanov, ?, Grigory Khomenko, Anatoly Tiryatkin – assistant coach, Sergey Nalivaiko.
Crouching: Yury Voronov, Igor Lyubeyshun, Vladimir Ebsyukov, Evgeny Fedotov, Oleg Bogdanov, Aleksandr Babanov, Nikolay Nebykov, Rafail Khalillulov.
With different name they will pop up in the top league of post-Soviet Russia.
Uralmash (Sverdlovsk) won Zone 2.
Zone 3 had a final play-off, which Cement (Novorossysk) won. What a name…
Tom (Tomsk) – 12th in Zone 4. Later they will play for years in the top Russian league.

Progress (Biysk) – 15th, that is next to last.
Irtysh (Omsk) won Zone 4.
Zveinieks (Liepaia) – 7th in Zone 5. Soon to become a club of foreign country.
RShVSM-RAF (Jelgava) – last 18th this season. Like Zveinieks, soon to become a foreign club.
Nistru (Kishinev) won Zone 5 – a group made of team from Moldavia, Belarus, the Baltic republics, and some Russian clubs from the far West, including Leningrad and Kaliningrad.
SKA (Odessa) – 3rd in Zone 6, the huge Ukrainian group.
Bukovina (Chernovtzi) won this championship.
Neftyanik (Fergana) won the mysterious Asian group made from team from the Muslim republics.
Zone 8 – even further East than Zone 7 and traditionally the weakest of all zones, was won by Traktor (Pavlodar).
And Torpedo (Kutaisi) won Zone 9.
The promotion tournament was the same as ever: 9 winners divided into 3 groups and the group winners went up. The Perestroika opened mouths somewhat and the general comment on this tournament was about what was going on for a long time, including this year: it was not football, but bribes, complaints, rumors, scandals. The referees were the center of attention for good and bad – and, ‘as ever’, the participating clubs tried dirty tricks. They tried to get ‘the right’ referees and ‘help’ from the administration (Torpedo Kutaisi), tried to bribe players of the opposition (Nistru, Neftyanik), openly blamed referees and tried to provoke fans to misbehave (Neftyanik), practically all teams tried to organize very hostile atmosphere for the visiting teams, including threats. It was all ‘normal’, though – nobody was punished, nobody investigated anything, rumors multiplied, some true, some not. How much was achieved on the pitch and how much by backroom schemes would be anybody’s guess. There were winners at the end of the schedule.
Final Group A: Irtysh (Omsk) lost all their games and was last with 0 points. Neftyanik (Fergana) ended 2nd 5 points.

Nistru (Kishinev) won the tournament with 7 points. Standing from left: Pivtzov, Tropanetz, Vassiliev, Rolevich, Fink, Savelliev, Slavinsky.
Middle row: Chistov, Kapatzina, Goyan – administrator, Soltan – team chief, Aleskerov – coach, Tzinkler – assistant coach, Losenko – doctor, Flentya, Botnerash.
Front row: Savchenko, Shulaev, Kuznetzov, Protzenko, Safronenko, Syrbu, Pavlov, Sirotyuk.
Final Group B: Traktor (Pavlodar) – last with 3 points. Cement (Novorossiysk) – 2nd with 4 points. Torpedo (Kutaisi) – group winners with 5 points.
Final Group C: Uralmash (Sverdlovsk) – last with 0 points.
Bukovina (Chernovtzi) – very unfortunate: 2nd with 6 points and missing promotion on worse goal-difference (6-4).
Fakel (Voronezh) won the group on better goal-difference – 6 points too, but 9-2 goal-difference.
The three winners of promotion had one thing in common: they were all former members of First Division and also spent many years in Second Division.