Valery Vasilievich Lobanovsky (1939-2002) - Soviet footballer, Soviet and Ukrainian coach. Long-term mentor of Dynamo Kiev, at the head of which he twice won the Cup Winners' Cup and once the European Super Cup.
Three times he became the mentor of the USSR national team, with which he became the vice-champion of Europe in 1988. Head coach of the Ukrainian national team in the period 2000-2001. UEFA has included him in the list of TOP 10 coaches in the history of European football.
There are many interesting facts in Lobanovsky's biography, which we will talk about in this article.
So, before you is a short biography of Valery Lobanovsky.
Biography of Lobanovsky
Valery Lobanovsky was born on January 6, 1939 in Kiev. He grew up and was brought up in a family that has nothing to do with big football. His father worked in a flour mill, and his mother was engaged in housekeeping.
Childhood and youth
Even in childhood, Lobanovsky began to show a keen interest in football. For this reason, the parents enrolled him in the appropriate section.
In his youth, Valery began attending the Kiev football school No. 1. Despite his great passion for sports, he received high marks in all disciplines, as a result of which he was able to graduate from high school with a silver medal.
After that, Lobanovsky successfully passed the exams at the Kiev Polytechnic Institute, but did not want to finish it. He will receive a diploma of higher education already at the Odessa Polytechnic Institute.
By that time, the guy was already a player in the second team of Kiev "Dynamo". In the spring of 1959 he made his first appearance in the USSR championship. It was then that his professional biography of a football player began.
Football
Having started his performances in the Soviet football championship in 1959, Valery Lobanovsky scored 4 goals in 10 matches. He quickly progressed, which allowed him to take the main place in the Kiev team.
Lobanovsky was distinguished by endurance, perseverance in self-improvement and an unconventional vision of the football field. Playing in the position of the left striker, he made quick passes along the flank with trowels, which ended with accurate passes to his partners.
Many people remember Valeriy first of all for the excellent execution of "dry sheets" - when the ball flew into the goal after taking a corner kick. According to his comrades, after the end of the main training, he practiced these strikes for a long time, trying to achieve the greatest accuracy.
Already in 1960 Lobanovskiy was recognized as the team's top scorer - 13 goals. The following year, Dynamo Kiev made history by becoming the first champion team outside of Moscow. In that season, the forward scored 10 goals.
In 1964, the Kievites won the USSR Cup, beating Wings of the Soviets with a score of 1: 0. At the same time, "Dynamo" was headed by Victor Maslov, who professed an unusual style of play for Valery.
As a result, Lobanovskiy repeatedly openly criticized the mentor and ultimately announced his departure from the team. In the 1965-1966 season he played for Chornomorets Odessa, after which he played for Shakhtar Donetsk for about a year.
As a player, Valery Lobanovsky played 253 matches in the Major League, having managed to score 71 goals for different teams. In 1968, he announced his retirement from his professional career, deciding to try his hand at the status of a football coach.
His first team was Dnipro Dnipro from the 2nd league, which he headed during the period of his biography 1968-1973. Thanks to an innovative approach to training, the young mentor managed to take the club to the top league.
An interesting fact is that Valery Lobanovsky was the first to use video to analyze the mistakes made in the fight. In 1973, the management of Dynamo Kiev offered him the position of the team's head coach, where he worked for the next 17 years.
During this time, the Kievites won prizes almost every year, becoming champions 8 times and winning the country's cup 6 times! In 1975, Dynamo won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and then the UEFA Super Cup.
After such success, Lobanovsky was approved as the head coach of the Soviet national team. He continued to introduce new tactical schemes into the training process, which brought noticeable results.
Another success in the coaching biography of Valery Lobanovsky took place in 1986, when Dynamo again won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He left the team in 1990. That season, the Kievites became champions and winners of the country's cup.
It should be noted that two years earlier, the Soviet team became vice-champions of Europe-1988. From 1990 to 1992, Lobanovsky headed the UAE national team, after which he was the mentor of the Kuwait national team for about 3 years, with which he won bronze at the Asian Games.
In 1996, Valery Vasilyevich returned to his native Dynamo, having managed to bring it to a new level of play. The team included such stars as Andriy Shevchenko, Sergei Rebrov, Vladislav Vashchuk, Alexander Golovko and other high-class footballers.
It was this club that became the last in his coaching biography. For 6 years of work in the team, Lobanovskiy won the championship 5 times and the Cup of Ukraine three times. No other Ukrainian team could compete with Dynamo.
It is worth noting that the Kievites showed a bright game not only in Ukraine, but also at international competitions. Many still remember the 1998/1999 season, when the club managed to reach the Champions League semi-finals. Regarding 2020, no Ukrainian team has yet been able to achieve such a result.
In the period 2000-2001. Lobanovsky headed the Ukrainian national team. Few people know the fact that Valery Vasilyevich is the second most titled coach in the history of world football and the most titled in the 20th century!
The Ukrainian is in the TOP-10 of the best coaches in the history of football according to World Soccer, France Football, FourFourTwo and ESPN.
Personal life
Lobanovsky's wife was a woman named Adelaide. In this marriage, the couple had a daughter, Svetlana. Not much is known about the personal biography of the legendary football player, since he preferred not to make it a subject of general discussion.
Death
In the last years of his life, the man was often ill, but he still continued to be with the team. On May 7, 2002, during the match Metallurg (Zaporozhye) - Dynamo (Kiev), he suffered a second stroke, which became fatal for him.
Valery Lobanovsky died on May 13, 2002 at the age of 63. Curiously, the 2002 Champions League final began with a moment of silence in memory of the legendary coach.
Lobanovsky Photos
