1939 - born in Kyiv 
STUBBORN FASHION-DESIGNER:
With 7 goals vs Barcelona Valeri Lobanovsky
got even with all past blows of his life as a coach. As a stunning sensation
for the football Europe sounded the unbelievable two-act performance of
Dynamo Kyiv
vs
Barcelona in the Champions League
97/98. First a 3:0 slam-dunk at home and then in a couple of weeks shocked
Barca with 4:0 at Nou Camp. The history of European Cups has never seen
anything like this before. Like devils out of the snuff-box, the unknown
players (except for the one with the expressively-Ukrainian surname
Shevchenko
who has got the eyes of managers from many big European Clubs
to be put on) ripped apart Spaniards all over the field parrying their attacks
with elegant thrusts of collective defence.
In such a victorious style
Dynamo
took the unconditional lead in their group.
And again, after 7 years of oblivion the coaching star of
Valeri Lobanovsky
has risen on the football horizon. For these 7 years of absence from his dear
club which he cherished for 17 seasons - from 1974 till 1990 - he got even
with those 7 crushing blows into the goals of the one of the grandes of
continental football. The accounts are setlled in full. For the most painful
hit on his pride, when in 1990 the team (used to be called - the main team of
the country) coached by him, not the Kyiv's
Dynamo
(in 1990 it became the
champion of the USSR exactly for the 13th time) but the USSR National Team
collapsed infamously during the World Cup in Italy. The 17 year
coaching successes of Lobanovsky are impressive: 2 European Cups of Cup
Holders, 1 SuperCup, vice-championship in Euro '88,
8 Soviet Championships, 6 Soviet Cups. And all that was crossed out by
the Italian fiasco, when the team hadn't even pass the group competition.
Lobanovsky refused to talk to press and explain the cause of failures.
Others did it for him. "Lobanovsky wanted his own football revolution
-- self-governing clubs, transition to the professional football -- and
got defeated by new realities. The color of money, taste of money, smell
of money, blind faith in aging veterans and the absolute power of
Lobanovsky
-- this is the mine which blew up the red armoured train. For 4 years this
armoured train has been giving us the lively and real football, and
while it existed, it was beautiful", - wrote Reppublica from Rome.
At home Lobanovsky was subject to the merciless stigmatization
in Moscow media with no respect to his past victories.
Hissed and taunted he left, first to the United Emirates and then
to Kuwait ... for money? exile? rest? Following him the most titled
team of the still alive Soviet Union
Dynamo Kyiv scattered all over
countries and continents. The state and football decays of the big empire
ironically almost coincided. In fact Lobanovsky was the last football
head coach of the USSR National Team which coached by others
had barely lasted under the flag of CIS for another month or two. Then
FIFA unjustfully gave Russia the heritage of the USSR National Team
and Clubs. Although Ukraine deserved much better fate (judging by
the number of Ukrainian players in the Soviet National Team, by the
international success of mostly Ukrainian Clubs) the behind the curtains
performance of the Soviet Football Federation boss who was
accidentally the vice-resident of FIFA had left Ukraine beyond
the World Cup '94 and most importantly without many players who could have
filled the gap between the generation of mid 80's
(Dynamo-86, Dnipro-83,88)
and the current youth. History will judge those who haven't followed
the examples of Henadi Lytovchenko or Olexi Mykhailychenko
who resisted temptations and refused to play under the Russian flag...
And at that time, in early 1992, nobody could have even imagined that this
overthrown "tyrant" will start rebuilding a new football
empire from fragments again.
24 CARAT:
Today only the generation of veteran fans remember
Lobanovsky-the-player absolutely inconsistent with a traditional
image of the left-side forward in those times. As a rule, these flank
sprinters of attack were short, sharp and mobile to fly like a rocket past
defenders if, certainly, not being "shot down" at the take-off.
Lobanovsky was tall, even leggy. When his run started the laces
of dribling were woven, his speed seemed not high, but entirely denying
disadvantages of his height in taking short steps he would freely pass
a defender. And 71 goals scored in 10 years (1958-68) is quite a good
indicator. Moreover, he succeded to score goals of such a beauty that
stadiums would moan and sigh and defenders would freeze in stupor.
His magic corner kicks curved in the high and wide arc would stir unimaginable
commotion in the penalti box when the goal, as is said, "hang in the air".
And very often the ball would triumphantly glide into the net.
Lobanovsky has brought the "Dead Leaf" (known also as a "Banana Shot")
first demonstrated by
Brazilians to pure perfection. He would settle the ball near a corner flag,
take his long run, and the stadium would still in pleasurable anticipation
of his trick, miracle, magic. He was cunning and witty in offense. Moscow
defenders gave him a nickname "Cord" - either because of his height or
because of his ability to carry a ball through any narrow breach in defense.
But loving fans commonly called him just "Loban" - by the first few
letters of his surname. In particular this name suited him when he moved to
Chornomorets - Odessians are connoisseurs
of the same name Black Sea tsar-fish which looks lazy and phlegmatic but
elusively-adroit in the minute of danger. Though, "Lob"
is also the part of human head (forehead), and that part was always OK
with Lobanovsky. He comes from a cohort of back-yard boys chasing a
ball to complete frenzy before classes, after classes and instead of classes.
But as his classmate recalls sometimes students would come to a football
ground looking for his help - after school. This was usually happenning when
the Regional Educational Committee was making some non-standard math testing.
Valeri was brilliant in taking care of math problems as well as
defenders on a pitch. His path into the Big Football was completely typical
- from street stars to children's and then youth teams where he got noticed
and invited to Dynamo Kyiv. But he himself
was atypical - in those times usually it was slackers, mischievous kids and
students with poor grades who would have made it to the top
(they had more time for improvement). Lobanovsky graduated from his
high school with honorous "Golden Medal" and by the time he got his first
Championship "Golden Medal" with
Dynamo
he had finished Kyiv Polytechnic Institute.
The sense of "24 Carat Gold" was absorbed very well from childhood
as excellence was his destiny. But excellent students are not in
big respect among classmates. And if in school his football skills
helped him out then in the big football his playmates had
professional class not a bit lower and potentials of many were even higher.
But Lobanovsky still would come up with his football ideas.
Not that he was trying to teach others how to play football, but rather
often he was in doubts, especially about tactics. Sooner or later it
had to happen - the conflict between the player and the coach. And it
happened in 1964 - between Valeri Lobanovsky and the great
Victor Maslov who was coaching
Dynamo
in mid 60's.
After the game with "Shynnik" Lobanovsky questioned the game
in the locker-room again and Maslov stopped puting him as a starter
from that time. Later Lobanovsky admitted that the coach was right,
saying, that in the current position as a coach he completely agrees with
Maslov, not with the player Lobanovsky. The paradoxes of
football: while being a player one strives for independence and freedom, but
once a coach one authoritatively supresses the same freedom bringing it into
subjection of one's will.
SWINGS of FATE:
Feeling that he can play further and having a grudge against the coach and
dear club Lobanovsky still tried to prove that he is worth something
as a player. First he spent 4 seasons with
Chornomorets
and then in Shakhtar. But latter on,
seemingly, he decided to prove it other way and in 1969 he accepted the
offer to coach
Dnipro at that time
"flowing" in the 1st League. Precisely then for the first time the fans
have seen the trademark "pendulum" of Lobanovsky swinging incessantly
on a bench. "Experts" could even guess his frame of mind by the size of
the amplitude. His 3rd season with
Dnipro
was marked by the climb into the Premier League which is an achievement by
itself especially for a novice. Usually for these purposes clubs hire
venerable and respectable specialists who by some reason fell out of favor.
Bringing clubs to the Premier League they restore their status by returning to
the elite football. This happened to Beskov, Sadyrin,
Zonin... Certaily, the coaching credentials played the main part, but
it was not a secret that money played a big role in such break-throughs into
the higher football circles. In those times people who managed to get this
kind of money (and these were regional communist leaders, directors of big
and usually defense industries) were called "patrons". If that money lasted
long enough (not just to satisfy one minute conceit) a team would last long.
It is one thing to buy a good player, and completely other thing to develop
the training base, hire specialists on staff, grow up own players. This,
by the way, has happened to
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk,
which at last has become champion after many years ('83, '88). But it was not
Lobanovsky who brought it to the top. On the contrary,
Dnipro became firmly established in
the competition with him but their flight costed them two best star-players --
Oleh Protasov and Henadi Lytovchenko, who left for
Dynamo Kyiv which under Lobanovsky
always spared no expense to allure the best of the best. Evil tongues try to
suggest that Lobanovsky got many stars for his team with no intention
to ever use them.
And usually a story of Shepel is mentioned, who has spent more time on
the Dynamo`s bench than on the pitch -
"Let him sit with us doing nothing rather than scoring against us in
other team." We leave these conjectures on
their conscience. It is known that Lobanovsky was not in a habit of
wasting players, driving them out. If he would have taken a player he knew
for sure where that "gear" fitted in his
Dynamo machine.
While managing Dnipro in early
70's Lobanovsky was learning the very beginnings of coaching -- first
you should give player a lot and then ask from him even more in return.
Lobanovsky started practically from nothing and at the age of 35
without falls and bumps entered the football elite by getting in charge of FC
Dynamo which he walked out his head low
10 years before. His persistence, one could even call it determination,
is well known not only in the world of sports. If faithful fans are called
fanatics ("tiffozi", "torcida", etc) then how one would define
Lobanovsky's devotion to football? For him football is above all.
After football first place goes to football again. And the tenth place
goes to football too. Then - everything else. Already during his first year
Dynamo became the champion of the USSR.
And a year later it created a furore. Like a football absolute on a club level
Lobanovsky lead his Dynamo through
1975. That year Kyans had won everything what was possible to win while
showing the game of the highest 24 carat: USSR championship, the
European Cup of Cup Holders and finally the SuperCup beating
twice Bayern Munich, the winner of European Champion's Cup
that year. The leader of their attack -- Oleh Blokhin was awarded
Golden Football in his recognition as the
best European Footballer of the 1975 Year. Interestingly,
there was one football record set up by the USSR National Team on
April 2nd 1975. It can be repeated but not broken. In its 200th official and
first Euro-76 game vs Turkey the USSR National Team was completely composed of
Dynamo Kyiv players. The game was won 3:0.
The same happened in the next game vs Ireland. 11 Kyiv players in the
USSR jerseys has won it 2:1.
But what is more important,
Dynamo played the style
not only inevitably winning but also very inspirationally beautiful.
There was not a single "laboured" victory. They were winning effortlessly,
one may even say playfully. That was faultlessly adjusted machine, but not
the armoured train or bulldozer, rather something like elegant race cars or
respectable luxury models designed for a select circle.
In years Lobanovsky spent in Big Football piles of articles were
written about him. This is understandable: his name is linked practically to
all victories of the Soviet football on the international arena in the last
20 years of the USSR. Surprisingly, the majority of publications are critical.
Sometimes even after great successes central media would start talking about
how the rationalism and pragmatism of Lobanovsky... hold up the
development of the Soviet football. Well, he has beens and is and will be
always pragmatic. Result is above all for him, even if to the detriment of
the show. That is why he persistantly is looking for the shortcuts to that
result not paying attention to his critics.
The notion of a "model" has a key meanning for Lobanovsky.
He was probably the
first to apply this notion in football. Actually, one may say it differently:
system, organization, principles. But Lobanovsky insists exactly on a
"model". Like a true couturier he will not follow the established fashion,
he will play to forestall the world.
"Everything is a number", - he likes to say. The development of "models"
is approached from a scientific point of view in the Dynamo Laboratory
under the guidance of Anatoli Zelentsov.
Distance a player should run
during training, his exercises to reach better conditions, everything was
determined on the basis of scientific data.
At first sight Lobanovsky is an accurately
reckonning pragmatist, but deep inside -- romantic, adapter of, as he
defines it himself, "football of the future". Unluckily, though, every time
he has been succeeding with the sparkling football in the present the future
would slip away. When he has won with the team everybody around would
burst with admiration but as soon as he has stumbled they would speak
sarcastically about his inclinations to models, especially with great zeal
they mocked so-called "away model" which he preached as a principle to
follow on the fields of opponents. This principle is simple -- don't be
afraid to leave the initiative to a host team, but at the same time
withstand their attacks with massive defense not allowing them to crash you.
And if your opponent makes a mistake -- snatch a win. Draw is nice too --
we will take ours at home. Nothing intricate. Many play that way. But
such sincere pragmatism of Lobanovsky really has irritated many.
Especially that it was winning. But Lobanovsky always knew:
the future is certainly very tempting, but the result is due today!
Generally speaking such is coach's lot. The very popular triviality --
"wins team, loses coach" -- is still honored. And if in Ukraine
people (even on the highest level) treasured Lobanovsky, resigning
to the thought that the championship slips away for a couple of years from
Kyiv, then this was not tolerated in the USSR National Team.
Lobanovsky was called for help twice like a fireman in emergency.
The third and the last time he was asked in 1986, practically to ashes.
The National Team was coached by Eduard Malofeev, a man also
dedicated to football like Lobanovsky. He came up with his own
conception defined by himself as "sincere football" in 1982, probably to
counterweigh practical models of Lobanovsky. Under his guidance
Dynamo Minsk became champions that year. Then, the National Team lead by
Lobanovsky didn't manage to qualify for the Euro '84 after the loss
1:0 to Portugal which was beaten 5:0 in Moscow before.
Although the referee's mistake was obvious to everybody
-- he ruled penalti for a violation 2 meters clear of a penalti box --
Lobanovsky was subjected to a severe libeling campaign.
Simply everyone joined it, even the coach of the USSR Hockey Team
was "teaching" Lobanovsky how to play football. And certainly
Malofeev added his 5 cents too. The fact that
Dynamo was sinking in the lower
middle of the Premier League in 83-84 made it worse.
Malofeev eventually took the steering wheel of the National Team.
In the meantime Lobanovsky was forgoten, ruled out as "incompetent".
At some point he almost got fired and only the protection of the
Ukrainian Communist Party boss Volodymyr Scherbytsky left him coaching
Dynamo. But even then
Lobanovsky continued doing his intricate work,
preparing future eruption of success. First signs showed up when
Dynamo Kyiv confidently won the USSR Cup
in spring of 1985 and the championship afterwards. Lobanovsky
was still in disgrace. And then came 1986. While the National Team
was showing complete helplessness in check and friendly games not scoring
a single goal in a month (and this was in preparation to the
World Cup '86),
Dynamo Kyiv was marching to its next
European peak defeating one opponent after another, reached the final and
crashed Atletico Madrid by the score of 3:0 in the style of the
wonder team of 1975. Plenty of goals, an avalanche of attacks and
combinations, outburst and inspiration, unstoppable motion and every player
-- a star, all together -- the brilliant shinning constellation of
Lobanovsky. Malofeev was fired and Lobanovsky was appointed to
the position of the head coach of the National Team. The constellation
of Kyans formed the backbone of the USSR Team, which started the WC
enchantingly: 6 goals against the strong Hungarian team put it into the
circle of main contenders for gold. Another opponent -- Belgium --
seemed easy to pass on all counts. But that's not how it turned out!
Miss Fortune turned her back on us! Though certainly again not without
some "help" from a referee who was later dismissed from further service.
According to the team's doctor Valeri Myshalov, Lobanovsky,
although hiding his emotions, gave himself up completely to that game and
fainted when Belgians scored the decisive off-side goal.
What a pity, that was the biggest chance of a major success
for the USSR National Team in any WC.
But nobody was itching to throw a stone into Lobanovsky
-- his team was magnificent and everybody has seen it. And not only
passionate local fans, but the majority of World experts agreed on this.
The respectable British weekly World Soccer summing up the WC '86
named Dynamo the 2nd best team in the
world (after Argentina, the WC '86 champions) and their coach
Valeri Lobanovsky as the 3rd best coach in the world
(after Karlos Bilardo (Argentina) and ... yes ... (Belgium)).
The fast Kyiv's forward Ihor Belanov was recognized as the
European Footballer of the 1986 Year and his teammate,
the magnificent dribbler, Olexandr Zavarov was named the
"USSR Footballer of the 1986 Year".
Lobanovsky remained in command of the National Team. Moreover,
he preserved the winning tone of the team till the next Euro '88
where they lost only in the final (2:0 to Holland, though beat them 1:0
in the preliminary Round), becoming European vice-champions.
There, after the semi-final game with Italy, the former
Italian coach Enzo Bearzot (who brought Italy to the WC-82 victory) came to
the USSR locker-rooms with the following words to the Soviet players: "I
realized once again -- you are a great team. You play the modern football at
a speed 100 km/hr. Pressing which you showed today -- is the signature of the
highest skill. The physical shape of Soviet players is the bright result of the
self-sacrificial and highly professional work!"...
But by the
time of the WC '90 in Italy the National Team has passed its peak and
as a result came the double defeat -- of the team and of the coach.
RETURN:
Today it became clear: Lobanovsky was far ahead of his time. Last
World and European championships confirmed it -- all strongest world
teams play exactly "Lobanovsky football", high speed, athletism,
perfect mutual understanding.
But today's Lobanovsky is completely different.
He grew stout, put on weight. He swings less on the bench, is softer
with journalists, gives interviews willingly. But a smile still eludes
his face during the game -- even if his disciples score three, four goals
-- you won't get it! He knows how to hide emotions. He does not dance
from happiness on the running track. He has not betrayed his principles,
he is not giving up the notion of a "model", but he describes it differently.
After the 1986 victory over Atletico in French Lyone,
Lobanovsky
admitted how glad he was that the team believed in his idea. Today he
calls the choice of the further development -- motivation. And what's more
-- he leaves it to players. He does not leave his main goal though --
the creation of
the principally new model of the "football of the future", but he considers
its implementation to be dependent on the motivation chosen by players,
i.e. whether they want to reach the new level of skill. And if they want it
then they should obey their coach, follow his instructions. But even under
this condition maestro is not willing to work with everybody.
From his first independent steps Lobanovsky
layed selection as the foundations
of foundations of his work. Having almost limitless means he dispatched
a "regimen" of assistants to search for the suitable talents in whole Ukraine.
In communist times all best Ukrainian players would sooner or later appear
in Kyiv. Selected material is subjected to severe trials during training
sessions. If one wants to be the best - one should stand to it!
Today Lobanovsky says that football of the past was developing
intensively,
today it is developing extensively. Former Lobanovsky did not lack
extensiveness. There is no player who has not moaned about three every-day
training sessions. But a surprising fact: 35 former disciples of
Lobanovsky became coaches themselves. They survived the exhausting
drill, resisting it deep inside, but followed the same path when managing
their own teams. But whatever coach will say about his models the confirmation
of their effectiveness comes only through results. Lobanovsky returned
to the Big Football again. He does not hide his task -- bring his team to the
level of the World leading teams. He considers that the era of the
reasonably feasible universality of players is ending and the time of
full universality is coming. That is -- Lobanovsky
needs players which can do
everything, which can play on any position. He knows that such players
don't exist at the moment, but he knows how to "cook" them up, how to
adjust them from game to game.
1997 Dynamo Kyiv testifies to that.
In addition one should not forget that in his absence the team was
coached by his disciples. Dynamo pays much
attention to its future reserves: for last couple of years the club sponsors
a football academy which is a school to some 1500 young players. And today
much more "home-grown" players enter Kyiv's starting line-up. What is even
more important in the "phenomenon of Lobanovsky" -- other Ukrainian
teams start catching up with
Dynamo.
The young Ukrainian National team lead by Jozef Szabo stopped short
of going to the WC '98 in France (though again not without some "help"
from a referee). But the progress is clear.
Lobanovsky has become the most popular man in Ukraine.
Media unblushingly describes him as "God's emissary to Ukrainian football".
To be the best in the homeland Lobanovsky has managed
always, to be among the best European Clubs -- twice with interesting
regularity coinciding with the Solar cycle -- 11-year periods.
1975 and 1986. Count -- the next cycle has come. And
Lobanovsky is again on the highest European level. Certainly,
he will need to confirm all high claims next year during the final stage of
the Champions League. Will the motivation last? Will the coach be
able to support it? Motivation could be money. But this was not the main
reason. Lobanovsky looks with optimism at the policy of the current
Dynamo management lead by its president
Hryhori Surkis, who spares no expense for development.
Not less he values the faithfullness of players to their club.
Maybe this is the core. The present generation completely understands
that together with Lobanovsky it could break into European elite
like it was done by previous generations. It is known that first
Lobanovsky creates a star-team which at some point turns into
a team of stars. And it doesn't matter that one's salary is not so high
right now. Once one reaches high class level everything will come --
glory, money, offers. And his present team wants to become classy.
The coach wants this too. He knows how to get there. He sees the prospects.
Valeri Lobanovsky left USSR 7 years ago and came back to completely
different country -- independent Ukraine.
There was no tougher competition
in the old USSR than the one between Spartak Moscow and
Dynamo Kyiv. The world map has changed and now Ukraine
is asserting itself firmly and convincingly in the Football World.
Its players earn experience through international games.
It is clear that if not today, then
tomorrow Dynamo will enter the circle of
European grandes. Because it follows the right path. To the point, about this
path. Lobanovsky once noted: "A path always remains a path.
It's a path during the day, and it's a path during the night, and
a path during the dawn."
He has brought up a team whose play delivers real pleasure
to fans. The Real Football is coming. The Football of the Present.
And maybe this time the coach will catch the bird of luck and the coming
Football is the elusive Football of the Future ?
These pages were written by M.S. . For comments, corrections or additions, please, contact him