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Valeriy Lobanovskyi

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Valeriy Lobanovskyi was a famous football player and manager.

Valeri Lobanovsky
Valeri Lobanovsky

He was born in Kyiv on 6 January 1939. People in Ukraine hold him in very high regard. In 2008, a poll of 2.5 million people ranked him 6th on a list of great Ukrainians. He even received the Hero of Ukraine award after he passed away. This is the highest honor a person can get in his nation. He also earned many big awards from FIFA and UEFA.

Valeriy Lobanovskyi 2019 stamp of Ukraine
Valeriy Lobanovskyi 2019 stamp of Ukraine

As a player, Lobanovskyi was known for a very special skill. He could kick the ball so it would curve in the air.

Кутові Лобановського
Кутові Лобановського

He used math and science to learn how to do this. This helped him score goals directly from corner kicks. He was quite tall at 187 cm. Even though he was tall, he was very good at dribbling the ball. He played for Dynamo Kyiv for seven years. He scored 71 goals during his career in the Soviet Top League.

Кутові Лобановського2
Кутові Лобановського2

Lobanovskyi became a manager to lead teams to victory.

He used a very scientific way to train his players. He worked with a scientist named Anatoly Zelentsov. They used math to plan how hard players should work. This was called mathematical modeling of physical load. He also taught his players to play a special style. In this style, any player could take over the job of another player. He also focused a lot on pressing the other team.

His time with Dynamo Kyiv was full of big wins.

Pitch-i2-p159-0-0-0-0-1496742356
Pitch-i2-p159-0-0-0-0-1496742356

He won the Soviet Top League eight times. He also won the Soviet Cup six times. In 1975, his team won the Cup Winners' Cup. They beat a team called Ferencváros in the final. They won eight out of nine games in that tournament. This was a huge record that lasted for 45 years. He won the Cup Winners' Cup again in 1986 by beating Atletico Madrid.

Lobanovskyi helped many players become stars. He coached three players who won the Ballon d'Or. These players were Oleg Blokhin, Igor Belanov, and Andriy Shevchenko.

He also led the Soviet Union national team. They won a bronze medal at the 1976 Summer Olympic Games. In 1998, he led Dynamo Kyiv to the Champions League quarter-finals. They even beat the famous team FC Barcelona twice. One game was a 4-0 win at Camp Nou. He is often called the most successful manager of the 20th century.

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🖼️ Images & Media (22)
File:Hero of Ukraine.svg
Hero of Ukraine.svg
File:Flag of Armenia.svg
Flag of Armenia.svg
File:Flag of Croatia.svg
Flag of Croatia.svg
File:Flag of Kuwait.svg
Flag of Kuwait.svg
File:Flag of Ukraine.svg
Flag of Ukraine.svg
File:Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
Flag of the Soviet Union.svg
File:Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
Flag of the United Arab Emirates.svg
File:Flag of Belarus (1995–2012).svg
Flag of Belarus (1995–2012).svg
File:Кутові Лобановського.svg
Кутові Лобановського.svg
File:Кутові Лобановського2.svg
Кутові Лобановського2.svg
File:Автограф - Лобановський.svg
Автограф - Лобановський.svg
File:SU Medal In Commemoration of the 1500th Anniversary of Kiev ribbon.svg
SU Medal In Commemoration of the 1500th...

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