Lobanovsky, Valery Vasilevich

▪ 2003

      Ukrainian association football (soccer) player and coach (b. Jan. 6, 1939, Kiev, Ukrainian S.S.R., U.S.S.R.—d. May 13, 2002, Zaporizhya, Ukraine), as the legendary coach of Dynamo Kiev (1973–90, 1996–2001), guided that football club to eight Soviet league championships, six Soviet Cups, five straight Ukrainian league titles (1997–2001), two European Cup–Winners' Cups (1975 and 1986), the 1975 Union des Associations Européennes de Football (UEFA) Super Cup title, and the semifinal of the UEFA Champions League in 1999. Lobanovsky, who was known for his unusually strong emphasis on physical fitness and diet, also coached the Soviet national team, leading it to the second round in the 1986 World Cup finals and to the final of the 1988 European championship. After the breakup of the U.S.S.R. in 1990, he coached the U.A.E., Kuwait, and Ukraine national squads. As a player in the Soviet league for 10 years, Lobanovsky had scored 71 goals in 257 matches and led Dynamo to the 1961 championship.

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