Soviet Footballer of the Year


The award Soviet Footballer of the Year was awarded to the best footballer of the Soviet Union from 1964 until 1991. The poll was conducted among journalists by the weekly sports newspaper Football. Each journalist named his own top three players every year. Each place carried a point weight such as 1st place was worth 3 pts., 2nd - 2, and 3rd - 1.
The idea for the award appeared right after Lev Yashin had received the Ballon d'Or award in 1963. The honours were awarded along with several other prizes and awards at the end of the competition season. For goalkeepers, not limited to the Soviet Footballer of the Year, also were awarded separate honours, the "Best Goalkeeper of the Year". The best goal-scorer of the Soviet Top League was awarded with the "Best Topscorer of the Year". Before becoming an official award in 1964, in the 1950s Moskovskij Komsomolets and Komsomolskaya Pravda were conducting their own polls to honour the best footballer of the country.

List of winners

YearPlacePlayerClubPointsNotes
19641stValery VoroninTorpedo Moscow186
19642ndValentin IvanovTorpedo Moscow85
19643rdSlava MetreveliDinamo Tbilisi80
19651stValery VoroninTorpedo Moscow?Only the winners were announced; it was later established that
Streltsov finished 2nd.
19652ndEduard StreltsovTorpedo Moscow?Only the winners were announced; it was later established that
Streltsov finished 2nd.
19661stAndriy BibaDynamo Kyiv94Yashin and Shesternev obtained an equal number points,
but Yashin was ranked higher for having more 1st place votes.
19662ndLev YashinDynamo Moscow 75Yashin and Shesternev obtained an equal number points,
but Yashin was ranked higher for having more 1st place votes.
19663rdAlbert ShesternevCSKA Moscow75Yashin and Shesternev obtained an equal number points,
but Yashin was ranked higher for having more 1st place votes.
19671stEduard StreltsovTorpedo Moscow155
19672ndMurtaz KhurtsilavaDinamo Tbilisi 84
19673rdAnatoliy ByshovetsDynamo Kyiv 31
19681stEduard StreltsovTorpedo Moscow206
19682ndMurtaz KhurtsilavaDinamo Tbilisi 107
19683rdAlbert ShesternevCSKA Moscow 41
19691stVladimir MuntyanDynamo Kyiv223
19692ndAnzor KavazashviliSpartak Moscow 170
19693rdAlbert ShesternevCSKA Moscow 76
19701stAlbert ShesternyovCSKA Moscow298
19702ndVladimir FedotovCSKA Moscow 159
19703rdViktor BannikovDynamo Kyiv 73
19711stEvhen RudakovDynamo Kyiv298
19712ndViktor KolotovDynamo Kyiv 200
19713rdEduard MarkarovArarat Yerevan 61
19721stYevgeny LovchevSpartak Moscow188
19722ndEvhen RudakovDynamo Kyiv 156
19723rdMurtaz KhurtsilavaDinamo Tbilisi 140
19731stOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv207
19732ndArkady AndriasyanArarat Yerevan156
19733rdVladimir PilguyDynamo Moscow82
19741stOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv236
19742ndVladimir VeremeevDynamo Kyiv62
19743rdAleksandr ProkhorovSpartak Moscow60
19751stOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv362
19752ndVladimir VeremeevDynamo Kyiv108
19753rdYevgeni LovchevSpartak Moscow99
19761stVladimir AstapovskiyCSKA Moscow256
19762ndDavid KipianiDinamo Tbilisi136
19763rdOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv116
19771stDavid KipianiDinamo Tbilisi323
19772ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv198
19773rdYuriy DehteryovShakhter Donetsk171
19781stRamaz ShengeliaDinamo Tbilisi235
19782ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv156
19783rdGeorgi YartsevSpartak Moscow135
19791stVitali StarukhinShakhter Donetsk248
19792ndVagiz KhidiyatullinSpartak Moscow175
19793rdYuri GavrilovSpartak Moscow172
19801stAleksandr ChivadzeDinamo Tbilisi259
19802ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv187
19803rdVagiz KhidiyatullinSpartak Moscow103
19811stRamaz ShengeliaDinamo Tbilisi360
19812ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv217
19813rdLeonid BuryakDynamo Kyiv112
19821stRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow400
19822ndAnatoliy DemyanenkoDynamo Kyiv120
19823rdAndrei YakubikPakhtakor Tashkent117
19831stFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow442
19832ndRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow181
19833rdAleksandr ChivadzeDinamo Tbilisi91
19841stHennadiy LitovchenkoDnipro Dnipropetrovsk397
19842ndMikhail BiryukovFC Zenit Leningrad222
19843rdYuri GavrilovSpartak Moscow75
19851stAnatoliy DemyanenkoDynamo Kyiv409
19852ndOleg ProtasovDnipro Dnipropetrovsk393
19853rdFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow306
19861stAleksandr ZavarovDynamo Kyiv357In 1986 Igor Belanov won the Ballon d'Or
but could not become the best player in USSR.
19862ndIgor BelanovDynamo Kyiv313In 1986 Igor Belanov won the Ballon d'Or
but could not become the best player in USSR.
19863rdOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv81In 1986 Igor Belanov won the Ballon d'Or
but could not become the best player in USSR.
19871stOleg ProtasovDnipro Dnipropetrovsk256
19872ndAlexei MikhailichenkoDynamo Kyiv144
19873rdRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow120
19881stAlexei MikhailichenkoDynamo Kyiv482
19882ndRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow109
19883rdFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow81
19891stFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow345
19892ndStanislav CherchesovSpartak Moscow172
19893rdVladimir BessonovDynamo Kyiv164
19901stIgor DobrovolskiDynamo Moscow259
19902ndSergei YuranDynamo Kyiv115
19903rdAleksandr MostovoiSpartak Moscow68
19911stIgor KolyvanovDynamo Moscow229
19912ndAleksandr MostovoiSpartak Moscow153
19913rdIgor KorneevCSKA Moscow148

Most wins by club

ClubWinnersWinning years
Dynamo Kyiv91966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1985, 1986, 1988
Dynamo Tbilisi41977, 1978, 1980, 1981
Spartak Moscow41972, 1982, 1983, 1989
Torpedo Moscow41964, 1965, 1967, 1968
CSKA Moscow21970, 1976
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk21984, 1987
FC Dynamo Moscow21990, 1991
Shakhter Donetsk11979

Most wins by player

NameWinsWinning years
Oleg Blokhin31973, 1974, 1975
Fyodor Cherenkov21983, 1989
Ramaz Shengelia21978, 1981
Eduard Streltsov21967, 1968
Valery Voronin21964, 1965