Igor Belanov
Belanov in 2012
Personal information
Full name Igor Ivanovich Belanov
Date of birth (1960-09-25) 25 September 1960 (age 63)
Place of birth Odesa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1973–1978 Chornomorets Odesa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1981 SKA Odesa 68 (16)
1981–1985 Chornomorets Odesa 116 (26)
1985–1989 Dynamo Kyiv 121 (40)
1989–1991 Borussia Mönchengladbach 24 (4)
1991–1995 Eintracht Braunschweig 64 (21)
1995–1996 Chornomorets Odesa 3 (1)
1996–1997 Metalurh Mariupol 5 (4)
Total 401 (112)
International career
1985–1990 Soviet Union 33 (8)
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 1988 West Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Igor Ivanovich Belanov (Russian: И́горь Ива́нович Бела́нов) or Ihor Ivanovych Bielanov (Ukrainian: Ігор Іванович Бєланов; born 25 September 1960) is a Soviet and Ukrainian former professional footballer who played as a striker.

He made a name for himself at Dynamo Kyiv, winning five major titles as well as the Ballon d'Or in 1986 and became the second Ukrainian national to win the award after Oleh Blokhin (1975). He then spent six years in Germany with Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga and Eintracht Braunschweig in the 2. Bundesliga, with little success.

Belanov represented the Soviet Union at one World Cup and one European Championship.He was included in the list of the top 100 World Cup footballers of all time by The Guardian in 2014.[1] In 2011, he, Oleh Blokhin and Vitaliy Starukhin were named as the "legends of Ukrainian football" at the Victory of Football awards.[2]

Club career

Beginnings and Dynamo Kyiv

Belanov was born in Odesa, Ukraine, Soviet Union. He started playing professionally in his hometown, with SKA Odesa and FC Chornomorets Odesa, joining country giants FC Dynamo Kyiv in 1985, and scoring ten goals in his first season, which ended with league and cup conquest.

Along with teammates Oleh Blokhin and Oleksandr Zavarov, Belanov led the scoring charts at the 1985–86 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (five apiece) as Dynamo won the competition for the second time.[3] He played the full 90 minutes in the final against Atlético Madrid (3–0).

Germany

Midway through 1989, 29-year-old Belanov got the long-awaited clearance to join a Western European side, making a move to Germany to join Borussia Mönchengladbach. His debut in the Bundesliga came on 4 November 1989 in a 4–0 away defeat against VfB Stuttgart, but he failed to impress overall, scoring only five goals in his one-and-a-half-season stint.[4]

Belanov's reputation at the club diminished further in January 1990, when he and his wife were among five Soviet citizens arrested for shoplifting clothes worth 2,000 Deutsche Mark; Although Belanov continued to protest his innocence, he was found guilty.[5][6][7] He had faced financial problems due to his demand to be paid in U.S. dollars, which he trusted more than the mark, but which had suddenly declined in value.[5][8]

Belanov moved to 2. Bundesliga's Eintracht Braunschweig in January 1991. He made his debut for his new club on 23 February, and went on to net 21 times in the competition in three seasons combined, also suffering relegation in 1992–93 without making a single appearance.

Retirement

In 1995 Belanov returned home to Chernomorets for one season, retiring at almost 37 after a spell with FC Illychivets Mariupol, appearing in only five games in two seasons combined.

International career

Belanov played 33 matches for the Soviet Union, scoring eight goals. His best performance came at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where he netted four and assisted for six others as the team (which comprised 13 Dynamo Kyiv players) reached the round-of-16; he scored a hat-trick in the game against Belgium, in a losing extra time effort (4–3).[9]

This performance at the World Cup, along with Dynamo's Cup Winners' Cup success, helped Belanov win the European Footballer of the Year award. He was also part of the squad that reached the final of UEFA Euro 1988, where the national side faced the Netherlands. With the score at 2–0 for the Netherlands, USSR were awarded a penalty: he took it, but saw goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen save his effort as the score remained 2–0 until full time, giving the Netherlands the European title.[10][11] He won 33 caps between 1985 and 1990.[12]

Style of play

Belanov was noted for his athleticism, in particular for his running speed and powerful goal strikes. He was one of the fastest sprinters among Soviet footballers of all times, together with Oleh Blokhin. However, while Blokhin was trained by his parents, who were both competitive sprinters, Belanov never received a formal sprint training; yet he ran the 50 metres in a hand-timed 5.7 seconds, corresponding to a mere 0.3 seconds slower than the world record at the time.[13]

Post-retirement

Belanov turned to business after finishing his playing career. He returned to prominence when he became the majority shareholder at Switzerland's FC Wil, in August 2003. His predecessor, banker Andreas Hafen, had been given a five-year prison sentence after embezzling 51 million Swiss francs ($40 million) from the UBS Bank.

Belanov's first move at Wil was replacing first-team manager Martin Andermatt with his former Dynamo Kyiv teammate Oleksandr Zavarov, not taking note of the fact that he lacked the necessary UEFA licence to manage a European top-division outfit. That circumstance forced Belanov to sign former FC Karl-Marx-Stadt manager Joachim Müller. Due to the appointment of Müller, Zavarov's job was officially described as director of football; Müller did not last long as coach however, as Belanov sacked him just after three months, replacing him with Tomáš Matějček.

Matejcek's strict training regiment caused a quick revolt amongst Wil players. This forced Belanov to make amends for his decisions and to re-appoint Müller as manager, and hand the assistant-manager role to former Swiss international goalkeeper Stephan Lehmann. Those turned out to be Belanov's last series of actions as Wil's major shareholder as, in a quick sequence, he pulled out of his chairman and shareholder role of the club.[14]

Additionally, Belanov also owned a football school in Odesa, Ukraine, which carried his name.

In 2018 joined the board of strategic development Ukrainian Association of Football.[15]

Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine 2022, Belanov joined the Territorial Defence Battalion (of the Ukrainian Armed Forces) of his hometown Odesa.[16]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Other[a] Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SKA Odesa 1979 32 5 – – – 32 5
1980 36 11 – – – 36 11
Total 68 16 0 0 0 0 0 0 68 16
Chornomorets Odesa 1981 Soviet Top League 27 6 2 0 – – 29 6
1982 Soviet Top League 29 2 4 1 – – 33 3
1983 Soviet Top League 27 7 1 0 – – 28 7
1984 Soviet Top League 33 11 5 3 – – 38 14
Total 116 26 12 4 0 0 0 0 128 30
Dynamo Kyiv 1985 Soviet Top League 31 10 4 2 4 1 – 39 13
1986 Soviet Top League 22 10 1 0 8 4 1 0 32 14
1987 Soviet Top League 23 8 6 3 6 1 2 1 37 13
1988 Soviet Top League 27 9 4 1 – – 31 10
1989 Soviet Top League 18 3 4 1 – – 22 4
Total 121 40 19 7 18 6 3 1 161 54
Borussia
Mönchengladbach 		1989–90 Bundesliga 14 4 1 0 – – 15 4
1990–91 Bundesliga 10 0 2 1 – – 12 1
Total 24 4 3 1 0 0 0 0 27 5
Eintracht Braunschweig 1990–91 2. Bundesliga 9 3 – – – 9 3
1991–92 2. Bundesliga 29 10 1 1 – – 30 11
1992–93 2. Bundesliga – – – – –
1993–94 26 8 1 0 – 4 0 31 8
Total 64 21 2 1 0 0 4 0 70 22
Chornomorets 1995–96 Ukrainian Premier League 3 1 – – – 3 1
Metalurh
Mariupol 		1995–96 Ukrainian Second League 1 0 – – – 1 0
1996–97 Ukrainian First League 4 4 – – – 4 4
Total 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 4
Career total 401 112 36 13 18 6 7 1 462 132
  1. ^ Appearances in USSR Super Cup, USSR Federation Cup, 2. Bundesliga play-off

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Soviet Union 1985 3 0
1986 8 6
1987 7 2
1988 13 0
1989 1 0
1990 1 0
Total 33 8
Scores and results list Soviet Union's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Belanov goal.
List of international goals scored by Igor Belanov
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 2 June 1986 Estadio Sergio León Chávez, Irapuato, Mexico  Hungary 3–0 6–0 1986 FIFA World Cup
2 15 June 1986 Estadio Nou Camp, León, Mexico  Belgium 1–0 3–4 1986 FIFA World Cup
3 2–1
4 3–4
5 11 October 1986 Parc des Princes, Paris, France  France 1–0 2–0 Euro 1988 qualifying
6 29 October 1986 Lokomotiv Stadium, Simferopol, Soviet Union  Norway 2–0 4–0 Euro 1988 qualifying
7 29 April 1987 Republican Stadium, Kyiv, Soviet Union  East Germany 2–0 2–0 Euro 1988 qualifying
8 28 October 1987 Lokomotiv Stadium, Simferopol, Soviet Union  Iceland 1–0 2–0 Euro 1988 qualifying

Honours

Dynamo Kyiv

Chornomorets Odesa

Soviet Union

Individual

References

  1. ^ The World Cup's top 100 footballers of all time – interactive. The Guardian. 27 May 2014
  2. ^ Лучшими футболистами Украины признаны Анатолий Тимощук, Андрей Шевченко и Александр Шовковский (in Russian). bulvar.com.ua. 20 December 2011. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 11 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Cup Winners Cup Top Scorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 15 September 2008.
  4. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (24 June 2020). "Ihor Ivanovych Belanov – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  5. ^ a b "1989: Igor Belanow - Absturz nach Diebstahl" [1989: Igor Belanow - Collapse after theft]. Rheinische Post (in German). 9 August 2014. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  6. ^ Farrell, Ian (February 2004). "The strange case of Igor Belanov – the least remembered Ballon d'Or winner". When Saturday Comes. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  7. ^ Wilson, Jonathan (9 April 2012). Behind the Curtain: Football in Eastern Europe. Orion. ISBN 978-1-4091-0904-4. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  8. ^ Raack, Alex (27 September 2009). "Fünfzehn Kilo Fleisch" [Fifteen kilos of meat]. 11 Freunde (in German). Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  9. ^ "Belanov's three not enough to beat brave Belgium". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  10. ^ "Tournament History: Euro 1988 (West Germany)". Goal.com. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  11. ^ "USSR 0–2 Netherlands". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  12. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (24 June 2020). "Igor Ivanovich Belanov – International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  13. ^ Блохин и Беланов – главные спринтеры в истории футбола. Пиковый Блохин считался опаснее Кройффа и стоил как Марадона. sports.ru. 27 April 2008
  14. ^ "Wie sich Igor Belanow seinen Ruf versaute" [How Igor Belanov ruined his reputation] (in German). 11 Freunde. 27 September 2009. Archived from the original on 1 June 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  15. ^ Беланов получит должность в ФФУ. sport.ua. 29 December 2018
  16. ^ Früherer Bundesligaspieler kämpft gegen Russen [Former Bundesliga player fights Russians] (in German), faz.net, dated April 7, 2022; retrieved April 7, 2022
  17. ^ Moore, Rob; Stokkermans, Karel. "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  18. ^ Owsianski, Jarek; Rota, Davide (18 December 2013). "Cup Winners Cup Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  19. ^ Лучшие ассистенты ЕВРО. Статистика и рекорды. UEFA. 17 June 2020
  20. ^ The best strikers of the 80s
  21. ^ FIFA XI's Matches – Full Info Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  22. ^ "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.

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