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 sport newspaper Football. Each journalist named his own top three player 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 has received Ballon d'Or award in 1963.

List of winners

YearPlacePlayerClubPointsNotes
1964
1stValery VoroninTorpedo Moscow
186
1964
2ndValentin IvanovTorpedo Moscow
85
1964
3rdSlava MetreveliDinamo Tbilisi
80
1965
1stValery VoroninTorpedo Moscow
?
Only the winners were announced; it was later established that
Streltsov finished 2nd.
1965
2ndEduard StreltsovTorpedo Moscow
?
Only the winners were announced; it was later established that
Streltsov finished 2nd.
1966
1stAndriy BibaDynamo Kyiv
94
Yashin and Shesternev obtained an equal number points,
but Yashin was ranked higher for having more 1st place votes.
1966
2ndLev YashinDynamo Moscow
75
Yashin and Shesternev obtained an equal number points,
but Yashin was ranked higher for having more 1st place votes.
1966
3rdAlbert ShesternevCSKA Moscow
75
Yashin and Shesternev obtained an equal number points,
but Yashin was ranked higher for having more 1st place votes.
1967
1stEduard StreltsovTorpedo Moscow
155
1967
2ndMurtaz KhurtsilavaDinamo Tbilisi
84
1967
3rdAnatoliy ByshovetsDynamo Kyiv
31
1968
1stEduard StreltsovTorpedo Moscow
206
1968
2ndMurtaz KhurtsilavaDinamo Tbilisi
107
1968
3rdAlbert ShesternevCSKA Moscow
41
1969
1stVladimir MuntyanDynamo Kyiv
223
1969
2ndAnzor KavazashviliSpartak Moscow
170
1969
3rdAlbert ShesternevCSKA Moscow
76
1970
1stAlbert ShesternyovCSKA Moscow
298
1970
2ndVladimir FedotovCSKA Moscow
159
1970
3rdViktor BannikovDynamo Kyiv
73
1971
1stEvhen RudakovDynamo Kyiv
298
1971
2ndViktor KolotovDynamo Kyiv
200
1971
3rdEduard MarkarovArarat Yerevan
61
1972
1stYevgeny LovchevSpartak Moscow
188
1972
2ndEvhen RudakovDynamo Kyiv
156
1972
3rdMurtaz KhurtsilavaDinamo Tbilisi
140
1973
1stOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
207
1973
2ndArkady AndriasyanArarat Yerevan
156
1973
3rdVladimir PilguyDynamo Moscow
82
1974
1stOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
236
1974
2ndVladimir VeremeevDynamo Kyiv
62
1974
3rdAleksandr ProkhorovSpartak Moscow
60
1975
1stOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
362
1975
2ndVladimir VeremeevDynamo Kyiv
108
1975
3rdYevgeni LovchevSpartak Moscow
99
1976
1stVladimir AstapovskiyCSKA Moscow
256
1976
2ndDavid KipianiDinamo Tbilisi
136
1976
3rdOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
116
1977
1stDavid KipianiDinamo Tbilisi
323
1977
2ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
198
1977
3rdYuriy DehteryovShakhter Donetsk
171
1978
1stRamaz ShengeliaDinamo Tbilisi
235
1978
2ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
156
1978
3rdGeorgi YartsevSpartak Moscow
135
1979
1stVitali StarukhinShakhter Donetsk
248
1979
2ndVagiz KhidiyatullinSpartak Moscow
175
1979
3rdYuri GavrilovSpartak Moscow
172
1980
1stAleksandr ChivadzeDinamo Tbilisi
259
1980
2ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
187
1980
3rdVagiz KhidiyatullinSpartak Moscow
103
1981
1stRamaz ShengeliaDinamo Tbilisi
360
1981
2ndOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
217
1981
3rdLeonid BuryakDynamo Kyiv
112
1982
1stRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow
400
1982
2ndAnatoliy DemyanenkoDynamo Kyiv
120
1982
3rdAndrei YakubikPakhtakor Tashkent
117
1983
1stFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow
442
1983
2ndRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow
181
1983
3rdAleksandr ChivadzeDinamo Tbilisi
91
1984
1stHennadiy LitovchenkoDnipro Dnipropetrovsk
397
1984
2ndMikhail BiryukovFC Zenit Leningrad
222
1984
3rdYuri GavrilovSpartak Moscow
75
1985
1stAnatoliy DemyanenkoDynamo Kyiv
409
1985
2ndOleg ProtasovDnipro Dnipropetrovsk
393
1985
3rdFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow
306
1986
1stAleksandr ZavarovDynamo Kyiv
357
In 1986 Igor Belanov won the Ballon D’Or
but could not become the best player in USSR.
1986
2ndIgor BelanovDynamo Kyiv
313
In 1986 Igor Belanov won the Ballon D’Or
but could not become the best player in USSR.
1986
3rdOleg BlokhinDynamo Kyiv
81
In 1986 Igor Belanov won the Ballon D’Or
but could not become the best player in USSR.
1987
1stOleg ProtasovDnipro Dnipropetrovsk
256
1987
2ndAlexei MikhailichenkoDynamo Kyiv
144
1987
3rdRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow
120
1988
1stAlexei MikhailichenkoDynamo Kyiv
482
1988
2ndRinat DasaevSpartak Moscow
109
1988
3rdFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow
81
1989
1stFyodor CherenkovSpartak Moscow
345
1989
2ndStanislav CherchesovSpartak Moscow
172
1989
3rdVladimir BessonovDynamo Kyiv
164
1990
1stIgor DobrovolskiDynamo Moscow
259
1990
2ndSergei YuranDynamo Kyiv
115
1990
3rdAleksandr MostovoiSpartak Moscow
68
1991
1stIgor KolyvanovDynamo Moscow
229
1991
2ndAleksandr MostovoiSpartak Moscow
153
1991
3rdIgor KorneevCSKA Moscow
148

Most wins by club

ClubWinnersWinning years
Dynamo Kyiv
9
1966, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1985, 1986, 1988
Dynamo Tbilisi
4
1977, 1978, 1980, 1981
Spartak Moscow
4
1972, 1982, 1983, 1989
Torpedo Moscow
4
1964, 1965, 1967, 1968
CSKA Moscow
2
1970, 1976
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
2
1984, 1987
FC Dynamo Moscow
2
1990, 1991
Shakhter Donetsk
1
1979

Most wins by player

NameWinsWinning years
Oleg Blokhin
3
1973, 1974, 1975
Fyodor Cherenkov
2
1983, 1989
Ramaz Shengelia
2
1978, 1981
Eduard Streltsov
2
1967, 1968
Valery Voronin
2
1964, 1965