Igor Belanov

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Igor Belanov
Ihor Belanov.jpeg
Belanov in 2012
Personal information
Full name Igor Ivanovich Belanov
Date of birth (1960-09-25) 25 September 1960 (age 60)
Place of birth Odessa, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1973–1978 Chornomorets Odessa
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1981 SKA Odessa 68 (16)
1981–1985 Chornomorets Odessa 116 (26)
1985–1989 Dynamo Kyiv 121 (40)
1989–1991 Borussia Mönchengladbach 24 (4)
1991–1995 Eintracht Braunschweig 64 (21)
1995–1996 Chornomorets Odessa 3 (1)
1996–1997 Metalurh Mariupol 5 (4)
Total 401 (111)
National team
1985–1990 Soviet Union 33 (8)
Honours
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Igor Ivanovich (or Ihor Ivanovych) Belanov (Ukrainian: Ігор Іванович Беланов; born 25 September 1960) is a retired Ukrainian footballer who played as a striker or second striker.

He made a name for himself at Dynamo Kyiv, winning five major titles and being named European Footballer of the Year in 1986. He then spent six years in Germany with two teams, with little success.

He was included in the Times's list of the top 100 World Cup footballers of all time.[1] Belanov represented the Soviet Union at one World Cup and one European Championship.

In 2011, Igor Belanov, together with Oleg Blohin and Vitaliy Starukhin were named as the "legends of Ukrainian football" at the Victory of Football awards.[2]

Club career[]

Beginnings / Dynamo Kyiv[]

Belanov was born in Odessa, Ukraine, Soviet Union. He started playing professionally in his hometown, with SKA Odessa and FC Chornomorets Odessa, 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 Oleg 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 0–4 away defeat against VfB Stuttgart, but he failed to impress overall, scoring only four goals in his one-and-a-half-season stint.[4]

Belanov moved to second level's Eintracht Braunschweig in January 1991. He made his debut for his new club on 23 February, and went on to net just 13 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 (3–4).[5]

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 0–2, USSR were awarded a penalty: he took it, but saw goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen save his effort as the score remained 0-2 until full time, giving the Netherlands the European title.[6][7] He won 33 caps between 1985 and 1990.[8]

Playing style[]

Belanov was noted for his athletism, in particularly for his running speed and powerful goal strikes. He was one of the fastest sprinters among Soviet footballers of all times, together with Oleg 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.[9]

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-years imprisonment 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.[10]

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

In 2018 joined the board of strategic development Ukrainian Association of Football.[11]

Career statistics[]

Club[]

Club Season League Cup Europe Other Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SKA Odessa 1979 32 5 – – – 32 5
1980 36 11 – – – 36 11
Chornomorets 1981 27 6 2 0 – – 29 6
1982 29 2 4 1 – – 33 3
1983 27 7 1 0 – – 28 7
1984 33 11 5 3 – – 38 14
Dynamo 1985 31 10 4 2 4 1 – 39 13
1986 22 10 1 0 8 4 1 0 32 14
1987 23 8 6 3 6 1 2 1 37 13
1988 27 9 4 1 – – 31 10
1989 18 3 4 1 – – 22 4
Borussia
Mönchengladbach 		1989–90 14 4 1 0 – – 15 4
1990–91 10 0 2 1 – – 12 1
Braunschweig 1990–91 9 3 – – – 9 3
1991–92 29 10 1 1 – – 30 11
1992–93 – – – – –
1993–94 26 8 1 0 – 4 0 31 8
Chornomorets 1995–96 3 1 – – – 3 1
Metalurh
Mariupol 		1995–96 1 0 – – – 1 0
1996–97 4 4 – – – 4 4
Career total 401 111 36 13 18 6 7 1 462 131
  • Other – USSR Super Cup, USSR Federation Cup & 2. Bundesliga Play-Off

International[]

Soviet Union
Year Apps Goals
1985 3 0
1986 8 6
1987 7 2
1988 13 0
1989 1 0
1990 1 0
Total 33 8

International goals[]

Scores and results list Soviet Union's goal tally first.
# 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. 15 June 1986 Estadio Nou Camp, León, Mexico  Belgium 2–1 3–4 1986 FIFA World Cup
4. 15 June 1986 Estadio Nou Camp, León, Mexico  Belgium 3–4 3–4 1986 FIFA World Cup
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[]

Club[]

Dynamo Kyiv

Chornomorets Odessa

International[]

Soviet Union

  • UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 1988

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. ^ "Belanov's three not enough to beat brave Belgium". FIFA. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  6. ^ "Tournament History: Euro 1988 (West Germany)". Goal.com. 4 June 2008. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  7. ^ "USSR 0–2 Netherlands". Goal.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  8. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (24 June 2020). "Igor Ivanovich Belanov – International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 29 June 2020.
  9. ^ Блохин и Беланов – главные спринтеры в истории футбола. Пиковый Блохин считался опаснее Кройффа и стоил как Марадона. sports.ru. 27 April 2008
  10. ^ "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.
  11. ^ Беланов получит должность в ФФУ. sport.ua. 29 December 2018
  12. ^ Moore, Rob; Stokkermans, Karel. "European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or")". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  13. ^ Owsianski, Jarek; Rota, Davide (18 December 2013). "Cup Winners Cup Topscorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  14. ^ Лучшие ассистенты ЕВРО. Статистика и рекорды. UEFA. 17 June 2020
  15. ^ FIFA XI's Matches – Full Info Archived 17 November 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.

External links[]

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