Alakbar Mammadov (; ; 9 May 1930 – 28 July 2014) was a Soviet and Azerbaijani footballer best known as a striker for

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', , ) is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Footba ...

in the 1950s and later as the first manager of the independent

Azerbaijan national football team The Azerbaijan national football team () is the national association football, football team of Azerbaijan and is controlled by Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan. It represents Azerbaijan in international football competitions. ...

. He has been classified as a Master of Sport of the USSR as a four-time champion player in the

Soviet Top League The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (), served as the top division (tier) of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The league's name was a conditional designation used for brevity since being completely owned and g ...

and a member of the Soviet national team. Mammadov also played for and managed his hometown club

Neftçi PFK Neftçi Peşəkar Futbol Klubu, known simply as Neftçi () or Neftchi Baku, is an Azerbaijani professional association football, football club based in the capital Baku, that plays in the Azerbaijan Premier League, the highest tier of Football ...

for a total of 12 years. He was only player to score four goals against

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

Career

Mammadov was well known for scoring the winning goal for Dynamo to clinch the Soviet Top League title for the club in the 87th minute of their 1957 championship match against Spartak Moscow; 50 years later, Mammadov's strike was commemorated when he was awarded the Order of Alexander Nevsky (first degree) at Dynamo's

Petrovsky Park Petrovsky Park () is a station on the Bolshaya Koltsevaya line of the Moscow Metro. It served the eastern terminus of the line until 30 December 2018, when the extension of Bolshaya Koltsevaya to Savyolovskaya opened. It opened on 26 February ...

. In addition to the 45 goals he scored as a member of Dynamo in league play, Mammadov also scored 11 times in international club play, including equalizers against

A.C. Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

in front of 100,000 spectators at

in 1955 and against the Brazilian side

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

during their 1956 friendly in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in front of 90,000 fans. Between 1972 and 1990, Mammadov was the President of the staff that organized the "Leather Ball" All-Soviet Youth Football Tournament ''(Всероссийский турнир юных футболистов «Кожаный мяч»)'', which now is associated with the

Danone Nations Cup The Danone Nations Cup is a football tournament for children between the ages of 10 and 15. It is organized since 2000 on the initiative of Danone.

. Mammadov wrote a memoir titled ''Secrets of the Football Profession'' in 1991. In 1992, Mammadov became the first head coach of the Azerbaijani national football team, compiling a 3–1 record as coach that includes the first ever national team victory, over

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, on 25 May 1993. For his contributions to Azerbaijani football, a football tournament was established in 2008 in Mammadov's honor, which was played in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

Honours

Dynamo Moscow *

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

1959 Events January * January 1 – Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 – Soviet lunar probe Luna 1 is the first human-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reaches the ...

runner-up:

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

Soviet Cup The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (),, , , (Moldovan Cyrillic: Купа УРСС), , , . was the premier football cup competition in the Soviet Union conducted by the Football Federation of the Soviet Union. The 1991–92 season of the tournam ...

runner-up:

Individual * Best 33 players of the Soviet Top League season: No. 3 - 1956, 1957 *

Order of the Badge of Honour The Order of the Badge of Honour () was a civilian award of the Soviet Union. It was established on 25 November 1935, and was conferred on citizens of the USSR for outstanding achievements in sports, production, scientific research and socia ...

Shohrat Order Shohrat Order (), translated as ''Order of Glory'', is an award presented by the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan. History and status The order was created by the Decree No. 757 of the President of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev and ratified ...

* Order of Alexander Nevsky (first degree)

References

External links

Player stats on KLISF
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mammadov, Alakbar 1930 births 2014 deaths Footballers from Baku Azerbaijani men's footballers Soviet Top League players FC Dynamo Moscow players Soviet men's footballers Soviet football managers Soviet Union men's international footballers Neftçi PFK managers Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Azerbaijani football managers Azerbaijan national football team managers Soviet Azerbaijani people Men's association football forwards Neftçi PFK players Burials at II Alley of Honor 20th-century Azerbaijani sportsmen