Oleksandr Anatoliyovych Zavarov (; born 26 April 1961) is a Ukrainian former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and the former head coach of

FC Arsenal Kyiv Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian Association football, football club based in Kyiv. In 2019, the club's professional team was dissolved, but its junior teams continue to compete in city competitions. The club claims to be a successo ...

. He became first among Soviets footballers who got transferred to West European world class club when he was picked by

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

to replace the outgoing

Michel Platini Michel François Platini (; born 21 June 1955) is a French association football, football Administrator (business), administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'O ...

. In 1986, he was named the best footballer in the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and the 6th best footballer in Europe according to

France Football ''France Football'' is a French monthly magazine containing football news from all over the world. It is considered to be one of the most reputable sports publications in Europe, mostly because of its photographic reports, in-depth and exclus ...

. Zavarov is widely regarded to be among the greatest footballers in the history of the

and

, and in 2000 he was included in the Ukrainian Team of The Century according to a poll by the ''Ukrainsky Futbol'' weekly.

Early life

Zavarov was born in Luhansk to family of worker who worked at foundry for one of the city's factories. He started to play early in his life first on streets and then the Zorya sports school of Olympic reserves. Later as senior in school he was offered to enroll to the Kyiv sports boarding school to gain an opportunity to try for

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) is a Ukrainian professional football club based in Kyiv. Founded in 1927 as a Kyivan football team of republican branch of the bigger Soviet Dynamo Sports Society ...

reserves. However, the hometown club was quick on its feet and kept its player. When Zavarov was 16, the head coach of Zorya Yozhef Sabo took him to play for reserve squad and two years later Zavarov made his debut 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 ...

. With the Zorya sports school team, twice Zavarov reached finals of a children republican tournament "Leather Ball" but, alas, never won it.

Club career

Zavarov made his debut at professional level on April 27, 1979 in away match against the defending Soviet champion

FC Dinamo Tbilisi FC Dinamo Tbilisi ( ka, დინამო თბილისი, ) is a Georgian professional football club based in Tbilisi that competes in the Erovnuli Liga, the top flight of Georgian football. Dinamo Tbilisi was one of the most prom ...

when he came on substitute for Igor Gamula after the first half. Zorya lost that match 0:3. His first goal Zavarov scored in his third match on "Victory Day" May 9, 1979, in away tie (2:2) against SKA Rostov-na-Donu where both goals from Zavarov saved the game for Luhansk. In his first season for the Zorya first team, Zavorov played 23 games and scored 7 goals. However, his team placed second to last that season and was relegated. In the summer of 1979 following the 1979 Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR,

Valeriy Lobanovskyi Valeriy Vasylyovych Lobanovskyi (, ; 6 January 1939 – 13 May 2002) was а Soviet and Ukrainian football player and manager. He was Master of Sports of the USSR, Distinguished Coach of the USSR, and a laureate of the UEFA Order of Merit in Rub ...

offered Zavarov to join

for the first time, but Zavarov refused by stating that he needs to consult with his mother.Олександр Заваров: »Професіонал завжди намагається виграти»
fcdynamo.com. 19 April 2007 In 1979 Zavarov was a student at the Voroshilovgrad Pedagogical Institute, but nonetheless received a notice from the Soviet military entrance processing office to carry out his

compulsory military service Conscription, also known as the draft in the United States and Israel, is the practice in which the compulsory enlistment in a national service, mainly a military service, is enforced by law. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it contin ...

. He had a choice to serve either in the army or the MVD ( Ministry of Internal Affairs), but older teammates, the 1972 champions, were suggesting him against Dynamo (part of the MVD system). He was told that it would be difficult to outperform such players like

Oleg Blokhin Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin (, ; born 5 November 1952), is a Ukrainian former football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Blokhin was a standout striker for Dynamo ...

, Volodymyr Onyshchenko and others who played at that time for Dynamo. Eventually, Zavarov joined SKA Rostov-na-Donu (part of the Armed Forces society) and still has an ambiguous feeling about it whether he has done the right thing. Particularly Zavarov hated that during his demobilization after two seasons he was pressured to remain at SKA, offered a higher military rank ( praporschik), possibility of moving to the Central Armed Forces club,

PFC CSKA Moscow Professional Football Club CSKA (, derived from the historical name 'Центральный спортивный клуб армии', English language, English: ''Central Sports Club of the Army''), commonly referred to as CSKA Moscow or ''CSK ...

, and, when refused, placed in for 10 days long "Gauptvakhta" (type of military prison). Coincidentally, at that time SKA was coached by German Zonin who made Zorya in 1972 the Soviet champions. It was him who actually turned Zavarov from forward into midfielder. In 1981 with different coach SKA won the

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 ...

and in the final game on assist of Zavarov, his "homeboy" Sergey Andreyev scored the winning goal against Spartak Moscow. Two weeks after the cup final in the league match against Spartak Zavarov scored his first career hat-trick, however SKA playing at home lost to Muscovite team 3:4. In SKA Zavarov also played with his friend Igor Gamula and according to some rumors (

Sovetsky Sport ''Sovetsky Sport'' (; English: Soviet Sports) is a Russian national daily sports newspaper. Until 19 March 1946 the newspaper was called ''Red Sports'' (Russian: Красный спорт), it was not printed between 1928 and 1932. History Fo ...

among others) they may have overindulged themselves with Soviet Abrau-Durso, but in later interviews Zavarov claimed that it was an innocent celebration of a victory in the Soviet Cup. In 1981 Zavarov also made his first appearance in the European clubs' competitions on September 16 when SKA was hosting Turkish

MKE Ankaragücü MKE Ankaragücü or fully Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Ankaragücü (), is a Turkish professional sports club located in the city of Ankara. The football team wears a yellow and navy kit and plays its home matches at Eryaman Stadium following the ...

in the first round of

1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup was the 22nd season of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a club football competition organised by UEFA for the national cup winners from each of its member associations. Spanish club Barcelona won the title for a se ...

. The Soviets won 3:0 and Zavarov scored twice. In the next round SKA played against German

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

and again their first match of the two legs tie they played at home. The home win over the Germans also came about not without help of Zavarov. SKA Rostov-na-Donu leadership tricked Zavarov accused him in being " absent without leave" which would make him do another two years in disciplinary battalion.Із Заварова хотіли зробити другого Платіні
gazeta.ua. 26 April 2020 While being in military detention, Zavarov remained determined to leave the service. His wife when she found out wrote a grievance letter to the Minister of Defense

Dmitriy Ustinov Dmitriy Fyodorovich Ustinov (; 30 October 1908 – 20 December 1984) was a Soviet politician and a Marshal of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. He served as a Central Committee secretary in charge of the Soviet military–industrial comple ...

. On the 9th day Zavarov gave up after all and signed an agreement to receive a rank and remain in the service. However, once freed, Zavarov was requesting to be demobilized immediately. From the Ministry of Defense arrived a commission which told him if he leaves, they will bar him from playing. Zavarov told them that does not care and was disqualified indefinitely. For almost 6 months he worked at the October Revolution Factory in Luhansk making train wheels until one of workers, two times

Hero of Socialist Labor The Hero of Socialist Labour () was an honorific title in the Soviet Union and other Warsaw Pact countries from 1938 to 1991. It represented the highest degree of distinction in the USSR and was awarded for exceptional achievements in Soviet ...

, blacksmith Kurylo didn't appeal to the Football Federation and disqualification was removed. After being reinstated following his disqualification Zavarov joined the factory team where he worked

FC Zorya Luhansk FC Zorya Luhansk ( ) is a Ukrainian football team. Zorya Luhansk was based in the city of Luhansk, Ukraine. However, due to the Russo-Ukrainian War, the team currently plays its games at Slavutych-Arena in Zaporizhzhia. The modern club as a ...

that played in the Pervaya Liga (2nd tier). His first match after the disqualification was on May 11, 1982 in away game against Kolos Nikopol which Zorya lost 0:2. In 1983–88, he played for the Soviet-Ukrainian giants,

, with whom he won the

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

in 1985–86, scoring in the final itself. In Dynamo Zavarov also was offered a militsiya (police) rank, but he refused. Zavarov later played for

between 1988 and 1990, becoming the first Soviet player to play in Serie A; he won the

Coppa Italia Coppa Italia () is the annual domestic cup of Italian football. The knockout competition was organized by the DDS and the Lega Calcio until the 2009–10 season and by Lega Serie A ever since. Juventus is the competition's most successf ...

and the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

under manager

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time, he is the oldest ever ...

in 1990, and also wore the iconic number 10 shirt in his first season with the team, which had formerly belonged to club legend

, although he later switched to the number 9 shirt, and the number 10 shirt was given to Giancarlo Marocchi the following season. Although much was initially expected of Zavarov at the Turin-based club, his time with Juventus was considered to be less successful, despite his two title victories; in spite of the arrival of compatriot

Sergei Aleinikov Sergei Yevgenyevich Aleinikov (; , ''Syarhey Alyeynikaw''; born 7 November 1961) is a Belarusian and Soviet former professional footballer, and currently a coach. He primarily played as a defensive midfielder and was known for his stamina, int ...

in his second season with the team, Zavarov also had difficulties settling in at the club, due to his strenuous relationship with the club's manager, Dino Zoff, and also as he struggled to learn Italian. For his transfer

paid $5 million which was a record for the Soviet football. It was one of the highest paid transfers of the decade. The transfer was conducted through a Soviet intermediary "Sovintersport". Upon conclusion of the transfer $3 million went to the Soviet government, $2 million to

. Two million dollars were allocated by the Soviet government to the Soviet Olympic team for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. He subsequently transferred to Nancy in 1990, where he remained for five seasons, before finally moving to

Saint-Dizier Saint-Dizier () is a subprefecture of the Haute-Marne department in north-eastern France. It has a population of 23,382 (2018 figure) and is a subprefecture of the department. Although Saint-Dizier is marginally the most populous commune in Hau ...

in 1995, retiring after three seasons, in 1998.

International career

At the end of summer of 1979, Zavarov took part in the

1979 FIFA World Youth Championship The 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship, the second staging of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, FIFA World Youth Championship, was held in Japan from 26 August to 7 September 1979. It was the first FIFA tournament played in Asia. The tournament took place i ...

on the Soviet team losing in the final to Argentinians led by

Diego Maradona Diego Armando Maradona Franco (30 October 196025 November 2020) was an Argentine professional association football, football player and manager. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the history of the sport, he was one of the two ...

. In one of the group stages matches Zavarov scored his only goal against Hungarians as a header from a corner kick. The final match against Argentine was one of his two that he actually witnessed from substitution bench. In October 1981 Zavarov played couple of matches for the under-21 team in group qualifications. Next month he had some issues with club. Zavarov had 41 caps for the

, scoring six goals including two in the World Cup finals in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

and

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

. He also played in the Euro 1988 in which the

team were runners-up.

Style of play

A creative, quick, agile and skilful

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

, Zavarov was primarily known for his excellent technical ability, two-footedness, stamina, and tactical intelligence, and was usually deployed as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

or as a

supporting striker In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than midfielders and defenders. As with any attacking player, the role of the forward relies heavily on bein ...

, although he was also capable of playing as a deep-lying

playmaker In association football, a playmaker is a footballer who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing Passing (association football), passing moves which lead to Goal (sport), goals, through ...

, due to his versatility, vision, and long passing accuracy. Zavarov played a key role in Valeri Lobanovski's successes with Dynamo Kyiv, and his

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

skills and playmaking ability led his Dynamo Kyiv coach to

compare Comparison or comparing is the act of evaluating two or more things by determining the relevant, comparable characteristics of each thing, and then determining which characteristics of each are similar to the other, which are different, and t ...

him to

. Despite the talent he demonstrated and the success he had both with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet national team at Euro 1988, which earned him a reputation as one of the greatest players to ever come out of the Soviet Union, his time in Italy with Juventus was less successful, and he failed to live up to initial expectations in Serie A. Due to his inconsistent displays and his lack of accuracy in front of goal, he drew criticism from the press, who also singled out his surprisingly poor work-rate and movement off the ball; he was also accused of lacking confidence, and of not being an effective assist-provider for the team. Because of his timid character, it was also argued that he lacked the necessary leadership skills to carry the team, and fill the void left by Michel Platini in the advanced midfield playmaking role during the post- Trapattoni crisis.

Managerial career

Zavarov began his coaching career with Saint Dizier CO as a player-coach. He had a short spell as a head coach of

FC Wil FC Wil (''Fussball Club Wil 1900'') is a Association football, football club based in Wil, Switzerland. They play in the ''Sportpark Bergholz'', which has a total capacity of 6,048. The club has consistently played in the Swiss Challenge League, ...

in 2003–04, however because he lacked the necessary UEFA licence, he was given the position of ''director of football'' with the club. He is currently manager of Ukrainian team Arsenal Kyiv.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Soviet Union's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Zavarov goal.''

Honours

Club

;SKA Rostov-na-Donu Winner *

USSR 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 tourname ...

(1): 1981 ;Dynamo Kyiv Winner * USSR Premier League (2):

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a n ...

(2):

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

UEFA Cup Winners Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renamed the UEFA Cup Winne ...

: 1985–86 ;Juventus Winner *

: 1989–90 *

: 1989–90

International

;Soviet Union *

FIFA World Youth Championship The FIFA U-20 World Cup is the biennial football world championship tournament for FIFA members' men's national teams with players under the age of 20. The competition has been staged every two years since the inaugural tournament in 1977 when i ...

runner-up:

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

runner-up:

1988 1988 was a crucial year in the early history of the Internet—it was the year of the first well-known computer virus, the Morris worm, 1988 Internet worm. The first permanent intercontinental Internet link was made between the United State ...

Individual

* Soviet Footballer of the Year: 1986 * Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1986 * ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1987 * Ukrainian Team of the Century (poll by "Ukrainsky Futbol"): 2000 * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1985–86 top scorer. *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

– 6th **

– 17th **

– 8th **

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

– 23rd

Notes

References

External links

Player profile and statistics at Ukrsoccerhistory.com
*
Profile of Zavarov on Arsenal Kiev official site
*
ОЛЕКСАНДР ЗАВАРОВ - від заводу до ''Ювентуса'' за 6 років
Retrofootball.Ukraine (youtube). 1 October 2023 {{DEFAULTSORT:Zavarov, Aleksandr 1961 births Living people Footballers from Luhansk Ukrainian men's footballers Soviet men's footballers Soviet Union men's international footballers Soviet expatriate men's footballers Ukrainian expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in France Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Italy Soviet expatriate sportspeople in France Ligue 1 players Ligue 2 players AS Nancy Lorraine players Juventus FC players Serie A players FC Dynamo Kyiv players FC Zorya Luhansk players Soviet Top League players 1986 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1988 players 1990 FIFA World Cup players FC SKA Rostov-on-Don players FC Metalist Kharkiv managers FC Arsenal Kyiv managers Expatriate football managers in France Expatriate football managers in Switzerland Expatriate football managers in Kazakhstan FC Jenis managers Ukrainian Premier League managers FC Saint Dizier CO managers FC Wil managers Ukraine national football team managers Ukrainian football managers Ukrainian expatriate football managers Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in France Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Italy Ukrainian people of Russian descent Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Kazakhstan Men's association football midfielders UEFA Europa League–winning players Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class University of Luhansk alumni 20th-century Ukrainian sportsmen