On May 13, 21 years ago, FC Dynamo Kyiv legendary player and coach Valeriy Lobanovskyi passed away.
Ironically, the legendary Maestro, whose name is the personification of Dynamo football, died on the day of the foundation of the club, the glorious history of which he was writing for many decades, first as a player and then as an innovative coach, who created several “golden” teams of different generations, which thundered across Europe.
This day, football people from Ukraine and from abroad pay tribute to Valeriy Lobanovskyi. Under the martial law in Ukraine, the traditional rally in memory of Lobanovskyi is not held for security reasons. However, on this day, as always, there are lots of flowers at the monument to Maestro. People have been approaching the monument at the Baikove cemetery and the monument near the stadium since morning. These are those who knew Maestro personally, and those who admired Dynamo success in the stands of the stadium or in front of TV screens.
Among them, as always, the closest relatives – the daughter of Valeriy Lobanovskyi Svitlana, who is a faithful guardian of the memory of the outstanding coach. Relatives, who knew Lobanovskyi personally, come to the grave at the Baikove cemetery to silently remember what an outstanding person he was.
More people traditionally gather at the monument to Valeriy Lobanovskyi, located in the very center of Kyiv. Especially since today “Dynamo” are playing a home game at the legendary stadium named after Maestro. In the morning, you could see people of completely different generations here – both the youngest trainees of Dynamo academy, who are gaining their first victories with the Dynamo emblem on their hearts, and honored football veterans. The well-known journalist Olexandr Lypenko took on the task of telling Dynamo students about the outstanding achievements of the coach.
Valeriy Lobanovskyi is an example of selfless service to his cause, to which he gave all of himself without a trace. Not only titles and achievements speak for him, but also the boundless love of his successors and innovations, which are still used in the football world. The bright memory of Valeriy Lobanovskyi will always live among those who have the letter “D” engraved on their hearts.
