Smashing leaders…
As a top league team FC Dynamo Kyiv started their way to the first Soviet trophy with home match against FC Spartak Vilnius. Lithuanians opposed worthy, but didn’t manage to withstand and lost 4:2. Kyivans’ skipper Andrei Zazroyev scored a hat trick.
Dynamo next opponent were FC Spartak Moscow with a lot of USSR national team performers in the squad. Oleg Oshenkov’s men won 3:1 due to the brace netted by Mykhailo Koman and another Zazroyev’s goal.
Quarterfinal against CBRA Moscow and semifinal against FC Zenit St.Petersburg were real battles and included extra time.
In the first game (3:1) Koman stepped forward again (brace) and in the second defender Olexandr Koltsov netted the decider.
Victory in a fog
They say third time’s a charm, so maybe it was good for Dynamo that they faced another representative of Spartak sports society (from Yerevan) in the decisive match.
On the day of the game weather conditions were severe. The fog was really heavy. Later the White-Blues centre back Vitaliy Holubiev told: “I couldn’t see what was going on in front of me. Suddenly I heard scream of joy: “Goal, goal!”. I was so happy that I performed some culbites…”
Mykhailo Koman, who assisted his teammate in that episode, commented upon how the goal that was netted 35 minutes into the game: “I eluded defender, goalkeeper and passed to Viktor Terentiev, who hit the open goal”.
Yerevan side managed to equalize after the break. The score was 1:1 till the 69th minute of the game. Koman, who scored the decider, will remember that moment forever. “Second goal was the desert of Viktor Fomin. He performed ideal assist”.
Victory 2:1 meant that Kyivans became the first non-Russian club to win the USSR Cup.
According to Mykhailo Koman players were really happy after that game.
- After the final whistle we filled the cup with champagne in locker room and passed it round. In Kyiv a lot of fans with flowers and orchestra met us at the railway station.
“Cossack” pants, preferans and football
Sinuosity that preceded the triumph and final match itself will be always remembered by FC Dynamo Kyiv left back Tibor Popovics.
The year 1954 was special in the White-Blues history.
On September 19 direction of the team got a letter from USSR sports committee. According to it Kyivans had to form the second USSR national team and to face the second team of Hungary on September 26. Three days later we left for Budapest.
We came to the capital of Hungary two days prior the match. We were staying at the same hotel as our opponents. Hungarians were arrogant. They laughed at our kits with pegged-leg “cossack” pants. While we were training at the stadium they were playing preferans and drinking cognac and rum. Eventually we defeated them 3:0…
Play like in Budapest, guys!
After the match the team returned to Kyiv within twenty-four hours. Two days later we were supposed to face FC Spartak Moscow away within the national cup. “Before the match Oleg Oshenkov told us: “Guys, I know that you didn’t have time for rest, so I just ask you to try to play like in Budapest”.
Spartak, who considered themselves to be head and shoulders above us, started the match very calmly and realized what hit them only after two goals we scored. We won that game – 3:1.
No one could believe that Spartak lost against some Dynamo from Kyiv and we started getting ready for the semifinal against FC Zenit St.Petersburg.
The match was difficult. The winner wasn’t defined even in extra time, so the following day we took the field again. The decider was netted by Olexandr Koltsov with fabulous shot.
White, red, black
On October 20 we opposed FC Spartak Yerevan in the final. They had a week for rest before the game…
Right before the match it started snowing heavily, besides the fog was very thick. At first we tried to play with white ball, then we took the red one and finally – black.
We opened the score in the first half, but Armenians managed to equalize soon. After the break we created a very good combination. Makarov threw the ball to me. I moved forward and passed to Fomin. He eluded two opponents and found Koman perfectly.
Spartak goalkeeper rushed to him and Mykhailo scored. We performed the honour lap and eventually got the USSR Cup trophy!
Did you know that…
- Two years prior the finalDynamo skipper Andrei Zazroyev didn’t get the starting spot in Dinamo Tbilisi and was sent to Perm, but refused to play there. He joined Kyivans due to the White-Blues head coach Oleg Oshenkov.
- Goalkeeper Oleg Makarov was “buried” several times while alive. It happened for the first time after Dynamo match in Egypt, when he broke his collarbone. While Oleh was on a trip to Odesa there was a rumor that he died.
- In April of 1951 Tibor Popovics was sent to Kyiv from Moscow. “My acquaintance with FC Dynamo Kyiv started with… shovel. When I came to the military base I was ordered to ditch. Everyone laughed when I told about the game against Dinamo Moscow as no one believed me. Several days later colonel asked me: “Why haven’t you told me that you came to play football? Be here in two minutes with your stuff!”. That’s how I joined Dynamo.
- According to Mykhailo Koman players didn’t get extra money for winning the trophy. He also told that the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Mykhailo Strokach helped the team a lot.
Oleh Zadernovskyi
* following Ukrainian media
