Oleksandr Anatoliyovych Zavarov, also spelt Aleksandr Anatoljević Zavarov ( uk, Олександр Анатолійович Заваров, russian: Заваров, Александр Анатольевич) – (born 26 April 1961 in
Luhansk,
Ukrainian SSR) is a former Ukrainian
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
midfielder and the former head coach at
FC Arsenal Kyiv
Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian 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 successor of Kyiv Arsenal fact ...
. In 1986, he was named the best footballer in the
USSR and
Ukraine and the 6th best footballer in Europe according to
France Football. Zavarov is widely regarded to be among the greatest footballers in the history of the
USSR and
Ukraine, and in 2000 he was included in the Ukrainian Team of The Century according to a poll by the ''Ukrainsky Futbol'' weekly.
Club career
Zavarov started off his career in his home city of
Zorya Luhansk. He played in the
USSR Premier League for
Zorya Luhansk (1977–79, 1982), and also
SKA Rostov (1980–81). In 1983–88, he played for the Soviet-Ukrainian giants,
Dynamo Kyiv, with whom he won the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in
1985–86, scoring in the final itself. Zavarov later played for
Juventus
Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional Association football, football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football leagu ...
between 1988 and 1990, becoming the first Soviet player to play in Serie A; he won the
Coppa Italia and the
UEFA Cup under manager
Dino Zoff in 1990, and also wore the iconic
number 10 shirt
Squad numbers are used in association football to identify and distinguish players that are on the field. Numbers very soon became a way to also indicate position, with starting players being assigned numbers 1–11, although in the modern ga ...
in his
first season with the team, which had formerly belonged to club legend
Michel Platini,
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 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. He subsequently transferred to
Nancy in 1990, where he remained for five seasons, before finally moving to
Saint-Dizier in 1995, retiring after three seasons, in 1998.
International career
Zavarov had 41 caps for the
USSR, 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 ente ...
and
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
. He also played in the
Euro 1988 in which the
USSR team were
runners-up.
Style of play
A creative, quick, agile and skilful
midfielder,
Zavarov was primarily known for his excellent technical ability, two-footedness, stamina, and tactical intelligence, and was usually deployed as an
attacking midfielder or as a
supporting striker
Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...
, although he was also capable of playing as a
deep-lying playmaker
In association football, a playmaker is a player who controls the flow of the team's play, and is often involved in offensively and defensively playing passing moves which lead to goals, through their vision, technique, ball control, creativit ...
, 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 skills and playmaking ability led his Dynamo Kyiv coach to
compare him to
Diego Maradona.
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 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
Football Club Arsenal Kyiv () is a Ukrainian 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 successor of Kyiv Arsenal fac ...
.
Career statistics
International goals
Honours
Club
;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 ...
,
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 ente ...
*
USSR Cup
The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (russian: Кубок СССР),, be, Кубак СССР, uz, СССР Кубоги, kk, КСРО Кубогы, ka, სსრკ თასი, az, ССРИ кубоку, lt, TSRS taurė, ro, Cupa URSS (Moldova ...
(3): 1981, 1985,
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
*
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 cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourna ...
:
1985–86
;Juventus
Winner
*
Coppa Italia:
1989–90
*
UEFA Cup:
1989–90
International
;Soviet Union
*
UEFA European Football Championship runner-up:
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
Individual
*
IOC European Footballer of the Season: 1985–86
*
Soviet Footballer of the Year
The award Soviet Footballer of the Year was awarded to the best footballer of the Soviet Union from 1964 until 1991. The poll was conducted among journalists by the weekly sport newspaper ''Football'' (Football-Hockey). Each journalist named his o ...
: 1986
*
Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1986
* Ukrainian Team of the Century (poll by "Ukrainsky Futbol"): 2000
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1985–86 top scorer.
*
Ballon d'Or
**
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 ente ...
– 6th
**
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
– 17th
**
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
– 8th
**
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
– 23rd
References
External links
Player profile and statistics at Ukrsoccerhistory.com*
Profile of Zavarov on Arsenal Kiev official site*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zavarov, Aleksandr
1961 births
Living people
Footballers from Luhansk
Ukrainian footballers
Soviet footballers
Soviet Union international footballers
Soviet expatriate footballers
Ukrainian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in Italy
Expatriate footballers in France
Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Italy
Soviet expatriate sportspeople in France
Ligue 1 players
Ligue 2 players
AS Nancy Lorraine players
Juventus F.C. 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 Astana-1964 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
Association football midfielders
UEFA Cup winning players
Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class