Sergei Pavlovich Baltacha ( uk, Сергій Павлович Балтача; born 17 February 1958) is a Ukrainian former professional
football player and coach who won 45 caps for the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
and made nearly 300 appearances for
Dynamo Kyiv
Football Club Dynamo Kyiv (, ) 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, the club as a separate business entity was officia ...
.
Life and career
Baltacha was developed by the famous coach
Valeriy Lobanovskyi
Valeriy Vasylyovych Lobanovskyi ( uk, Вале́рій Васи́льович Лобано́вський ; russian: Вале́рий Васи́льевич Лобано́вский; 6 January 1939 – 13 May 2002) was а Ukrainian football playe ...
from Dynamo Kyiv hero and one of the most respected football coaches of the 20th century. He was spotted by the Dynamo boss while still a teenager at the Kharkiv Oblast sports boarding school (today the
Kharkiv College of Sports) of footballing excellence which he had left home to attend at the age of 13 Before moving to Kharkiv, Baltacha started his football career in native Mariupol playing for local youth sports club "Azovstal". While being officially invited to Dynamo, in 1976 Baltacha spent his first season on loan playing for
Metalist Kharkiv
Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...
which at that time was playing at the third tier and his second season in Dynamo's reserves. It wasn't until 1978 when he finally made his debut for the Dynamo's first team that was hosting
Spartak Moscow Spartak Moscow may refer to the following teams based or formerly based in Moscow, Russia:
* FC Spartak Moscow, an association football club
* HC Spartak Moscow, a professional ice hockey team
* Spartak GM Moscow, a semi-professional rugby club
* WB ...
on 28 April 1978.
As preparation to the
1980 Summer Olympics, in 1979 Baltacha played couple of games for
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
at the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR.
Baltacha was on the winning side in the
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 tournam ...
in 1986, the
Soviet Top League
The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (russian: Чемпионат СССР по футболу: Высшая лига), served as the top division of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991.
The professional top level ...
and
Soviet 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 ( Moldov ...
four times, and the
Soviet Super Cup
The USSR Super Cup,, az, Futbol üzrə SSRİ Superkuboku, ka, საბჭოთა კავშირის სუპერთასი, sabch’ota k’avshiris sup’ertasi, lt, TSRS Futbolo Supertaurė, ro, Supercupa URSS, uk, Супер ...
on three occasions. He also appeared in the
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
in 1982, was a finalist in the
European Championships in 1988 and won the bronze medal at
the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow
As the Soviet government eased restrictions on traveling abroad for athletes, in 1988 at his 30 Baltacha traveled to
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
and
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, playing for
Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Ipswich, Suffolk, England. They play in League One, the third tier of the English football league system.
The club was founded in 1878 but did not turn profession ...
and
St Johnstone. His debut for Ipswich (in which he scored) was the first time a Soviet international had played in
the Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in Association football around the wor ...
. He also had a spell as player manager of Inverness Caledonian in the Scottish Highland Football League, and was with Caledonian when they amalgamated with Inverness Thistle and entered the Scottish Football League in 1994 as Caledonian Thistle.
Baltacha worked as a
physical education
Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...
teacher and tutor at
Bacon's College
Bacon's College is a co-educational secondary school and sixth form located in Rotherhithe, London, England. It was previously a City Technology College, but officially changed to academy status in 2007.
History
Founded in 1703 by Josiah Baco ...
in South East
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
until 2012, having formerly been a physical education teacher at Geoffrey Chaucer Technology College (
Old Kent Road
Old Kent Road is a major thoroughfare in South East London, England, passing through the London Borough of Southwark. It was originally part of an ancient trackway that was paved by the Romans and used by the Anglo-Saxons who named it Wæceli ...
, London) and a coach at the
Charlton Athletic
Charlton Athletic Football Club is an English professional football club based in Charlton, south-east London, which compete in . Their home ground is The Valley, where the club have played since 1919. They have also played at The Mount in ...
academy. Since 2012 Sergei Baltacha works as Professional Development Phase Lead Coach at the Charlton Athletic FC Academy
Personal life
His former wife, Olga,
master of sports in
athletics
Athletics may refer to:
Sports
* Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking
** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport
* Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
, could have been on the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nation ...
olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
pentathlon team in
1980 Summer Olympics, but instead opted to remain at home to care for her one-year-old son.
Their daughter
Elena
Elena may refer to:
People
* Elena (given name), including a list of people and characters with this name
* Joan Ignasi Elena (born 1968), Catalan politician
* Francine Elena (born 1986), British poet
Geography
* Elena (town), a town in Veliko ...
was a professional
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
player. She died on 4 May 2014, of liver cancer, aged 30.
Baltacha was married to Oksana. His and Olga's son,
Sergei Jr, was also a professional footballer, who played for
St Mirren and
Millwall
Millwall is a district on the western and southern side of the Isle of Dogs, in east London, England, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It lies to the immediate south of Canary Wharf and Limehouse, north of Greenwich and Deptford, eas ...
as well as being capped at U-21 level for
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
.
Born in the
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
part of the Soviet Union, Baltacha regards himself to be multi-national. His career achievements resulted in him being inducted into the Viktor Leonenko Hall of Fame in March 2012. Baltacha has stated in interview "I’m a citizen of the Soviet Union, but I love Ukraine. As for now, I’ve been in the United Kingdom for over 23 years, it’s my home. But I still go back to Ukraine regularly. It’s a beautiful country with good, kind people. I want to see it become more like European countries. But, I don’t think it has to lose ties with Russia, we are similar people, it’s in our blood".
Career statistics
International goals
References
External links
Profile on the Pride of Anglia WebsiteSt Johnstone fansite Blue Heaven's interview with Baltacha
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baltacha, Sergei
1958 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Mariupol
1982 FIFA World Cup players
FC Dynamo Kyiv players
Ukrainian emigrants to the United Kingdom
Footballers at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. managers
Inverness Caledonian Thistle F.C. players
Ipswich Town F.C. players
FC Metalist Kharkiv players
Olympic bronze medalists for the Soviet Union
Olympic footballers of the Soviet Union
Scottish Football League players
Soviet footballers
Soviet Top League players
Soviet Union international footballers
St Johnstone F.C. players
English Football League players
UEFA Euro 1988 players
Ukrainian football managers
Ukrainian expatriate football managers
Ukrainian footballers
Ukrainian expatriate footballers
Expatriate footballers in England
Expatriate footballers in Scotland
Expatriate football managers in Scotland
Soviet expatriate footballers
Soviet expatriate sportspeople in England
Soviet expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Ukrainian expatriate sportspeople in Scotland
Olympic medalists in football
Caledonian F.C. players
Scottish Football League managers
Charlton Athletic F.C. non-playing staff
Medalists at the 1980 Summer Olympics
Association football defenders
Association football coaches
Recipients of the Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class