Oleksandr Ponomariov (Russian: Александр Семёнович Пономарёв; ua, Олександр Семенович Пономарьов 23 April 1918 – 7 June 1973) was a

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 ...

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 ...

football player and manager.

Career

Ponomarev was born in

Horlivka Horlivka ( , ; uk, Го́рлівка ), or Gorlovka (russian: link=no, Горловка ), is a city of regional significance in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. In 2001, the city's population was 292,000, and it was estimated as Economic activi ...

(near

Donetsk Donetsk ( , ; uk, Донецьк, translit=Donets'k ; russian: Донецк ), formerly known as Aleksandrovka, Yuzivka (or Hughesovka), Stalin and Stalino (see also: cities' alternative names), is an industrial city in eastern Ukraine loca ...

Ukrainian People's Republic The Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR), or Ukrainian National Republic (UNR), was a country in Eastern Europe that existed between 1917 and 1920. It was declared following the February Revolution in Russia by the First Universal. In March 1 ...

. As a player, in the course of his career, he won the

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 ...

in 1949 with

Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (russian: link=no, ФК "Торпедо" Москва, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow that was founded in 1924 and returned to the Russian Pre ...

, and scored 152 goals in 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 ...

. He was the top scorer of the league in 1946. He spent the last two seasons of his playing career in Shakhtar Stalino where he captained the team to the third place in the Soviet Top League in 1951 (the highest achievement of the team so far). In 1953 he started his manager career in Shakhtar Stalino. He helped the club win the

Soviet First League The Soviet First League in football (russian: Первая лига СССР по футболу) was the second highest division of Soviet football,Evgeni Kazakov. The Soviet First Football League (Первая лига СССР по футбо ...

in 1954 (earning them promotion back to the top league). In 1960-1961 he managed

Avangard Kharkov 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 year ...

, under him the club finished 6th in the

in 1961, their highest achievement so far. In 1962 he was made the manager of

FC Dynamo Moscow FC Dynamo Moscow (''FC Dynamo Moskva'', russian: Дина́мо Москва́ ) is a Russian football club based in Moscow. Dynamo returned to the Russian Premier League for the 2017–18 season after one season in the second-tier Russian Foot ...

, which finished 11th in the previous season, and which he led to a victory in the

in 1963. He was the head coach of the

Soviet Union national football team The Soviet Union national football team ( rus, сбо́рная СССР по футбо́лу, r=sbórnaya SSSR po futbólu) was the national football team of the former Soviet Union. After the breakup of the Union the team was transformed i ...

in 1972, leading the team to second place in

UEFA Euro 1972 The 1972 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in Belgium. This was the fourth UEFA European Championship, held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. The final tournament took place between 14 and 18 June 1972. Only four ...

, and to a bronze medal at the 1972 Olympic Games. He died at age 55 in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

References

ProfileBrief biography at ukrsoccerhistory.com
*Banyas, V.
Oleksandr Ponomariov: how we will celebrate centurial of the legend (Олександр Пономарьов: як відзначимо століття легенди?)
'.

Ukrainian Premier League The Ukrainian Premier League ( uk, "Українська Прем'єр-ліга", ''Ukrayinska Premier Liha'') or UPL is the highest division of Ukrainian annual football championship. As the Vyshcha Liha ( uk, Вища ліга, ''Top League' ...

. 14 March 2018 1918 births 1973 deaths People from Horlivka Soviet footballers Ukrainian footballers Association football forwards Soviet Top League players FC Rotor Volgograd players FC Shakhtar Donetsk players FC Torpedo Moscow players Soviet football managers FC Shakhtar Donetsk managers FC Metalist Kharkiv managers FC Dynamo Moscow managers FC Ararat Yerevan managers Soviet Union national football team managers Soviet Top League managers Soviet First League managers UEFA Euro 1972 managers Merited Coaches of the Soviet Union Honoured Masters of Sport of the USSR Sportspeople from Donetsk Oblast {{USSR-footy-bio-stub