Valentin Kozmich Ivanov (, 19 November 1934 – 8 November 2011) was a Russian

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. He was the co- leading scorer at the 1962 World Cup, and the co-

1960 European Nations' Cup The 1960 European Nations' Cup was the inaugural tournament of the UEFA European Championship, held every four years and organised by UEFA. The first tournament was held in France. It was won by the Soviet Union, who beat Yugoslavia 2–1 in Par ...

top scorer. Ivanov appeared 59 times for the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, scoring 26 goals. He is the Soviet national football team's third-highest goalscorer of all time, behind only

Oleg Blokhin Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin (, ; born 5 November 1952), is a Ukrainian former football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Blokhin was a standout striker for Dynamo ...

and

Oleg Protasov Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov (; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the 1980s; his 28 goals for the Soviet Union are second ...

. One of the finest Russian players ever, Ivanov was noted for his pace,

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. As ...

quality and technical ability. Ivanov's four goals in the 1962 World Cup saw him named the tournament's top-scorer, along with five other players; he also scored one in the 1958 edition. He spent most of his club career with

Torpedo Moscow Football Club Torpedo Moscow (, ''FK Torpedo Moskva''), known as Torpedo Moscow, is a Russian professional association football, football club based in Moscow. The club will return to the Russian Premier League in the 2025–26 season. Their c ...

, scoring 124 goals in 286 appearances in the Soviet Championship, the 9th all-time best record.

Personal life and death

Ivanov married Lidiya Ivanova, an Olympic champion in gymnastics in 1956 and 1960. Their son, also named

Valentin Valentin is a male given name meaning "strong, healthy, power, rule". It comes from the Latin name ''Valentinus'', as in Saint Valentin. Commonly found in Argentina, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Romania, Russia, Scandinavia, Ukraine, Latin A ...

(born 1961), is a retired international football

referee A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other title ...

. Ivanov died on 8 November 2011, shortly before his 77th birthday, following a long struggle with

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Soviet Union's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Ivanov goal.''

Honours

Torpedo Moscow *

Soviet Top League The Soviet Top League, known after 1970 as the Higher League (), served as the top division (tier) of Soviet Union football from 1936 until 1991. The league's name was a conditional designation used for brevity since being completely owned and g ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

Soviet Cup The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (),, , , (Moldovan Cyrillic: Купа УРСС), , , . was the premier football cup competition in the Soviet Union conducted by the Football Federation of the Soviet Union. The 1991–92 season of the tournam ...

Soviet Union *

UEFA European Football Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

, runner-up

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

Olympic Gold Medal 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 bet ...

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

Individual * The best 33 football players of the Soviet Union (12): No. 1 (1955, 1957-1964); No. 2 (1953, 1956, 1965) * UEFA European Championship Golden Boot:

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament At the end of each UEFA European Championship tournament, several awards are attributed to the players and teams which have distinguished from the rest, in different aspects of the game. Awards There are currently five post-tournament awards, a ...

* FIFA World Cup Top Scorer:

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

* UEFA Jubilee Poll (2004): #45

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ivanov, Valentin Kozmich 1934 births 2011 deaths Soviet football managers Russian football managers Russian expatriate football managers Olympic footballers for the Soviet Union Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union Soviet men's footballers Russian men's footballers Soviet Top League players FC Torpedo Moscow players Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics 1958 FIFA World Cup players 1960 European Nations' Cup players 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1964 European Nations' Cup players UEFA European Championship–winning players Soviet Union men's international footballers FC Torpedo Moscow managers FC Presnya Moscow managers FC Moscow managers Russian Premier League managers Expatriate football managers in Morocco Olympic medalists in football Deaths from dementia in Russia Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Footballers from Moscow Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Men's association football midfielders 20th-century Russian sportsmen