Viktor Aleksandrovich Maslov (; April 27, 1910 in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

– May 11, 1977) was a Soviet and 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 ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He was especially notable during his coaching career. He won numerous USSR Championships with clubs

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 ...

Dynamo Kyiv The Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known as Dynamo Kyiv, or simply Dynamo, ( ) 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 ...

, and one with

FC Ararat Yerevan Football Club Ararat Yerevan (), commonly known as Ararat Yerevan, is an Armenia, Armenian professional Association football, football club based in Yerevan that plays in the Armenian Premier League. Since 1999 the club has been owned by the Sw ...

Career

He is often seen as being one of the most innovative and influential football managers of all time. He was the first to experiment with players' nutrition, and invented the

4-4-2 formation In association football, the formation of a team refers to the position players take in relation to each other on a pitch. As association football is a fluid and fast-moving game, a player's position (with the exception of the goalkeeper) in a ...

, along with the notion of pressing, which, in the words of Jonathan Wilson "may be seen as the birth of modern football".guardian.co.uk – The end of forward thinking
/ref> Wilson credits Maslov as one of the progenitors of the pressing game. This was a key development, as before Maslov, teams tended to allow their opponents more time on the ball, whereas Maslov's strategy of pressing denied players this time and space, and led to the game based more on speed and fitness that is common across the top European and South American leagues today.

References

1910 births 1977 deaths Footballers from Moscow Communist Party of the Soviet Union members FC Ararat Yerevan managers FC Dynamo Kyiv managers FC SKA Rostov-on-Don managers FC Torpedo Moscow managers FC Torpedo Moscow players FC Torpedo NN Nizhny Novgorod players FC Zimbru Chișinău managers Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Men's association football midfielders {{Russia-footy-bio-stub Soviet football managers Soviet men's footballers