Oleg Blokhin

Oleg Blokhin
Blokhin as manager of Dynamo Kyiv in 2014
Personal information
Full name Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin /
Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin
Date of birth (1952-11-05) 5 November 1952 (age 71)
Place of birth Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Kyiv, Ukraine)
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1962–1969 Dynamo Kyiv
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1969–1988 Dynamo Kyiv 432 (211)
1988–1989 Vorwärts Steyr 41 (9)
1989–1990 Aris Limassol 22 (5)
Total 495 (225)
International career
1972–1988 Soviet Union 112 (42)
Managerial career
1990–1993 Olympiacos
1993–1994 PAOK
1994–1997 Ionikos
1998 PAOK
1998–1999 AEK Athens
2000–2002 Ionikos
2003–2007 Ukraine
2007–2008 Moscow
2011–2012 Ukraine
2012–2014 Dynamo Kyiv
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Soviet Union
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 1972 Munich Team competition
Bronze medal – third place 1976 Montreal Team competition
UEFA European U-23 Championships[1]
Runner-up 1972 Europe
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Oleg Vladimirovich Blokhin, or Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin (Ukrainian: Оле́г Володи́мирович Блохі́н, Russian: Оле́г Влади́мирович Блохи́н; born 5 November 1952), is a Ukrainian and Soviet former football player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of his generation, Blokhin was a standout striker for Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet Union.[2]

He holds the all-time top goalscorer record for both Dynamo Kyiv (266 goals) and the Soviet Union national team (42 goals), as well as being the overall top goalscorer in the history of the Soviet Top League (211 goals). He is also the only player to have been capped over 100 times for the Soviet Union and holds Dynamo's appearance record with 582 appearances during his 18-year spell at the club. With Dynamo, Blokhin won eight Soviet league titles, five national cups and two European Cup Winners' Cups. He also competed for the Soviet Union at the 1972 and 1976 Olympic Games and 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups. During his playing career he won the Soviet Footballer of the Year award three times and the Ukrainian Footballer of the Year award nine times (both records). In 1975, he was named European Footballer of the Year, winning the Ballon d'Or, becoming the second Soviet and the first Ukrainian player to achieve such a feat.

As a coach, he has had two spells in charge of the Ukraine national team, managing the team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012.

In 2011, Blokhin, together with Igor Belanov and Vitaliy Starukhin were named as "the legends of Ukrainian football" at the Victory of Football awards.[3]

Early life

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Blokhin was born in Kyiv, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, in 1952. His mother Kateryna Adamenko was multiple champion of USSR in the pentathlon, sprint and long jump. He was born to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother. His father Vladimir Blokhin was a police officer, a World War II veteran, and a competitive sprinter. Owing to his parents, Blokhin quickly mastered sprint, and by the age of 16 ran 60 m in less than 7 seconds, and 100 m in 11.0 seconds.[4]

Playing career

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Blokhin was one of the greatest players in the world throughout the 1970s, hitting the target regularly through a period of great success at his hometown club Dynamo Kyiv and becoming the greatest goalscorer in the history of the Soviet League, which was one of Europe's strongest. Normally a forward or winger, Blokhin was most renowned for possessing exceptional pace.

Blokhin played during most of his career for Dynamo Kyiv, becoming the USSR national championship's all-time leader and goalscorer with 211 goals, as well as making more appearances than any other player with 432 appearances. He won the championship 8 times. He led Dynamo to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1975 and 1986, scoring a goal in each final. Blokhin is also the USSR national football team's most capped player with 112 caps, as well as their all-time leading goalscorer with 42 goals; he played in the 1982 and 1986 FIFA World Cups where he scored one goal in each. He was one of the first Soviet players to play abroad, signing for Austria's Vorwärts Steyr in 1988, he also played in Cyprus with Aris.

In 1979 Blokhin played a couple of games for Ukraine at the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR.[5]

Coaching career

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After retiring as a player, Blokhin coached Greek clubs Olympiacos (Under him they won the Greek Cup and the Greek Super Cup in 1992), PAOK, AEK Athens, and Ionikos.

He began serving as the head coach of the Ukraine national team in September 2003.[6] Under his leadership, Ukraine qualified for a major tournament for the first time as an independent nation, reaching the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany. Ukraine reached the quarter-finals of the tournament, losing to eventual champions Italy. Following the side's failure to reach UEFA Euro 2008, Blokhin stepped down as coach on 6 December 2007.[7]

On 14 December 2007, he was named head coach of FC Moscow.[8] The club finished 9th (from 16) and after the season ended Blokhin was fired from the club.[9] At the end of the season, Blokhin announced that if he knew how things would go in FC Moscow, he would have never signed there. This was because the club released many important players without Blokhin's permission yet still had many high expectations.[10] Others said that the reason Blokhin failed in FC Moscow was that he and the press didn't have a friendly relationship, and because of that the press was constantly attacking Blokhin and that damaged his status among the players.[11]

On 21 April 2011, Blokhin was again appointed head coach of the Ukraine national team.[12][13] He led the team in UEFA Euro 2012 on home soil, beating Sweden but exiting at the group stage after defeats to France and England.

Blokhin in 2012

On 25 September 2012, Dynamo Kyiv signed Blokhin to lead the club for the next four years.[14] His final matches in charge of Ukraine were World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Montenegro in October 2012.[15] Blokhin was dismissed as Dynamo's manager by the club's President Ihor Surkis on 17 April 2014 because of the "unsatisfactory results of the team".[14] The day before, in a press conference after Dynamo had lost a match against Shakhtar Donetsk, Blokhin had already stated that he had decided to resign.[14] Under his leadership Dynamo never qualified (a rare occasion for the club) for the UEFA Champions League and performed poorly in the UEFA Europa League.[14] In his first year his team finished third in the Ukrainian Premier League and in his second year (when he was fired) Dynamo was seven points behind Ukrainian Premier League leaders Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk and Shakhtar Donetsk.[14]

Politics

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In 1998 Blokhin was elected to Verkhovna Rada (Ukraine's parliament) for Hromada.[16] He joined Hromada while still being a member of the Communist Party of Ukraine.[16] In 2002, Blokhin was elected to Verkhovna Rada for a second term. In October 2002, he joined the United Social Democratic Party of Ukraine.

Family

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Blokhin's father, Volodymyr Blokhin, is a native of Moscow, a veteran of the World War II, survivor of the Leningrad blockade, and a former Soviet law enforcement agent. He later worked as a sports functionary for the Soviet Dynamo Society. Blokhin's mother Kateryna Adamenko is from Nebrat village in Borodianka Raion, Kyiv Oblast. She originally worked at a Kyiv sewing factory, but eventually discovered hidden athletic talents and became the Soviet champion in track and field as well as pentathlon. After retiring from sports, she became a staff member at one of Kyiv's universities.

Blokhin was married to Irina Deriugina, a top coach and former world champion in rhythmic gymnastics, but the couple divorced in the early 1990s. Blokhin and Deriugina have a daughter, singer Iryna Blokhina, who wrote and performed the Euro 2012 anthem.[17]

Blokhin and his second wife, Angela, have two daughters, Hanna (born 2001) and Katerina (born 2002).[18]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Europe Super Cup Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dynamo Kyiv 1969 1 0 1 0
1970 1 0 1 0
1971 1 0 1 0
1972 27 14 2 0 6 1 35 15
1973 29 18 8 4 5 1 42 23
1974 29 20 4 3 9 5 42 28
1975 28 18 8 5 36 23
1976 19 8 1 0 8 2 28 10
1977 29 17 3 2 2 0 1 0 35 19
1978 26 13 8 4 4 0 38 17
1979 24 17 6 1 4 1 34 19
1980 33 19 7 3 2 0 42 22
1981 29 19 7 3 6 1 1 0 43 23
1982 24 10 3 0 4 0 31 10
1983 31 10 1 0 2 0 34 10
1984 30 10 6 2 36 12
1985 29 12 2 1 9 5 40 18
1986 23 2 5 5 8 5 1 0 37 12
1987 20 4 3 1 2 0 1 0 26 5
Total 432 211 67 29 79 26 4 0 582 266
SK Vorwärts Steyr 1987–88 13 5 13 5
1988–89 28 4 1 1 29 5
Total 41 9 1 1 42 10
Aris Limassol 1989–90 22 5 6 2 28 7
Career total 495 225 74 32 79 26 4 0 652 283
  • The statistics in USSR Cups and Europe is made under the scheme "autumn-spring" and enlisted in a year of start of tournaments

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[19]
National team Year Apps Goals
Soviet Union 1972 9 8
1973 10 1
1974 3 0
1975 7 2
1976 12 4
1977 10 4
1978 10 6
1979 5 1
1980 2 1
1981 6 5
1982 9 2
1983 9 5
1984 3 1
1985 4 0
1986 11 2
1987 1 0
1988 1 0
Total 112 42
Scores and results list the Soviet Union's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Blokhin goal.
List of international goals scored by Oleg Blokhin
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 16 July 1972 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Finland 1–0 1–1 Friendly
2 6 August 1972 Råsunda Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden  Sweden 4–3 4–4 Friendly
3 1972-09-01 Jahnstadion, Regensburg, West Germany  Mexico 1–0 4–1 1972 Olympics
4 2–0
5 3–0
6 5 September 1972 Rosenaustadion, Augsburg, West Germany  Poland 1–0 1–2 1972 Olympics
7 8 September 1972 Rosenaustadion, Augsburg, West Germany  Denmark 3–0 4–0 1972 Olympics
8 10 September 1972 Olympic Stadium, Munich, West Germany  East Germany 1–0 2–2 1972 Olympics
9 26 May 1973 Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union  France 1–0 2–0 1972 FIFA World Cup qualification
10 2 April 1975 Kyiv Central Stadium, Kyiv, Soviet Union  Turkey 3–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
11 18 May 1975 Kyiv Central Stadium, Kyiv, Soviet Union  Republic of Ireland 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
12 10 March 1976 Všešportový areál, Košice, Czechoslovakia  Czechoslovakia 1–0 2–2 Friendly
13 24 March 1976 Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria  Bulgaria 3–0 3–0 Friendly
14 22 May 1976 Kyiv Central Stadium, Kyiv  Czechoslovakia 2–2 2–2 UEFA Euro 1976 qualification
15 23 July 1976 Lansdowne Park, Ottawa, Canada  North Korea 3–0 3–0 1976 Olympics
16 1977-03-23 JNA Stadium, Belgrade, Yugoslavia  Yugoslavia 1–0 4–2 Friendly
17 3–1
18 1977-09-07 Central Stadium, Volgograd, Soviet Union  Poland 3–1 4–1 Friendly
19 4–1
20 26 February 1978 Stade El Harti, Marrakech, Morocco  Morocco 1–1 3–2 Friendly
21 1978-04-05 Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Soviet Union  Finland 4–0 10–2 Friendly
22 6–0
23 9–1
24 14 May 1978 Stadionul 23 August, Bucharest, Romania  Romania 1–0 1–0 Friendly
25 5 October 1978 Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadium, Ankara, Turkey  Turkey 2–0 2–0 Friendly
26 28 March 1979 Lokomotiv Stadium, Simferopol, Soviet Union  Bulgaria 1–0 3–1 Friendly
27 27 August 1980 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary  Hungary 1–1 4–1 Friendly
28 23 September 1981 Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow  Turkey 3–0 4–0 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification
29 1981-10-07 İzmir Atatürk Stadium, İzmir, Turkey  Turkey 2–0 3–0 1982 World Cup qualification
30 3–0
31 18 November 1981 Dinamo Stadium, Tbilisi, Soviet Union  Wales 2–0 3–0 1982 World Cup qualification
32 29 November 1981 Tehelné pole, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia  Czechoslovakia 1–0 1–1 1982 World Cup qualification
33 3 June 1982 Råsunda Stadion, Stockholm, Sweden  Sweden 1–0 1–1 Friendly
34 19 June 1982 Estadio La Rosaleda, Málaga, Spain  New Zealand 2–0 3–0 1982 FIFA World Cup
35 13 April 1983 Stade Olympique de la Pontaise, Lausanne, Switzerland   Switzerland 1–0 1–0 Friendly
36 17 May 1983 Praterstadion, Vienna, Austria  Austria 2–1 2–2 Friendly
37 1 June 1983 Helsinki Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland  Finland 1–0 1–0 UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
38 26 July 1983 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East Germany  East Germany 1–0 3–1 Friendly
39 9 October 1983 Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union  Poland 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 1984 qualification
40 19 August 1984 Kirov Stadium, Leningrad, Soviet Union  Mexico 3–0 3–0 Friendly
41 9 June 1986 Estadio Sergio León Chavez, Irapuato, Mexico  Canada 1–0 2–0 1986 FIFA World Cup
42 29 October 1986 Lokomotiv Stadium, Simferopol, Soviet Union  Norway 3–0 3–0 UEFA Euro 1988 qualification

Managerial statistics

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As of 5 November 2020
Team From To Record Achievement
G W D L Win %
Olympiacos 06/1990 01/1993 96 56 27 13 058.33 League runner-up in 1991, 1992, Cup holder in 1992
PAOK 1993 1994 40 19 11 10 047.50
Ionikos 12/1994 02/1997 82 29 18 35 035.37
PAOK 1998 1998 5 1 2 2 020.00
AEK Athens 11/1998 05/1999 24 16 4 4 066.67
Ionikos 03/2000 01/2002 71 23 18 30 032.39 Cup finalist in 2000
Ukraine 01/2003 12/2007 44 21 12 11 047.73 Won qual.group for 2006, Reached 2006 World Cup quarter-finals
Moscow 12/2007 11/2008 36 13 12 11 036.11
Ukraine 04/2011 2012 18 7 3 8 038.89 Eliminated at group stage of Euro 2012
Dynamo Kyiv 09/2012 03/2014 61 36 10 15 059.02
Total 06/1990 03/2014 477 221 117 139 046.33

Honours

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Dynamo Kyiv

Individual

Blokhin's Golden Foot, awarded in 2009

Ballon d'Or

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "RSSSF Results Archive". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  2. ^ "The 50 greatest footballers of all time | FourFourTwo". 7 January 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  3. ^ Dvali, Natalia (22 December 2011). "Лучшими футболистами Украины признаны Анатолий Тимощук, Андрей Шевченко и Александр Шовковский". Bulvar Gordona. Archived from the original on 25 July 2019. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  4. ^ Блохин и Беланов – главные спринтеры в истории футбола. Пиковый Блохин считался опаснее Кройффа и стоил как Марадона Archived 21 May 2021 at the Wayback Machine. sports.ru. 27 April 2008
  5. ^ "Футбольный турнир VII Летней Спартакиады народов СССР. Составы команд". 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 19 March 2015.
  6. ^ "Blokhin takes Ukraine reins". Union of European Football Associations. 18 September 2003. Retrieved 18 August 2024.
  7. ^ Soccer-Blokhin quits as Ukraine coach by Mikhail Volobuyev, Gennady Fyodorov and Ken Ferris, Reuters, 6 December 2007
  8. ^ FK Moscow hire former Ukraine manager Blokhin Archived 2 October 2012 at the Wayback Machine ESPNsoccernet 14 December 2007
  9. ^ Блохин освобожден от обязанностей главного тренера "Москвы" Archived 22 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Sports.ru. 26 November 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  10. ^ Олег Блохин: "Если бы знал, как будут делаться дела в команде, то весной бы не пришел в "Москву" Archived 22 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Sports.ru. 16 November 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  11. ^ Геннадий Литовченко: "Говорил Блохину, что его будут травить" Archived 22 September 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Sports.ru. 4 December 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  12. ^ Ukraine appoint Blokhin Archived 2 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Sky Sports (21 April 2011)
  13. ^ Oleg Blokhin appointed Ukraine coach, Reuters (21 April 2011)
  14. ^ a b c d e Dynamo president sacks Blokhin for poor performance, Interfax-Ukraine (17 April 2014)
  15. ^ Dynamo Kyiv signs Blokhin as coach for 4 years Archived 27 September 2012 at the Wayback Machine, Sports Illustrated (25 September 2012)
  16. ^ a b Oleh Blokhin: "I have scored all of my goals" Archived 13 February 2024 at the Wayback Machine, Den (1998)
  17. ^ Донька Блохіна заспіває гімн "Євро-2012" (The daughter of Blokhin will sing the Euro 2012 anthem) Archived 4 July 2012 at the Wayback Machine with photo. TabloID. 11 November 2011
  18. ^ Yuri Yuris (27 September 2002). Олег Блохин: Место В Истории [Oleg Blokhin: Place in History]. Sport-Express (in Russian). Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  19. ^ "Oleg Blokhin". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  20. ^ "Eastern European Footballer of the season". WebArchive. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Sport 1975". BigSoccer. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  22. ^ McCracken, Craig (7 November 2013). "Eric Batty's World XI – The Seventies". Beyond The Last Man. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2022.
  23. ^ "Legends". Golden Foot. Archived from the original on 25 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  24. ^ Cup Winners Cup Topscorers Archived 29 September 2022 at the Wayback Machine. Rsssf.com (18 December 2003). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  25. ^ European Champions' Cup 1986–87 – Details Archived 9 March 2023 at the Wayback Machine. Rsssf.com (17 January 2008). Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  26. ^ [1] Archived 17 March 2005 at the Wayback Machine
  27. ^ "UEFA Awards". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. 21 December 2006. Retrieved 12 March 2024.
  28. ^ "IFFHS announce the 48 football legend players". IFFHS. 25 January 2016. Archived from the original on 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
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