Valeriy Lobanovskyi had a brilliant career at Dynamo Kyiv, but it was his managerial stint with the club that made him a household name and cemented his legendary status. He would go on to manage the club in three different stints, but Lobanovskyi was the definition of Dynamo Kyiv. He understood the club like no other and created a new idea that would become a staple part of modern football.
Growing up during the Soviet era, Lobanovskyi was well educated and embraced the idea of collectivism rather than individualism. During his managerial stints, he was able to get his message across to his players that no one player was greater than the team. He was able to blend philosophy, history, and science into the sport of football that would change how the game would be perceived forever.
Lobanovskyi’s career in management was a rapid one. Once he retired from football after his brief stint at Shakhtar Donetsk, he was immediately hired as the manager for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. He immediately made his name known showing the world how he belongs in the football managing world and it caught the attention of his former club, Dynamo Kyiv. After another successful campaign during the 1972/73 season with Dnipro, Dynamo Kyiv has convinced their former player was the right man to lead the club as their manager, and their intuition was absolutely correct.
This was Lobanovskyi’s first stint as Dynamo Kyiv’s manager where he managed the club from 1973-1982 and he immediately made his presence known winning five Soviet Top League titles during that span. He would also go on to win three Soviet Cup titles as well as UEFA Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and the USSR Super Cup.
He also managed the Soviet Union to a Bronze medal in the 1976 Olympics and it’s a testament to his ability to manage club and country at the same time.
What made Lobanovskyi stand out from his peers and made him so successful was his ability to incorporate technology into his training methods. Modern technology was at its infant stage when Lobanovskyi first took over as manager of Dynamo Kyiv. But that didn’t stop him from being intrigued and learning the technology to gain more information to make his team better. He was always a willing learner and his background in engineering allowed him to infuse technology with football seamlessly.
He introduced a scientific and analytical approach to the game with a strong emphasis on fitness and diet for his players. With technology at its infancy, Lobanovskyi used everything at his disposal to gain an advantage where other teams were lagging behind. In order to have the players perform at their best for each game, he understood and recognized that their fitness levels would need to be in tip-top shape. And in order for them to be in tip-top shape, the players would need to eat well and not have unnecessary substances in their body that would deteriorate it. He understood it wasn’t all about statistical analysis and training to be the best, it was also about the science behind it that allows the players to perform at their very best each game.
He even had the help from Anatoly Zelentsov, a scientist from the department of physical education theory of Kyiv State Institute of Physical Education, who helped Lobanovskyi create an accurate system of calculation of the training process and data for the physical load for the players. This would help Lobanovskyi manage the game and his players effectively and, thus, was credited for having his team in a top physical condition capable of fulfilling the tactical ideas to the fullest.
This idea of a proper diet and having the players in top physical condition was very much new at the time and it paid dividends for his team that allow his team to be so dominant.
But it wasn’t just his innovative idea that allowed him to be a successful manager. He was a brilliant tactician too. His team played a very heavy pressing style that needed everyone to move as a unit in order to effectively press the opponents. His idea of collectivism shined in the press where if one isn’t able to press effectively, then the whole defensive and counter-attacking scheme would fall apart. Moving as a collective unit offensively and defensively would be the key to success over individual heroics.
The reason why Lobanovskyi emphasized heavy pressing is because he wanted the opposition to be under constant pressure and play at his team’s pace. It was to create a numerical advantage for his players where the ball was and to deny space and time on the ball for his opposition and force them to make mistakes. And when mistakes happened, it allowed his team in a counter-attacking situation. And the focus of his counter-attacking play, once the ball was dispossessed, was to have the ball quickly played up to the strikers or the attacking fullbacks before the defense can be organized and catch them off guard. But the main focal point of the counterattack is the first seconds of the attack after winning the ball. He stressed that this timing window is crucial because the opposition is less ready to defend in an organized manner.
“The System” or the collective wasn’t perfect. But he believed as long as the team followed the game plan and the system, they had a better chance to win than making it up as the game went on. He was also ridiculed for playing defensively by the Soviet Press during his first season (or the away model where a team would play defensively for away games to snatch a draw). But that didn’t stop Lobanovskyi to put his team in the best position to not only win games but also not lose games.
And while his preferred position was the 4-1-3-2 formation, the strikers would be versatile and sometimes play on the flanks without a proper forward to be the playmakers on offense and press effectively on the press. The dynamic duo of Oleg Blokhin and Volodymyr Onyshchenko shined in this system where they were tasked to be an all-around player during his first stint in 1975, Blokhin or Oleg Protasov and Igor Belanov in 1986, and Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov in 1999.
The strikers were the focal point for the attack, but also on defense. They would be the first line of defense pressing the opposition relentlessly. The striker’s versatility was key in Lobanovskyi’s system where they were tasked to organize attacks as playmakers, join the midfield in defensive formations, and dropping deep to help fullbacks in the flank. With his focus on strikers and their importance, Lobanovskyi was credited for creating three Ballon d’Or winners in Oleg Blokhin, Igor Belanov, and Andriy Shevchenko.
The inventor of “Total Football” the players must be able to play offense and defense equally and effectively. He talked about the idea of “smart” universalization where if a striker is in an area where a right-back is normally occupied, then he should be able to perform in that area. That’s not to say that the striker will be playing as a fullback at some points. But if he is in that zone during the course of the game, he’ll be able to perform and know what is expected of him in that situation according to Lobanovskyi. The philosophical idea of collectivism over individualism was heavy in the teams he has managed.
He would go on to win 33 trophies in a 32-year managerial career with many managerial feats along the way. He has the most Soviet Top League titles, as well as the most Soviet Cup, wins and USSR Super Cup wins. He is one of two to win the Club Winners’ Cup twice with the same team and the only manager to win a major European competition with an Eastern European club twice. And is the only manager to win the Ukrainian championship five times out of five.
An illustrious managerial career and one of the most decorated managers of the 20th century, Lobanovskyi leaves behind a legacy that forever changed the landscape of how football is perceived. His innovative ideas of diet and nutrition in order to have his players in top physical shape allowed the next generation of managers to adopt that idea, most notably Arsene Wenger. His utilization of analytics was way ahead of his time, but he wasn’t robotic and dictatorial. He was a psychologist in a way treating his players as people and with respect as long as they respected and bought into the way he manages. He was way ahead of his time incorporating new and different ideas with Dynamo Kyiv and his Dynamo Kyiv team will forever be in the history books as the best Eastern European team in the history of football.
Growing up during the Soviet era, Lobanovskyi was well educated and embraced the idea of collectivism rather than individualism. During his managerial stints, he was able to get his message across to his players that no one player was greater than the team. He was able to blend philosophy, history, and science into the sport of football that would change how the game would be perceived forever.
Lobanovskyi’s career in management was a rapid one. Once he retired from football after his brief stint at Shakhtar Donetsk, he was immediately hired as the manager for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. He immediately made his name known showing the world how he belongs in the football managing world and it caught the attention of his former club, Dynamo Kyiv. After another successful campaign during the 1972/73 season with Dnipro, Dynamo Kyiv has convinced their former player was the right man to lead the club as their manager, and their intuition was absolutely correct.
This was Lobanovskyi’s first stint as Dynamo Kyiv’s manager where he managed the club from 1973-1982 and he immediately made his presence known winning five Soviet Top League titles during that span. He would also go on to win three Soviet Cup titles as well as UEFA Cup Winners Cup, UEFA Super Cup, and the USSR Super Cup.
He also managed the Soviet Union to a Bronze medal in the 1976 Olympics and it’s a testament to his ability to manage club and country at the same time.
What made Lobanovskyi stand out from his peers and made him so successful was his ability to incorporate technology into his training methods. Modern technology was at its infant stage when Lobanovskyi first took over as manager of Dynamo Kyiv. But that didn’t stop him from being intrigued and learning the technology to gain more information to make his team better. He was always a willing learner and his background in engineering allowed him to infuse technology with football seamlessly.
He introduced a scientific and analytical approach to the game with a strong emphasis on fitness and diet for his players. With technology at its infancy, Lobanovskyi used everything at his disposal to gain an advantage where other teams were lagging behind. In order to have the players perform at their best for each game, he understood and recognized that their fitness levels would need to be in tip-top shape. And in order for them to be in tip-top shape, the players would need to eat well and not have unnecessary substances in their body that would deteriorate it. He understood it wasn’t all about statistical analysis and training to be the best, it was also about the science behind it that allows the players to perform at their very best each game.
He even had the help from Anatoly Zelentsov, a scientist from the department of physical education theory of Kyiv State Institute of Physical Education, who helped Lobanovskyi create an accurate system of calculation of the training process and data for the physical load for the players. This would help Lobanovskyi manage the game and his players effectively and, thus, was credited for having his team in a top physical condition capable of fulfilling the tactical ideas to the fullest.
This idea of a proper diet and having the players in top physical condition was very much new at the time and it paid dividends for his team that allow his team to be so dominant.
But it wasn’t just his innovative idea that allowed him to be a successful manager. He was a brilliant tactician too. His team played a very heavy pressing style that needed everyone to move as a unit in order to effectively press the opponents. His idea of collectivism shined in the press where if one isn’t able to press effectively, then the whole defensive and counter-attacking scheme would fall apart. Moving as a collective unit offensively and defensively would be the key to success over individual heroics.
The reason why Lobanovskyi emphasized heavy pressing is because he wanted the opposition to be under constant pressure and play at his team’s pace. It was to create a numerical advantage for his players where the ball was and to deny space and time on the ball for his opposition and force them to make mistakes. And when mistakes happened, it allowed his team in a counter-attacking situation. And the focus of his counter-attacking play, once the ball was dispossessed, was to have the ball quickly played up to the strikers or the attacking fullbacks before the defense can be organized and catch them off guard. But the main focal point of the counterattack is the first seconds of the attack after winning the ball. He stressed that this timing window is crucial because the opposition is less ready to defend in an organized manner.
“The System” or the collective wasn’t perfect. But he believed as long as the team followed the game plan and the system, they had a better chance to win than making it up as the game went on. He was also ridiculed for playing defensively by the Soviet Press during his first season (or the away model where a team would play defensively for away games to snatch a draw). But that didn’t stop Lobanovskyi to put his team in the best position to not only win games but also not lose games.
And while his preferred position was the 4-1-3-2 formation, the strikers would be versatile and sometimes play on the flanks without a proper forward to be the playmakers on offense and press effectively on the press. The dynamic duo of Oleg Blokhin and Volodymyr Onyshchenko shined in this system where they were tasked to be an all-around player during his first stint in 1975, Blokhin or Oleg Protasov and Igor Belanov in 1986, and Andriy Shevchenko and Serhiy Rebrov in 1999.
The strikers were the focal point for the attack, but also on defense. They would be the first line of defense pressing the opposition relentlessly. The striker’s versatility was key in Lobanovskyi’s system where they were tasked to organize attacks as playmakers, join the midfield in defensive formations, and dropping deep to help fullbacks in the flank. With his focus on strikers and their importance, Lobanovskyi was credited for creating three Ballon d’Or winners in Oleg Blokhin, Igor Belanov, and Andriy Shevchenko.
The inventor of “Total Football” the players must be able to play offense and defense equally and effectively. He talked about the idea of “smart” universalization where if a striker is in an area where a right-back is normally occupied, then he should be able to perform in that area. That’s not to say that the striker will be playing as a fullback at some points. But if he is in that zone during the course of the game, he’ll be able to perform and know what is expected of him in that situation according to Lobanovskyi. The philosophical idea of collectivism over individualism was heavy in the teams he has managed.
He would go on to win 33 trophies in a 32-year managerial career with many managerial feats along the way. He has the most Soviet Top League titles, as well as the most Soviet Cup, wins and USSR Super Cup wins. He is one of two to win the Club Winners’ Cup twice with the same team and the only manager to win a major European competition with an Eastern European club twice. And is the only manager to win the Ukrainian championship five times out of five.
An illustrious managerial career and one of the most decorated managers of the 20th century, Lobanovskyi leaves behind a legacy that forever changed the landscape of how football is perceived. His innovative ideas of diet and nutrition in order to have his players in top physical shape allowed the next generation of managers to adopt that idea, most notably Arsene Wenger. His utilization of analytics was way ahead of his time, but he wasn’t robotic and dictatorial. He was a psychologist in a way treating his players as people and with respect as long as they respected and bought into the way he manages. He was way ahead of his time incorporating new and different ideas with Dynamo Kyiv and his Dynamo Kyiv team will forever be in the history books as the best Eastern European team in the history of football.