Former Dynamo Kyiv and Russian national football team coach Boris Ignatiev has died at his home in Moscow at the age of 85, RIA Novosti reports. Legendary football player and coach Volodymyr Muntyan passed away earlier.
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In December 2024, the specialist was diagnosed with stomach cancer. Shortly before his death, he underwent another operation, after which the doctors discharged him from the hospital. On the night of January 27, the former coach felt unwell again. The doctors, who were called by the specialist's relatives, arrived when Ignatiev died.
Without becoming a famous football player (only 7 matches in the highest league of the Soviet Union as part of Gorky's Volga), the pupil of Moscow's Spartak achieved success in the coaching field. Under the leadership of Ignatiev, the youth team of the Soviet Union (U18) became the European champion. Boris Ignatiev worked in the coaching staff of the Russian national team when it was led by Pavel Sadyrin, and then Oleg Romantsev. In 1996, he became the head coach of the team, but was unable to lead the Russians to the 1998 World Cup.
The specialist also worked with a number of Russian clubs, as well as teams from the UAE, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and China. In 2010-2012, Boris Ignatiev was part of Yuri Semin's coaching staff at Dynamo Kyiv.
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“He was a very big figure in football,” Yuri Semin reacted to the death of his comrade and friend. “Probably, no one will set such records again. All 33 football players who played for him in youth teams went on to play for the national team. He is an outstanding coach, a close friend. Of course, football has lost a great one.
“My condolences to his family, who have been doing everything they can lately to get him well. But such is life. A great loss for football.”
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Previously, “FACTS” reported that The legendary Soviet football player, who was the oldest living Olympic champion, has died.
Photo of FC Dynamo, from social networks