Valery Voronin

Valery Voronin
Personal information
Full nameValery Ivanovich Voronin
Date of birth17 July 1939
Place of birthMoscow, USSR
Date of death19 May 1984 (aged 44)
Place of deathMoscow, USSR
Height1.81 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing positionDefensive Midfielder
Youth career
1952"Kauchuk" factory team
1953–1954FC Torpedo Moscow
1955–1957FShM Moscow
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1958–1969FC Torpedo Moscow219(26)
National team
1960–1968USSR63(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Valery Ivanovich Voronin (Russian: Валерий Иванович Воронин; 17 July 1939 in Moscow – 22 May 1984 in Moscow) was a Soviet footballer who represented Torpedo Moscow and the Soviet national team. He was a versatile defensive midfielder whose impressive technical abilities and hard tackling made him one of the most complete midfielders of the 1960s. He was also capable of playing as a central defender.

Early life

Valery Voronin was born in Moscow, on 17 July 1939. He started playing football in the child team of the Kauchuk factory in 1952. Then Valery moved to the famous FShM, the youth football school that raised many famous players like Igor Chislenko, Vladimir Fedotov. He played for FShM while in 1958 he joined Torpedo Moscow.

Career

During his club career he played for FC Torpedo Moscow, winning the championship twice and was Soviet Footballer of the Year in 1964 and 1965. Between 1960 and 1968 Voronin earned 63 caps and scored 5 goals for the USSR national football team, and represented the country in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups. Voronin was considered an individualist which at times conflicted with the ethos of his national team. During the summer of 1968 he was involved in a serious car accident from which he recovered physically but which left him psychologically scarred. He became a heavy drinker and in May 1984 was found murdered. The investigation into his murder never turned up any leads.

Honours

References