D is for Dynamo Kiev
The Ukraine
Football seems to have arrived in the Ukraine in much the same way that it was introduced to the rest of the world, it came from Britain. The game of football spread from its British origins at the end of the nineteenth century as a direct consequence of Britain’s seafaring dominance. Locals became intrigued by and then attempted to emulate the British sailors who would amuse themselves by having kick-arounds when their ships were docked in Odessa.
Hello Big Boy
It is certain that the British sailors played football in the Ukraine towards the end of the 1870s and within a very few years, it had captured the imagination of the whole region. The game started in the western Ukraine but quickly spread. One of the Soviet’s earliest sport writers, Professor Cenar, became an instant enthusiast for the new sport and in 1891, published an article entitled Sporting Games of School Youth. This talked about football development programmes being followed in various local schools.
Professor Cenar is also responsible for perhaps the most significant development in the history of the local game. He arranged through various academic contacts to have the first genuine football to be brought to the region from Britain. Soon this was quickly copied by local manufacturers.
In 1892, the Emperor Franz-Joseph came up with the idea of holding biennial fairs which would highlight local trade and culture. By this time, sport had become an integral part of the local culture and was therefore entitled to a place at the fair. Professor Cenar used his power of persuasion to convince the powers that be that football should be included. The first official football demonstration took place on 5 June 1892. This was by no means a competitive game, simply a demonstration of heading and ball juggling skills. This proved to be a huge success, so much so that two years later, the second fair was held at a newly built stadium with a 7000 capacity.
The new stadium was inaugurated with the first official football match to be played in the Ukraine when the two cities of Lviv and Krakow went head to head. Both teams wore white shirts and were only distinguishable by their trousers, Lviv wearing grey and Krakow blue.
By 1914, football had really taken off and the first international club match was played on Ukranian soil. Fenerbahce came to Odessa to undertake a good will tour, winning one, drawing one and losing three games. Such games raised the profile of the sport throughout the region and as a result, teams sparng up almost everywhere and soon the demand meant that competitions and leagues had to be established. Most of the teams came from existing sport clubs within factories, schools, offices and military units.
Dynamo is born
Nikolai Khanikov and Sergei Barminsky were two young policemen who were members of Dynamo, the sports club of the police and Ministry of Interior in Kiev. There were branches of this sport club in most major cities of the Soviet Union, the most notable being Dynamo Moscow whose football team was a major force in the Moscow championship. In November 1927, Khanikov and Narminsky set up Dynamo Kiev, then a team entirely composed of local police officers. Their first official match took place in July 1928 against Dynamo Moscow. Kiev lost the game 6-2. In 1929, the first international match in Dynamo Kiev’s history took place when Kiev lost 3-2 to Lower Austria. Although in later years Dynamo would become the pre-eminent team in the Ukraine and the Soviet Union, at its outset it was not even the best team in Kiev. Their local rivals Zheldor, also known as Lokomotiv, were the most powerful team in the area in the late 1920s. Zheldor were also primarly a works team made up largely of workers from the South Western Railway System. But the real power base in Ukranian football at that period was Kharkov.
However, the fortunes of Dynamo Kiev were about to improve dramatically. As the competitiveness of the leagues intensified, professionalism started to creep into the game. It became obvious that including only railwaymen and policemen was a flawed selection policy and led to frequent defeat. Talented players were spotted playing for other local clubs and would be offered terms by the bigger teams which invariably meant them being offered a job in the relevant sector. Dynamo Kiev were signing up professionals in the early 1930s but had the extraordinary fortune in discovering a crop of young men who would go on to be some of the best players in the country. See Slur Alex wasn’t the only one to have been looked on favourably by the gods. In 1932, Dynamo defeated Kharkov to land their first Ukranian Championship and as a result became the fashionable club, able to attract the best players.
What also helped was that Kiev the city was regaining some of its old eminence and in 1934 supplanted Kharkov as the capital of the Ukraine. Things were certainly looking up for Kiev and its football team.
The Match of Death
At 3am on 22 June 1941, German guns opened up on unprepared Soviet forces. Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union had begun. This was the very day that Dynamo Kiev was supposed to be celebrating the grand opening of its new Republic Sports Stadium. Unfortunately, future events would mean the players of Dynamo would witness much more serious consequences at the hands of the German forces.
After the Nazi occupation of the Ukraine began, the Dynamo team found employment in the city's Bakery No. 3, and played football on wasteland, where they were spotted by Germans and invited to play against an army team as Start (City of Kyiv All-Stars)’
Start comprised eight players from Dinamo and three players from Lokomotiv Kiev.
In July and August 1942 Start played a series of matches against German and allied sides. On July 12 a German army team was defeated. A stronger army team was selected for the next match on July 17, which Start defeated 6-0. On July 19 Start defeated the Hungarian team MSG Wal by 5-1. The Hungarians proposed a return match, held on July 26, but were defeated 3-2.
At this stage it appeared that Start were ready to be beaten, and a match was announced for August 6 against a "most powerful" "undefeated" German Luftwaffe team, but despite the game being talked up by the newspapers, they failed to report the 5-1 result.
Poster advertising the return match.
On August 9 Start played a "friendly" against the Luftwaffe and again defeated them. Start had beaten the pride of Germany in the Ukraine not once but twice in three days. They had embarrassed the German military command and attained mythical status with the Soviet citizens. What had been an attempt by the Germans to gain some positive propaganda had backfired. The Start players were openly flouting the authority of military rule. They were living too freely and their very liberty was a constant affront to the Reich. Every day that these men walked the streets was a victory for the Communists. Retribution, however, did not come immediately. On August 16, Start were allowed to play another game and defeated Rukh 8-0
After this the players were arrested by the Gestapo, tortured and sent to the nearby labour camp at Siretz.
In February 1943, following an attack by anti-German partisans, one-third of the prisoners at Siretz were killed in reprisal, including 3 Dynamo players. Three other players, who were in a work squad in the city that day, escaped and hid in the city until it was liberated. A monument to the players now resides at the entrance to the club’s stadium.
Bribery scandal
In 1995, Dynamo qualified to the Champions League by defeating AaB Aalborg in the qualification round. After their first match against Panathinaikos, however, Spanish referee Antonio López Nieto stated in the press that he was approached by two officials of Dynamo and was offered two fur coats and an amount of money. The club was immediately expelled from the competition, with Aalborg taking its place, though officials stated that in reality, the referee wanted to buy the coats, but refused to pay full price.
According to news reports UEFA had banned club's officials Igor Surkis (general manager) and Vasyliy Babiychuk (general secretary) from football for life. Apparently this decision was later reversed as Igor Surkis continued working in the club and when his brother Hryhoriy was elected president of FFU, became majority owner and chairman of Dynamo.
Stadium
The Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium is a multi-use stadium and is currently the home of Dynamo. The stadium holds 16,888 people, and was built in 1934. A reconstruction plan has been approved to increase the number of seats to 30,000, and to add a roof over the stand. The stadium is used for most domestic games and minor European games, while Dynamo play their major European games at the Olimpiysky Sport Complex, due to the limit of the current seating capacity at the Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium.
Honours
UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 2
UEFA Super Cup: 1
Ukrainian Championship: 11 (record)
Ukrainian Cup: 8 (record)
Ukrainian Super Cup: 2 (record)
USSR Championship: 13 (record)
USSR Cup: 9
USSR Super Cup: 3 (record)
The Ukraine
Football seems to have arrived in the Ukraine in much the same way that it was introduced to the rest of the world, it came from Britain. The game of football spread from its British origins at the end of the nineteenth century as a direct consequence of Britain’s seafaring dominance. Locals became intrigued by and then attempted to emulate the British sailors who would amuse themselves by having kick-arounds when their ships were docked in Odessa.
Hello Big Boy
It is certain that the British sailors played football in the Ukraine towards the end of the 1870s and within a very few years, it had captured the imagination of the whole region. The game started in the western Ukraine but quickly spread. One of the Soviet’s earliest sport writers, Professor Cenar, became an instant enthusiast for the new sport and in 1891, published an article entitled Sporting Games of School Youth. This talked about football development programmes being followed in various local schools.
Professor Cenar is also responsible for perhaps the most significant development in the history of the local game. He arranged through various academic contacts to have the first genuine football to be brought to the region from Britain. Soon this was quickly copied by local manufacturers.
In 1892, the Emperor Franz-Joseph came up with the idea of holding biennial fairs which would highlight local trade and culture. By this time, sport had become an integral part of the local culture and was therefore entitled to a place at the fair. Professor Cenar used his power of persuasion to convince the powers that be that football should be included. The first official football demonstration took place on 5 June 1892. This was by no means a competitive game, simply a demonstration of heading and ball juggling skills. This proved to be a huge success, so much so that two years later, the second fair was held at a newly built stadium with a 7000 capacity.
The new stadium was inaugurated with the first official football match to be played in the Ukraine when the two cities of Lviv and Krakow went head to head. Both teams wore white shirts and were only distinguishable by their trousers, Lviv wearing grey and Krakow blue.
By 1914, football had really taken off and the first international club match was played on Ukranian soil. Fenerbahce came to Odessa to undertake a good will tour, winning one, drawing one and losing three games. Such games raised the profile of the sport throughout the region and as a result, teams sparng up almost everywhere and soon the demand meant that competitions and leagues had to be established. Most of the teams came from existing sport clubs within factories, schools, offices and military units.
Dynamo is born
Nikolai Khanikov and Sergei Barminsky were two young policemen who were members of Dynamo, the sports club of the police and Ministry of Interior in Kiev. There were branches of this sport club in most major cities of the Soviet Union, the most notable being Dynamo Moscow whose football team was a major force in the Moscow championship. In November 1927, Khanikov and Narminsky set up Dynamo Kiev, then a team entirely composed of local police officers. Their first official match took place in July 1928 against Dynamo Moscow. Kiev lost the game 6-2. In 1929, the first international match in Dynamo Kiev’s history took place when Kiev lost 3-2 to Lower Austria. Although in later years Dynamo would become the pre-eminent team in the Ukraine and the Soviet Union, at its outset it was not even the best team in Kiev. Their local rivals Zheldor, also known as Lokomotiv, were the most powerful team in the area in the late 1920s. Zheldor were also primarly a works team made up largely of workers from the South Western Railway System. But the real power base in Ukranian football at that period was Kharkov.
However, the fortunes of Dynamo Kiev were about to improve dramatically. As the competitiveness of the leagues intensified, professionalism started to creep into the game. It became obvious that including only railwaymen and policemen was a flawed selection policy and led to frequent defeat. Talented players were spotted playing for other local clubs and would be offered terms by the bigger teams which invariably meant them being offered a job in the relevant sector. Dynamo Kiev were signing up professionals in the early 1930s but had the extraordinary fortune in discovering a crop of young men who would go on to be some of the best players in the country. See Slur Alex wasn’t the only one to have been looked on favourably by the gods. In 1932, Dynamo defeated Kharkov to land their first Ukranian Championship and as a result became the fashionable club, able to attract the best players.
What also helped was that Kiev the city was regaining some of its old eminence and in 1934 supplanted Kharkov as the capital of the Ukraine. Things were certainly looking up for Kiev and its football team.
The Match of Death
At 3am on 22 June 1941, German guns opened up on unprepared Soviet forces. Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union had begun. This was the very day that Dynamo Kiev was supposed to be celebrating the grand opening of its new Republic Sports Stadium. Unfortunately, future events would mean the players of Dynamo would witness much more serious consequences at the hands of the German forces.
After the Nazi occupation of the Ukraine began, the Dynamo team found employment in the city's Bakery No. 3, and played football on wasteland, where they were spotted by Germans and invited to play against an army team as Start (City of Kyiv All-Stars)’
Start comprised eight players from Dinamo and three players from Lokomotiv Kiev.
In July and August 1942 Start played a series of matches against German and allied sides. On July 12 a German army team was defeated. A stronger army team was selected for the next match on July 17, which Start defeated 6-0. On July 19 Start defeated the Hungarian team MSG Wal by 5-1. The Hungarians proposed a return match, held on July 26, but were defeated 3-2.
At this stage it appeared that Start were ready to be beaten, and a match was announced for August 6 against a "most powerful" "undefeated" German Luftwaffe team, but despite the game being talked up by the newspapers, they failed to report the 5-1 result.
Poster advertising the return match.
On August 9 Start played a "friendly" against the Luftwaffe and again defeated them. Start had beaten the pride of Germany in the Ukraine not once but twice in three days. They had embarrassed the German military command and attained mythical status with the Soviet citizens. What had been an attempt by the Germans to gain some positive propaganda had backfired. The Start players were openly flouting the authority of military rule. They were living too freely and their very liberty was a constant affront to the Reich. Every day that these men walked the streets was a victory for the Communists. Retribution, however, did not come immediately. On August 16, Start were allowed to play another game and defeated Rukh 8-0
After this the players were arrested by the Gestapo, tortured and sent to the nearby labour camp at Siretz.
In February 1943, following an attack by anti-German partisans, one-third of the prisoners at Siretz were killed in reprisal, including 3 Dynamo players. Three other players, who were in a work squad in the city that day, escaped and hid in the city until it was liberated. A monument to the players now resides at the entrance to the club’s stadium.
Bribery scandal
In 1995, Dynamo qualified to the Champions League by defeating AaB Aalborg in the qualification round. After their first match against Panathinaikos, however, Spanish referee Antonio López Nieto stated in the press that he was approached by two officials of Dynamo and was offered two fur coats and an amount of money. The club was immediately expelled from the competition, with Aalborg taking its place, though officials stated that in reality, the referee wanted to buy the coats, but refused to pay full price.
According to news reports UEFA had banned club's officials Igor Surkis (general manager) and Vasyliy Babiychuk (general secretary) from football for life. Apparently this decision was later reversed as Igor Surkis continued working in the club and when his brother Hryhoriy was elected president of FFU, became majority owner and chairman of Dynamo.
Stadium
The Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium is a multi-use stadium and is currently the home of Dynamo. The stadium holds 16,888 people, and was built in 1934. A reconstruction plan has been approved to increase the number of seats to 30,000, and to add a roof over the stand. The stadium is used for most domestic games and minor European games, while Dynamo play their major European games at the Olimpiysky Sport Complex, due to the limit of the current seating capacity at the Lobanovsky Dynamo Stadium.
Honours
UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 2
UEFA Super Cup: 1
Ukrainian Championship: 11 (record)
Ukrainian Cup: 8 (record)
Ukrainian Super Cup: 2 (record)
USSR Championship: 13 (record)
USSR Cup: 9
USSR Super Cup: 3 (record)
