Soviet soccer great Valentin Ivanov dies at 76

Soviet soccer great Valentin Ivanov dies at 76

Published Nov. 8, 2011 10:40 a.m. ET

Valentin Ivanov, one of the Soviet Union's greatest soccer players who shared top scoring honors at the 1962 World Cup, died Tuesday. He was 76.

The Russian soccer federation said he had Alzheimer's disease for years.

Ivanov helped the Soviets reach the World Cup quarterfinals in Chile. He had four goals and was joined by five others in winning the Golden Boot, awarded to the tournament's leading scorer. He also played on the Soviet team that won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

Ivanov spent his entire career at Torpedo, the Moscow club where he played from 1952 until 1966. He was the team's highest scorer with 124 goals in 287 games.

ADVERTISEMENT

After retirement, he coached Torpedo and led the team to a national title in 1976. He left the team at the end of the 1998 season.

share