Professional way of thinking, boundless loyalty to football allowed Rats not only to wait a long time for his time in Kyiv "Dynamo", honestly working in the doubles and only occasionally appearing in the main team, but then to become one of the most stable players in the team, performing almost without substitutions in all matches, get the right to play in the national team" (Valery Lobanovskyi, "The Endless Match")
Vasyl Rats (in the center)First steps in football
Vasyl (Laszlo) Karlovych Rats was born in the village of Fanchikove, Vynohradiv District, Zakarpattia Oblast. Transcarpathia is the homeland of representatives of many nations - Ukrainians, Hungarians, Slovaks. In addition, it is a long-term supplier of football talents to the most successful clubs in the country. Ratz has many famous predecessors.
And in a strange turn of events, almost all of them had their names changed, probably because the bosses were afraid that "the West would not shine too bright." So the Ukrainian Stefan Reshko was written as Stepan in the match reports, the Slovak Michal Koman as Mykhailo, and the ethnic Hungarians were equated under the same line: Szabo from Jozef turned into Yosip, Medvid from Ferenc into Fedor. This fate did not pass Laszlo either. So he "changed his shoes" to Vasyl.
As a child, the boy chased the ball until it got dark. Fortunately, the football field in Fanchikov's hometown was not far from his parents' house. Therefore, after coming home from school, he immediately ran to his peers. Sometimes, however, I got bruises from my mother. But parents did not have to blush because of grades at school. As well as for the success of the younger sister, who later graduated from one of the Kyiv universities.
His first football mentor was Pavlo Ivanovich Prebush. Vasyl came to him in the fourth grade. He played on the left wing in the attack, and his comrades jokingly nicknamed him Blokhin, because in every match he scored 2-3 goals.
As a tenth-grader, he defended the honor of the national team of schoolchildren of Ukraine. And then the first offer came - from the team of the second league "Hoverla" (Uzhhorod).
"But the coach of the sports boarding school Valentyn Ivanovich Boreyko," recalled Vasyl Karlovych, "recommended me to the double of the Lviv Karpaty team." And I decided: "Hoverla" is good, and "Karpaty" is better! Not only because the rank is higher, because you also had to study, and there was an institute of physical education in Lviv." He entered this university in 1978, at the same time he played in Karpaty, which in 1980 again made its way to the top league.
In adult football
But it was not possible to gain a foothold in the main team, at that time such well-known players as Susloparov and Dumansky set the tone in the team. So I played more for understudies.
Once a letter arrived from Vinnytsia, Vasyl was invited to the local "Niva". He decided to consult with the coach of "Karpat" István Jožefović Sekec, a famous football player in the past. "You know, you have to go. "Niva" is a good team, you will gain experience, you will get used to adult football," Sekech recommended.
In "Niva" Vasyl had to play under the leadership of the well-known specialist I. Terletskyi. Not everything worked out at first, Vasyl could not adjust his game, but Ivan Ivanovych put him in the starting line-up. Gradually, things got better, and messengers-selectors from various clubs of the higher league often came to Vinnytsia. However, Terletsky firmly stood his ground: "No, no! Your team hasn't invited you yet. So work and wait!".
The invitation from "Dynamo" came in the summer of 1981. Started with a "double" but played vaguely at first. He felt complex, "burnt" even before the referee's starting whistle. I wanted to return to Vinnytsia.
And here Valery Lobanovsky took the floor. Completely unexpectedly, he named Rats in the main team in a very important match against Dynamo Moscow, then let him play the whole half against Spartak. It was a strong psychological move, after which Vasyl believed in himself, saw a perspective.
This is how the ascent to the football heights began. When Leonid Buryak left "Dynamo", and Vasyl had already become a full-fledged player of the "base", he was entrusted with hitting "standards" - corners, penalties, free kicks. Vasyl stayed after every training session, practicing his strokes for hours in a pair with Igor Belanov. Together with Serhiy Baltacha, long and medium gears were polished. Lobanovskyi said: in order to gain authority in Europe, you need to collect a bucket of your own sweat during training. They tried…
Experts characterized Rats as follows: "Midfielder. Able to conduct offensive actions effectively. Useful for defense when needed. Has a strong, well-placed shot."
And the jokers of Kyiv fans evaluated it in their own way: "What is a Rats proposal? A productive pass plus a goal."
The stellar year for Vasyl was 1986. He became an honored master of sports, together with Dynamo won the Cup of Cups.
In the same season, the world championship was held in Mexico.
"We played," recalled Vasyl Karlovych, "with the French national team, and I managed to score a decisive goal against J. Bats." And then in the autumn of the same year in Paris, in a qualifying match for the European Championship, he forced the goalkeeper of the "tricolor" team to capitulate for the second time.
Euro-1988. "The final of this championship, according to Ratz's dialogue with journalists, was held on the fields of Germany. The first game between the national teams of the USSR and the Netherlands took place in Cologne. The world-famous stars Gullit, Rijkaard, Koeman, in the second half they were joined by van Basten, attacked the goal of our national team almost non-stop, and we won. And I scored the only decisive goal in the 53rd minute. But, as it turned out later, it was just a rehearsal for the future final match. There, the "Orange" proved their superiority, won with a score of 2:0 and became the champions of the continent. Van Basten and Gullit scored our goals. But the silver medals of the European Championship are also, I think, a worthy award.
In the same season, the last calendar match at home with the leaders - teammates of Moscow. We just needed a win. My goal basically decided the fate of the match. It happened in the 15th minute of the first half. In total, he scored seven goals that season.
Mykhailichenko, who became the top scorer, scored 12 goals, and Belanov - 10." And again the fans evaluated it in their own way: "Prudnikov and Bats are suffering - Vasya Rats entered the field!"...
Only the goalkeeper Viktor Chanov and himself, Vasyl Rats, only these two played all the matches of the stellar season of 1986. His teammates were surprised: it would seem that his figure and posture cannot be called an athlete, but he runs from goal to goal for all 90 minutes. Doesn't he get tired? And Ratz's impressive shot on an incomprehensible trajectory, the best goalkeepers, not only in our country, but also in Europe, are stunned to get the ball out of the net of their own goal. And also a successful pass to a partner - how many goals were scored after his verticals to partners.
Anatolii Demyanenko said: "I played behind Vasyl, calmly joined the attack, knowing that he, although with the last strength, will catch up, provide insurance, will not let the opponent pass..."
After the European Championship, Rats became interested abroad. There were two real offers from the Spanish "Espanyol" and the Scottish "Glasgow Rangers", which was then coached by a famous player in the past, Graham Souness.
Vasyl felt that he should go to Glasgow. But recently his family had a son, so he and his wife decided that the climate of Barcelona would suit the baby better.
"Espanyol" fought for the right to stay in Primera, but did not succeed. Lobanovskyi said: "I believe in you, but if you want to play in the national team at the World Cup, you better return to Dynamo - the federation's management will not support my decision to take you from the lower league of Spain." Vasyl soon returned home.
However, the national team was experiencing a crisis. After the defeat in a friendly match against the Romanians, the coach started "surgical operations". Rats was among those excluded from the team. Therefore, when an invitation came from Budapest "Ferencvaros", he was happy, because he had long wanted to get to his historical homeland.
Disaster struck on New Year's Eve 1991. On the last day of December, he still practiced at the "Dynamo" stadium and, with a wet head, hunted for a taxi on the European Square for half an hour. When the chimes rang, he drank a glass of champagne. At night, I had to call an ambulance: I could not move. A month in the hospital - with a hook, he could not feel his left hand at all. When he regained consciousness, he contacted the Hungarians: they were waiting for him. The name of Vasyl Rats was still heard after the Union national team defeated the Hungarians in 1986.
The doctors of "Ferencvaros" grabbed their heads: "What football, you're semi-disabled." Ratz still played that season, but he was embarrassed in front of the audience, in front of his teammates because of his form - he lost his mobility. And although the Hungarian public received him warmly, Vasyl firmly said to himself: "That's it, the end! It's enough to please people, I'm going into business."
After the player's career
Having hung up his playing boots on the nails, Vasyl Karlovych really seriously got into business, purchased raw materials for the production of polyethylene, and soon founded his company "Rats and Sons" in Budapest.
But as soon as he was called to football, he returned to the field again. In the 1996/1997 season, he worked as the second coach of Ferencvaros. From September to December 2007, he worked as an assistant coach at Dynamo Kyiv, in 2012 he worked as a coach at Obolon. After the resignation of the head coach of Kyiv "Obolon" Serhii Kovalets in November 2011, he acted as the head coach of the team.
Achievement
Born March 25, 1961. Honored master of sports. Half-back. Participant of the world championships in 1986, 1990. Vice-champion of Europe (1988). He played 47 matches in the national team, scoring 4 goals. Cup Winners' Cup 1986. Hungarian Champion 1992, 1993.
Champion of the USSR - 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990. Winner of the USSR Cup - 1982, 1985, 1987, 1990. In total, he played 185 matches in the championships of the USSR, scored 24 goals.
Played for Karpaty Lviv (1978-1980), Lokomotiv Vinnytsia (1980-1981), Dynamo Kyiv (1981-1991), 186 matches, 24 goals, Espanyol Barcelona (1989), 11 matches, 2 goals, Ferencvaros Budapest (1991-1992), 7 matches, 1 goal.
Family
Klara's wife is from a football family, she is the niece of the famous player and coach Istvan Sekec. Sons of Laszlo and Attila. The older one played football, the younger one first played football, then tennis.
Semyon Sluchevskyi, Volodymyr Kuleba, "Successors"
