Viktor Kanevsky is a master of sports, USSR champion-1961, silver medallist of the USSR championship-1960, winner of the USSR Cup-1964. From 1955 to 1964 he played for Dynamo. In 195 matches he scored 80 goals. Participant of the 1962 World Championship. He played 5 games for the national team of the former USSR. Honoured Coach of the Uzbek SSR.
Viktor KanevskyA native of Kiev, born in 1936, he started his way into football in backyard football. Later he started to train at Children's and Youth Sports School No.1. Then, in 1955, he was invited to Dynamo. Victor was very technical, had his trademark feint, which was caught by experienced defenders.
He had a shot from both feet. His game was characterised by high starting speed and good vision of the pitch. He was a true leader of the team, so in 1960 partners elected Viktor as their captain, and the next year Dynamo Kyiv became the USSR champion for the first time in its history, breaking the long-standing monopoly of Moscow clubs. Kanevsky was the author of the goal scored in the final of the USSR Cup in 1964, which was held in Luzhniki. Then with a minimum score were defeated Kuibyshev "Wings of Soviets". In 1966 Kanevsky finished his career as a footballer and moved to coaching.
His patronymic did not come out
Football career of Viktor Kanevsky can only be envied, but further life was not quite as desired. Kanevsky was invited to head Kharkiv "Metalist". In those years in the passport of a citizen of the USSR there was a column - nationality. In his passport it was Victor Israelievich Kanevsky - a Jew. Football bosses thought that it is not good for the coach of Soviet football players to have such a patronymic and Viktor Israelievich had to choose a new patronymic in 30 years and become Viktor Ilyich, which was confirmed by the issuance of a new passport. (Kanevsky returned his old patronymic when he emigrated).
By the way, later Victor Israelievich himself recalled: "Actually, no one insulted me in person about my nationality, even in the worst times. I was noticeable from childhood, was a leader, and no one dared to do it, even if they had something against me inside. Only once during a match a football player Fedotov, who played for Alma-Ata, called me names. When I looked back, so that the referees did not see, I gave him a headache...! I think he remembered it well. The referee didn't notice it, but then, after watching the match, I was disqualified for one game. Even though it was one of a kind, I knew that discrimination still existed". TV commentators tried not to say Kanevsky's name. And, if he scored a goal in the opponents' goal, they would say "Dynamo" took the lead or equalised. The author of the scored goal remained nameless. In the group photo of Dynamo Kiev - the 1961 champion, the captain of the team was blurred out. Players of that team: Makarov, Serebryannikov, Lobanovsky, Sabo, Biba, Shchegolkov received the title of Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR. Kanevsky, the captain of Dynamo, remained a master of sports.
Kanevsky felt prejudice towards himself while working as a coach. In 1979 Kanevsky received an invitation to work as a coach of the Algerian national team. He started to draw up documents, he did, but at the last moment the USSR Football Federation refused to let the coach leave, arguing that although Kanevsky is now Ilyich, but where it is necessary to know that in fact he is Israelivich, and therefore work abroad - it is not for him.
Kanevsky was offended and decided to emigrate. For 10 years the authorities "volynili" this question and forbade departure under far-fetched pretexts. After all, he worked as a coach of Dnipro for 4 years, and Dnipro is a team of what factory? "Yuzhmash! Do you want the CIA to know the secrets of the largest missile factory? That's it: the head coach of Dnipro turned out to know all the secrets of the Soviet rocket industry. As a result, after several refusals he was expelled from the CPSU.
For a long time he was unemployed. Kanevsky even had to lay roofs on other people's dachas, because it was necessary to support the family somehow. Many friends and acquaintances stopped communicating with him and turned away from him. The only one who openly contacted him was his attack partner Valery Lobanovsky. It was he who made sure that the newly created team "Dynamo" Irpin, which included players who were not included in the 1st and 2nd teams of "Dynamo" (Kyiv) for various reasons, was headed by Kanevsky, which he eventually led to the first league.
Lobanovskyi also helped in another way - thanks to his authority he secured permission for Kanevskyi to leave the country with his family for permanent residence in the USA. It was in 1988, three years before the collapse of the once "great power".
In America, Viktor Israelievich did not break with his favourite game. Already a week after the move, he got a job as a coach at a sports school opened by emigrants, and 8 months later he opened his own football school.
Once in a New York restaurant, a young man approached Kanevsky. My name is Viktor Kanevsky. I was born on 9 September 1964. On this day you scored the winning goal in the final of the USSR Cup. My parents gave me a name in your honour.
Viktor Kanevsky's football heart stopped beating on 25 November 2018 in Bristol (USA).
Oleksandr LIPENKO for Dynamo.kiev.ua
