"Alexander Anatolievich! You talk a lot about Honoured Master of Sports Leonid Buryak, a midfielder from God, as my father, a long-time Dynamo fan, characterised him. He tried not to miss the matches of his favourite team. I am from the young generation of Dynamo fans, of course, I have not seen Buryak's game live. Tell us about his achievements as a Dynamo player.
My neighbour's son Viktor recently asked me such a question. I cannot refuse, I am sure that it will be interesting not only for him.
At the age of 20, a pupil of Odessa football, Chernomorets player from the third time responded to the offer to move to Dynamo. For Kyiv club Leonid Buriak made his debut in the cup game with Metalist on 14 March 1973, replacing Vladimir Muntean. In the championship of the former USSR he played for Dynamo for the first time for the "basis" on 7 April 1973 in the away match with "Ararat", replacing Anatoliy Puzach.
The midfielder scored his first Dynamo goal in the game of the second round in Kyiv with the same "Ararat". The Kyivians were losing to the future champion 0:1, Buryak, who came on as a substitute in the second half, levelled the score in 20 minutes - 1:1. Dynamo won 3:1, becoming silver medallists that season.
Already in his first season in Dynamo the debutant played 41 official matches. In each game Leonid tried not only to score, but also to work at the proper level in defence. Ahead of Buryak was waiting for a football marathon with a distance of 15 years.
In 304 matches of the championship, played by the midfielder for Dynamo, his team celebrated 160 victories, 92 games were drawn. In the championship Buryak played against 25 teams of the top league. He liked to score for Spartak - he spoilt the Muscovites' mood five times. The same number of goals he sent into the gates of their fellow countrymen from Torpedo. Four times after his accurate strikes took the balls out of the net of their gates goalkeepers Tbilisi "Dinamo", "Dnipro", "Zenit".
Only one goal Buryak scored with a header, in the gate "Neftchi", the rest of the goals (if not counting penalties) were scored mainly by strikes from long and medium distances. He realised 22 penalties in a row. In the matches of the Cup of the country he played 52 matches for Kyiv team, 34 of them were victorious.
In the 1975 Cup Winners' Cup tournament Buryak in the semi-final game with "Eindhoven" away with the score 1:0 in favour of the hosts at the 77th minute in a "shaving" flight header hit a shot Veremeev, dispelling the hopes of the opponent for revenge - 2:1.
Buryak put his feet to two victorious matches of his team in the confrontation with Bayern for the UEFA Super Cup in 1975. In the spring of 1977, Leonid again helped to defeat Bayern, scoring a goal to Meyer in the 1/4 finals of the European Cup.
In autumn 1982, Buryak scored two goals against Grasshoppers in the match 1/16 finals of the Champions Cup. In total, he played 51 matches for Dynamo in European Cups, in which his team celebrated 32 victories and drew 10 times.
Leonid Buriak is also a five-time champion of the former USSR, four-time silver medallist, once bronze medallist. Five times with his Dynamo partners he made a lap of honour with the crystal cup of the country. Eight seasons the midfielder of Kyiv was included in the list of the 33 best football players of the country, five times - under No. 1.
And Victor, I can go on and on about the achievements of this great Dynamo Kyiv player. In the second round of the 1984 national championship in the match against Ararat Buryak played his last official match in the Dynamo shirt.
The magnificent player, who, as he claims, lived in a happy football time, will remain on the golden pages of the history of Dynamo club.
Oleksandr LIPENKO for Dynamo.kiev.ua