Oleksandr Lipenko's column. "Bibon" is a favourite of Dynamo fans

If a poll were to be conducted among Dynamo Kyiv fans of the older generation to find out who they consider to be one of the most popular Dynamo players of their time, I am sure many of them would name Andriy Biba. They lovingly called this performer "Bibon".

A native of Kiev, Andriy learnt the basics of football in the children's team Iskra. For a long time he hid from his parents that he was thoroughly engaged in football

It worked out well. Coaches of the Republican Football School for Youth drew attention to the game of Andriy and his partner in "Iskra" Oleg Bazilevich. There was such a school in its time, it was based on the upper pitch of the NSC Olimpiyskiy. Many of its pupils got chances to get to Dynamo: Andriy Biba, Oleg Bazilevich, Valeriy Lobanovskiy, Valentin Troyanovskiy, Valadimir Anufrienko, Anatoliy Kroshchenko.

Came to the "court"

In 1957 Biba became a Dynamo player. And, as they say, he came to the "court". In 1960 he celebrated the first serious success. Kyiv team became silver medallists of the championship of the former USSR.

And then there was an unforgettable autumn of 1961. Having interrupted the 25-year hegemony of Moscow clubs, Dynamo won the championship "gold" ahead of schedule.

Later on, 12 more sets of top awards were added to the collection of Kyiv team. But that first "golden" autumn was remembered forever, as well as the first love.

I will name the creators of that historical success. Unfortunately, many of them are no longer with us. The coach of that great team was Vyacheslav Soloviev, his assistants were Viktor Terentyev and Mikhail Koman. On the field the title was won by partners of Andrey Biba - Yuri Voinov, Oleg Makarov, Viktor Kanevsky (captain of the champions), Jozsef Sabo, Oleg Bazilevich, Valery Lobanovsky, Anatoly Suchkov, Vasily Turianchik, Vladimir Shchegolkov, Valentin Troyanovsky, Viktor Serebryanikov, Nikolay Koltsov, Vladimir Anufrienko, Vitaly Scherbakov.

Of the champion Dynamo players I named, only two - Sabo and Biba - continue to serve football. The rest - the Kingdom of Heaven...

Organiser of attacks, dispatcher of the team

Andriy Biba, the long-time captain of Dynamo, was a player with a wide range of actions. Well-trained technically, Andriy was the organiser of attacks, the dispatcher of the team, had a fine understanding of the game, possessed accurate passing and a strong shot, often scored from long distances.

86-year-old Andrey Biba is a midfielder, Honoured Master of Sports, three-time USSR champion (1961, 1966, 1967), silver medallist (1960, 1965), Cup winner (1964, 1966). In the championships of the former USSR played 317 (in Dynamo - 246, Dnipro -71) scored 84 goals (for Kyiv - 69, Dnipro - 15). He was the first of Kyiv Dynamo players to be named the best footballer of the country (1966).

After finishing his career as a player, he became a coach of teams, Honoured Coach of Ukraine.

Four questions for Andriy Biba

- Recall your strongest kick, starting from your childhood...

- Playing in "Iskra", sometimes I scored by hitting the ball well. But the strongest kick was already in adulthood, in Dynamo. I practised it after the end of training. At that time it was customary for us to hold additional training sessions. Now, unfortunately, this is not practised....

- I had to observe how cordially the Dynamo veterans' team is greeted by its fans in other cities when you come to friendly meetings. You are no longer a player, but a team manager. What are the feelings now?

- It's nice to have such touching attention. I would like the glory of Kyiv Dynamo to be picked up by the current players, the link between generations is not interrupted. And we are "old men", we have never gone anywhere, there is no such "bear corner" on the map, where veteran Dynamo players have not been.

- Can you name the goal you scored, which is the most memorable?

- All the goals I scored are a feast of the soul. I remember the match in Moscow with Dynamo in autumn 1965. I was taking a penalty kick. At first I wanted to dribble the ball into the penalty area, but I changed my mind. It was 40 metres to the goal. I took a run-up, hit the ball from the heart. And it flew on an incomprehensible trajectory and hit the "nine". Even Lev Yashin's excellent jump did not save him.

- What is your assessment of the current Dynamo game?

- Who does not remember the glorious victories of our teams over the leading clubs of England, France, Germany, Denmark, Italy... It was just a matter of bringing up a winner's complex in the players, and at the same time to please the spectators.... Maybe the then Dynamo players were not so well prepared physically, but I am sure they handled the ball much more technically. And, frankly speaking, our game was more like a game, while today's players quite often just "work".... If it goes on like this, then soon the spectators, who are spoilt with wonderful TV spectacles from football championships of England, Spain, Italy, Germany, will have to be lured to our stadiums....

Oleksandr LIPENKO for Dynamo.kiev.ua