The Spanish publication "Diario de Sevilla" has released an article dedicated to the legendary goalkeeper of Kyiv's "Dynamo" and the Soviet national team, Viktor Chanov, who passed away in 2017 at the age of 57.
Viktor Chanov. Photo — A. PopovThe occasion for this publication was the latest episode of the Spanish television program "El Hormiguero," during which guests were asked to guess the ages of various footballers from the 70s and 80s who appeared older than their years. Chanov was among the list of these players.
Here’s what was written in the article by "Diario de Sevilla," which was published under the title "Viktor Chanov, the tragic story of a football goalkeeper."
"Viktor Chanov, a Ukrainian goalkeeper, defended the USSR's goal throughout the 1980s. When he appeared on 'El Hormiguero' with a card from Euro-88 (shown below, - editor's note), he was not yet 30 years old, but he looked like a respectable fifty-year-old civil servant.
He had a tragic story. His full name was Viktor Viktorovich Chanov. He was born in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the center of the current war, on July 21, 1959. His first club in the elite was the local Donetsk 'Shakhtar,' where he debuted at the age of 19 in 1978.
From 'Shakhtar' he moved to another major club in today's Ukraine and the main rival of the Moscow teams of that time - Kyiv's 'Dynamo.' He was signed in 1981 and played with the capital team for nine years, until 1990.
At 'Dynamo,' Chanov was key to the club's success in the 80s and was the goalkeeper who kept a clean sheet in the Cup Winners' Cup final against Madrid's 'Atletico' in 1986. The Spanish team lost 3:0.
The Soviet giants had a tradition of having great goalkeepers on the national team, and Chanov stands between Yashin and Dasaev. His father was also a goalkeeper.
Video clips show Chanov's reflexes, flexibility and confidence. His elderly appearance did not match his physique. From 1982 to 1990, he played 21 matches for the USSR national team, conceding only 8 goals during that time. He played in the Euro-1988 final against the Netherlands.
In the last years of his career, he signed contracts with two Israeli clubs and won the championship twice. After hanging up his boots in 1995, when Ukraine was already independent, Chanov began a coaching career that lasted twelve years. Among other clubs, he was a goalkeeping coach at Kyiv's 'Dynamo' in 2006.
The end was tragic. On January 20, 2017, he became a victim of a brutal attack on the streets of Kyiv. He was assaulted by several people who tried to rob him, resulting in severe head injuries. He could not recover from the injuries and passed away on February 8, 2017, at just 57 years old. His death was a shock in Ukraine," - says the publication.
