The legendary forward of Kyiv’s Dynamo, Igor Belanov, who recently turned 65, shared his thoughts on being awarded the Ballon d’Or in 1986 in the pages of a book by Artem Frankov and Igor Rabiner about Ukrainian football published in 2012.
«I want to say one thing — I received the Ballon d’Or not through connections, not for good looks. Some people have said and written later that the prize was awarded to me undeservedly. Yes, it is an award for our entire team, and yes, Sasha Zavarov or Pasha Yakenko could have rightfully claimed it too. But when I read in newspapers that Zavarov was head and shoulders, two heads stronger than Belanov, I am surprised.
Did they give me the Ballon d’Or as a gift? Or do European football journalists not understand anything? Sasha and I played our best matches that year, and largely thanks to each other. But I don’t understand people who drive a wedge between us. They won’t! I received this ball because for years I sat at the training base, digging my nose into the ground. I lived in Koncha-Zaspa, lived for the game, saw and knew nothing else. This was a reward for dedication to football, for the times during Lobanovsky’s training when we would feel dizzy, for the insane work we put in, which no other team could have dreamed of...» — said Belanov.