Viktor Maksymovych Bannikov (, ; 28 April 1938 – 25 April 2001) was a Ukraine football official and a Soviet Union player. He was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the Soviet Union earning the title of the best twice in 1964 and 1970. Bannikov had 138 shutout earning him a place in the symbolic Lev Yashin club. Distinguished Master of Sport of USSR (1991). He died on the 25 April 2001 and he has buried at the Baikove Cemetery in Baikova St, 6, Kyiv, Ukraine, where also Valeriy Lobanovskyi was buried.
Playing career
Club
Bannikov was born in one of the villages in
Zhytomyr Oblast,
Ukrainian SSR, to ethnic Russian parents. He started his career with Avanhard Zhytomyr. In 1959 Lev Misozhnik, the coach of the local Avanhard Chernihiv football team, was fascinated Victor so much that he gladly agreed to try himself in a new capacity. Finally make a decision in favor of football, according to Viktor Bannikov, he was forced by purely mundane considerations. He made his debut at the age of 20 in the Soviet Second League, an impressive achievement considering many teams still preferred an experienced pair of hands between the sticks.
In the mean time the team changed the name to Desna Chernihiv.
In 1961 he moved to
Kyiv where he spent 8 years of his playing career for
Dynamo Kyiv. During this time he was considered one of the best players, and together with Dynamo he won the championships in 1967 and 1968. Also he was the member of the Soviet national team that took fourth place at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. As the member of the Kyivan club he also was the holder of the Soviet Cup in 1964 and 1966. In 1968, he made a record that never was broken in the Soviet football by goalkeeping for 1122 minutes without conceding a single goal. In 1972 now with
Torpedo Moscow he also won the
Soviet Cup competition.
International
In his 14 international representations for his country, he allowed 13 goals and won only six of them. Over his international career, Bannikov served as a back-up goalkeeper for such footballers like
Lev Yashin and Anzor Kavazashvili.
His first game for USSR national team was on 29 November 1964 against Bulgaria which was tied at nil.[ СБОРНАЯ СССР' 1964. www.rusteam.permian.ru] The national team went on a brief tour in Balkans playing against Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. The game against Bulgaria was the last official match for the Soviet team in 1964.
The most disastrous game came against Sweden in 1972 where he allowed three(!) goals and was substituted. The game was tied at four, and it was his last game on the international level. Having a great career at the club level, his international record was kind of shaky. His best game for the national team was against Wales at home grounds in 1965 (2–1 win). Bannikov lost only a single game when the national team yielded to Brazil at home in 1965 (0–3).
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |
|
|
| Avanhard Zhytomyr | 1959 | ? |
| Avanhard Chernihiv | 1960 | ? |
| Desna Chernihiv | 1961 | ? |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1962 | 9 |
| 1963 | 39 |
| 1964 | 28 |
| 1965 | 20 |
| 1966 | 12 |
| 1967 | 9 |
| 1968 | 14 |
| 1969 | 3 |
| Torpedo Moscow | 1970 | 32 |
| 1971 | 27 |
| 1972 | 34 |
| 1973 | 24 |
|
|
Notes:
-
The table includes league and cup competitions of the All-Union level (Class A and Class B). It does not include competitions of republican level.
-
The 12 seasons totals include all games at the top tier, Soviet Cup, and European competitions.
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and year[ Viktor Bannikov. www.national-football-teams.com] |
|
| Soviet Union | 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
|
Professional career and awards
During his playing career, five times he was named to the symbolic
dream team (33 of the best) which was picked on an annual basis. At the end of the 1970s he was on the coaching positions for couple of Ukrainian teams. In 1963, he earned the distinguished master of sport of USSR award.
[ He held a title of a distinguished coach of the Ukrainian SSR.
]
He had initiated the first official match for the Ukraine national football team. He had been awarded the Ruby Order of UEFA "For service". He dedicated his whole life to football and particularly to the development of the Ukrainian football.
Football functionary
From 1991 to 1996 he was elected as the president of the Football Federation of Ukraine and until 2001 he stayed there as the vice-president.[
]
Personal life
In his interview to the Soviet sports magazine "Futbol-Khokey" in 1970, Bannikov told that he lost his father early in life who perished in the war.[ Нетипичный вратарь. footballfakts.ru] He also said that with his mother they returned to Zhytomyr in 1946 when he was 8.[ As a teenager he had to work at a shoe factory, while attending school.][ About his sports interest, at first Bannikov was involved in track and field, particularly the high jump being able to clear height.][ He also participated in basketball and volleyball. As a basketballer, Bannikov received the GTO 1st Class achievement award (Ready for Labour and Defence of the USSR).][
]
To football Bannikov arrived by random occurrence when some passerby who introduced himself as Lev Misiozhnik invited him to a factory team that he was managing in the position of a goalkeeper.[ And at the age of 20, Bannikov entered the realm of association football.][ Following his first game for a factory team he ended up in a hospital receiving concussion during his collision with a forward.][
]
Honours
- Dynamo Kyiv
- Torpedo Moscow
- USSR national football team
-
UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 1972
- Individual
-
Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1964
Tributes
-
The football stadium located close to the House of Football and the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, was named Bannikov Stadium.
-
In 1998 the Viktor Bannikov Memorial Tournament was created and received international status and was contested by 16 junior teams.
[ Інформація про турнір імені Баннікова , www.donoda.gov.ua]
Further reading
