Role Football player Children Ekaterina Kuznetsova Name Oleh Kuznetsov Parents Zoia Kuznetsova | Years Team Spouse Alla Borysenko (m. 1985) Height 1.84 m | |
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Full name Oleg Wladimirowitsch Kuznetsow -Oleh Volodymyrovych Kuznetsov Date of birth (1963-03-22) 22 March 1963 (age 52) People also search for Ekaterina Kuznetsova, Yevgeny Pronin, Sergey Pronin | ||
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Oleh Volodymyrovych Kuznetsov (born as Oleg Wladimirowitsch Kuznetsow in Germany) (Ukrainian: Олег Володимирович Кузнєцов) (born 22 March 1963 in Magdeburg, East Germany) is a former professional Soviet Ukrainian football player. Kuznetsov had started playing football when he was eight years old. However, it was not until he was 20 when his talent was noticed by the Soviet giants at that time, Dynamo Kyiv.
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Club
A central defender, Kuznetsov stayed with Dynamo until September 1990, when he transferred to Scottish club Rangers in the prime of his career. He injured his cruciate ligament in his second game (against St Johnstone) and did not play again for a full year. The time out meant that new players had been brought in and he was never a first choice again. After a four-year stint, hampered by injuries, he moved on to the Israeli team Maccabi Haifa to play for one season. He returned to Ukraine to finish his career with CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv. Kuznetsov retired in 1997.
International
He appeared in 63 games for the USSR/CIS national team (1 goal), and three times for the Ukraine side after the fall of the Soviet Union. He was a silver medal winner with the USSR team at the 1988 UEFA European Football Championship. He also represented the USSR at the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups, and the CIS at the 1992 UEFA European Football Championship. A six-time domestic champion (three with Dynamo Kyiv and three with Rangers), and a four-time domestic cup winner (three with Dynamo Kyiv and onw with Rangers). He won the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1986, and was a European Cup semi-finalist in 1987 with Dynamo Kyiv. He was in 11th place in the European Footballer of the Year award in 1988, and in 17th place in 1989.
Coaching career
Kuznetsov began coaching in 1998 at the last club he played for professionally, CSKA Kyiv. Starting out as an assistant coach he became head-coach for the 2001–2002 season, with CSKA Kiev becoming Arsenal Kiev in the meantime. He moved to the coaching staff at Dynamo Kyiv and is currently on the coaching staff of the Ukraine national team. As coach, he was part of the Ukraine national team that reached the quarter-finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.