Eduard Streltsov

Early career

Aged 16, Streltsov made his debut for Torpedo during the 1954 season, appeared in every league game and scored four goals. The team finished ninth in the league, a drop from third the previous year. In his second season Streltsov was the league's most prolific goalscorer, scoring 15 goals in 22 games as his side rose to fourth place. Streltsov was selected for the Soviet national team for the first time in 1955, halfway through the season; his debut came in a friendly match against Sweden in Stockholm on 26 June, when he scored a hat-trick within the first 45 minutes as the Swedish team was defeated 6–0. On his second appearance, a friendly home game against India, he scored three goals again. A further game in Hungary and a goal against France meant that by the start of 1956, Streltsov had scored seven goals for the Soviet Union in four matches. After scoring in a match against Denmark in April 1956, he missed three international matches before returning in September with a goal after three minutes in a 2–1 away victory over West Germany. Streltsov continued to score regularly for Torpedo, managing 12 league goals during the 1956 season, but appeared in two successive defeats for the Soviets before they travelled in November 1956 to the Olympic Games in Melbourne. Streltsov scored three goals in a 16–2 victory over Australia in an unofficial match on 15 November before scoring a late winning goal in the first tournament match against the United Team of…

Following a footballing career spent exclusively with Torpedo, Streltsov, a supporter of Spartak Moscow, repeatedly complained about his failure to play for his favourite team. After his retirement, Torpedo continued to pay his salary to fund his study of football coaching at the Institute of Physical Culture. Streltsov returned to Torpedo in the capacity of youth team manager following his qualification; he also spent a brief spell as manager of the first team before returning to the youth team in 1982. He also took part in matches contested by former players before dying in 1990 from throat cancer, which his first wife Alla later claimed had been brought about by irradiated food served to him in the camps. Seven years later, Marina Lebedeva, the woman Streltsov had confessed to raping, was seen laying flowers at his grave in Moscow on the day after the anniversary of his death. Olympic policy in 1956 was to award gold medals only to members of the winning football squad who had played in the final match. Since Streltsov did not play in the final, he did not receive a medal. He was posthumously given a gold medal in 2006, after this policy was changed retroactively to allow all members of winning Olympic squads to receive medals.

Many critics consider Streltsov to be one of the finest footballers ever from Russia or the Soviet Union: British journalist and author Jonathan Wilson describes him as "the greatest outfield player Russia has ever produced ... a tall, powerful forward, possessed of a fine first touch and extraordinary footballing intelligence", while Russian author Aleksandr Nilin writes that "the boy came to us from the land of wonder". Streltsov's skilful, innovative style of play helped him to stand out in Soviet football, and his pioneering of the back-heeled pass resulted in it becoming known in Russia as "Streltsov's pass". During his early career, this technical ability combined with considerable speed and physical presence to create a formidable all-round forward player. In his later years, with his physical attributes reduced, he emphasised his skill and on-field intelligence to become more of a playmaker, playing further back and setting up attacking moves for team-mates rather than leading them himself. Indeed, for his final two seasons, Streltsov played in an attacking midfield role rather than up front. Despite the eight-year gap between his two spells as a member of the Soviet national team, Streltsov, nicknamed "The Russian Pelé", was the fourth highest international goalscorer in the country's history.

Torpedo Moscow's ground, Torpedo Stadium, was redubbed the "Eduard Streltsov Stadium" in 1996. A year later, the Russian Football Union introduced the Strelyets prizes as the…

Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov was born in Perovo, an eastern district of Moscow, on 21 July 1937, the son of Anatoly Streltsov, a front-line soldier and intelligence officer, and Sofia Frolovna. Anatoly did not return to the family following the Second World War, instead choosing to settle alone in Kiev; Sofia therefore raised her son on her own, working at the Fraser Cutting Instruments Factory to support Eduard and herself. As a result, Streltsov had a modest upbringing, the highlights of which were playing football and following his favoured team, Spartak Moscow. The factory recognised his talent from a young age: Streltsov became the Fraser Factory football team's youngest ever player when he was 13 years old. Three years later in 1953, a friendly match was organised between Fraser and a youth team from Torpedo Moscow. Streltsov impressed the Torpedo coach, Vasily Provornov, and after befriending him, left Fraser to play for Torpedo.