Oleg Romantsev

In 1971, Romantsev was promoted to the senior team of Avtomobilist, who at the time were competing in the Soviet Second League. He marked his debut for the senior team with a goal and scored twice on his second appearance, later becoming a first team regular. Romantsev eventually converted from a striker to a left-back and came to the attention of clubs such as Dynamo Kiev, who had begun to take note of the young defender's abilities. In 1976, Avtomobilist played a friendly against the club which would ultimately define Romantsev's footballing career – Spartak Moscow. After impressing Spartak representatives during the match, Romantsev was offered terms and joined soon after. Initially disillusioned with life at the Soviet powerhouse club – he spent just two matches there before returning to Krasnoyarsk citing an "unprofessional atmosphere" – he was convinced to return to the fold in 1977 after Konstantin Beskov, who was tasked with returning Spartak to the Top League after their relegation in 1976, persuaded him to rejoin. Romantsev had not accepted the offer outright and dismissed Beskov's approach but was eventually persuaded after spending time speaking with Beskov, who was also the manager of the Soviet Union national team, as part of the squad for the qualifiers for the 1978 World Cup. Romantsev would go on to play 180 matches for the club, scoring six goals in the process. He was appointed club captain in 1979, and held the position until injuries brought about the…

Krasnaya Presnya

A year after the end of his playing career, Spartak Moscow's founder Nikolai Starostin offered Romantsev a coaching role at Krasnaya Presnya – a little-known Moscow club in the Soviet Second League. It was here that he first crossed paths with future Russia star Aleksandr Mostovoi, then a 16-year-old central midfielder. The two quickly forged a close relationship that was to continue long into their professional careers. In an interview with UEFA's Dmitri Rogovitski, Mostovoi said: "He was a very inexperienced coach back then but we quickly forged a close relationship. He became my father in football, it was thanks to him that I grew into a serious player." Romantsev would ultimately spend three years in charge of Presnya, before spending several months in charge of Spartak Ordzhonikidze (now Spartak) in 1988.

Spartak Moscow

Later that year, Romantsev returned to the club where he made his name as a player, and where he would spend the bulk of his managerial career, as he took up the post of Spartak Moscow manager. At the time, it was considered a surprise move. Mostovoi recalled of his arrival: "His appointment was unexpected. I was abroad with the youth international team and when we returned home for training, [former Spartak manager Konstantin] Beskov was gone and Romantsev was there in his place. I asked him without thinking, "What are you doing here?' He said that he was our new coach." Romantsev's impact was hard-felt and immediate –…

Romantsev was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as team captain. In the fall of 1999, on the eve of the elections to the State Duma, Romantsev entered the leadership of one of the participants in the election campaign - he was included in the Coordination Council of the Interregional Unity Movement but claimed that this was done without his consent. Romantsev spoke of his fatigue from the "eternal Russian mess" and reluctance to participate in political games. Later, he officially joined United Russia. Romantsev claimed that he was more than once offered to continue his career abroad, where life was calmer and there were no serious political upheavals like those of Russia in the 1990s. However, he sincerely wanted to stay in his homeland to give at least some joy and pleasure to those who were not "free to choose where to live." In 2000, he said that in the event of an uncontrolled wave of migration from Russia, the country, in the worst-case scenario, would fall to "nonentities" who could "rule the show, rob, kill, and deceive." Romantsev participated in the "Smart Football Academy: Legacy" project and in a number of programs for the development of children's football in Russia, organized on the eve of the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

As a player

Spartak Moscow Soviet Top League: 1979 runner-up: 1980, 1981, 1983 third place: 1982 Soviet First League: 1977 Soviet Cup runner-up: 1981 Soviet Union Olympic Games Bronze medal: 1980

As a coach

Spartak Moscow Soviet Top League: 1989 runner-up: 1991 Russian Premier League: 1992, 1993, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001 third place: 1995, 2002 Soviet Cup: 1992 Russian Cup: 1994, 1998, 2003 CIS Cup: 1993, 1994, 1995, 1999, 2000, 2001 runner-up: 1997, 1998, 2002 European Cup semi-finalist: 1990–91 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-finalist: 1992–93 UEFA Cup semi-finalist: 1997–98