Oleksandr Zavarov

Zavarov made his debut at professional level on 27 April 1979, in an away match against the defending Soviet champion FC Dinamo Tbilisi when he came on substitute for Igor Gamula after the first half. Zorya lost that match 0:3. His first goal Zavarov scored in his third match on "Victory Day", 9 May 1979, in an away tie (2:2) against SKA Rostov-na-Donu in which both goals from Zavarov saved the game for Luhansk. In his first season for the Zorya first team, Zavorov played 23 games and scored 7 goals. However, his team placed second to last that season and was relegated. In the summer of 1979 following the 1979 Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, Valeriy Lobanovskyi offered Zavarov to join Dynamo Kyiv for the first time, but Zavarov refused by stating that he needs to consult with his mother. In 1979 Zavarov was a student at the Voroshilovgrad Pedagogical Institute, but nonetheless received a notice from the Soviet military entrance processing office to carry out his compulsory military service. He had a choice to serve either in the army or the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs), but older teammates, the 1972 champions, were suggesting him against Dynamo (part of the MVD system). He was told that it would be difficult to outperform such players like Oleg Blokhin, Volodymyr Onyshchenko and others who played at that time for Dynamo. Eventually, Zavarov joined SKA Rostov-na-Donu (part of the Armed Forces society) and still has an ambiguous feeling about it whether he has…

At the end of summer of 1979, Zavarov took part in the 1979 FIFA World Youth Championship on the Soviet team losing in the final to Argentinians led by Diego Maradona. In one of the group stages matches Zavarov scored his only goal against Hungarians as a header from a corner kick. The final match against Argentine was one of his two that he actually witnessed from substitution bench. In October 1981 Zavarov played couple of matches for the under-21 team in group qualifications. Next month he had some issues with club. Zavarov had 41 caps for the USSR, scoring six goals including two in the World Cup finals in 1986 and 1990. He also played in the Euro 1988 in which the USSR team were runners-up.

A creative, quick, agile and skilful midfielder, Zavarov was primarily known for his excellent technical ability, two-footedness, stamina, and tactical intelligence, and was usually deployed as an attacking midfielder or as a supporting striker, although he was also capable of playing as a deep-lying playmaker, due to his versatility, vision, and long passing accuracy. Zavarov played a key role in Valeri Lobanovski's successes with Dynamo Kyiv, and his dribbling skills and playmaking ability led his Dynamo Kyiv coach to compare him to Diego Maradona. Despite the talent he demonstrated and the success he had both with Ukrainian club Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet national team at Euro 1988, which earned him a reputation as one of the greatest players to ever come out of the Soviet Union, his time in Italy with Juventus was less successful, and he failed to live up to initial expectations in Serie A. Due to his inconsistent displays and his lack of accuracy in front of goal, he drew criticism from the press, who also singled out his surprisingly poor work-rate and movement off the ball; he was also accused of lacking confidence, and of not being an effective assist-provider for the team. Because of his timid character, it was also argued that he lacked the necessary leadership skills to carry the team, and fill the void left by Michel Platini in the advanced midfield playmaking role during the post-Trapattoni crisis.

Zavarov was born in Luhansk to family of worker who worked at foundry for one of the city's factories. He started to play early in his life first on streets and then the Zorya sports school of Olympic reserves. Later as senior in school he was offered to enroll to the Kyiv sports boarding school to gain an opportunity to try for Dynamo Kyiv reserves. However, the hometown club was quick on its feet and kept its player. When Zavarov was 16, the head coach of Zorya Yozhef Sabo took him to play for reserve squad and two years later Zavarov made his debut in the Soviet Top League. With the Zorya sports school team, twice Zavarov reached finals of a children republican tournament "Leather Ball" but, alas, never won it.