Sergey Gotsmanov

Dinamo Minsk

Having spent most of his youth at Trudovyye Rezervy, he graduated to the FC Dinamo Minsk first team in 1979, where he was part of the team that won the Soviet championship in 1982 under manager Eduard Malofeyev. He made his international debut against Finland on 15 May 1984 and, in his second international appearance on 2 June 1984, he came on as a substitute against England in a friendly at Wembley and scored the opening goal as the USSR won 2–0. In the UEFA Euro 1988, he was a member of the Soviet Union squad, appearing in two Group B games against Ireland and England; he also appeared in both the semi-final (when he was elbowed in the face by Italy's Ancelotti) and the final, where the Soviets were defeated 2–0 by the Netherlands, with goals from Ruud Gullit and Marco van Basten. His exploits with both FC Dinamo Minsk and the USSR national team earned him the accolade as Belarusian Footballer of the Year four times (in 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989); this feat was subsequently matched by Alexander Hleb.

In England

In February 1990, Gotsmanov joined Brighton & Hove Albion on a non-contract basis and scored four goals in 16 games for Albion, and in his short time at the Goldstone Ground he became something of a cult figure with the crowd. In one game he showed his class when he rounded the opposition goalkeeper and saluted to the fans in the South Stand before putting the ball in the net. Albion wanted to sign Gotsmanov permanently but could not…

International goals

Dinamo Minsk

Soviet Top League champion: 1982 Belarusian Premier League champion: 1992–93, 1993–94 Belarusian Cup winner: 1993–94 Soviet Union

UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1988 Individual

Belarusian Footballer of the Year: 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989