Valeriy Lobanovskiy was a man with the Midas touch. “Golden generation” is a term bandied about all too freely these days, but the pioneering coach was able to forge great sides during each of his three spells in charge of Dynamo Kyiv between 1973 and 2002.
The Ukrainian won countless trophies, and it was under his stewardship that Dynamo became the first team from the Soviet Union to win a major European honour.During his three reigns they won the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1975 and 1986 plus the Super Cup.
And although in Lobanovskiy’s third stint at the club he was unable to bring a European trophy back to Ukraine, Dynamo’s run to the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 1998/99 season was nevertheless an incredible achievement by a crop of players who could justifiably say they lived up to the oft-used "golden" moniker.
In the group stages Dynamo finished ahead of Lens, Arsenal (off whom they took four points) and Panathinaikos. They then put Real Madrid to the sword in the quarter-finals before being drawn against Bayern Munich in the semis.
In the group stages Dynamo finished ahead of Lens, Arsenal (off whom they took four points) and Panathinaikos. They then put Real Madrid to the sword in the quarter-finals before being drawn against Bayern Munich in the semis.
And it could have been the Ukrainians, not the Germans, facing Manchester United in the Camp Nou in 1999. Dynamo were 3-1 up in the first legat a sell-out NSC Olympiyskiy Stadion, but two late goals brought Bayern level. Mario Basler’s superb strike in Munich dumped Lobanovskiy’s side out 4-3 on aggregate.
Quarter-finalists the year before, the Kyiv team oozed quality – and like United and Bayern they were hunting the treble, having won the league and cup in Ukraine that season.The German champions had a team brimming with talent: Oliver Kahn, Lothar Matthäus and Stefan Effenberg were part of a star-studded Bayern side pushed all the way over two legs, and it was a case of what could have been for Ukraine’s most successful club and manager.
Here’s Never Mind the Bolsheviks’ look at what the players who featured against Bayern Munich are up to now…
Goalkeeper: Oleksandr Shovkovskiy
Right-back: Oleg Luzhny
Centre-back: Oleksandr Holovko
Centre-back: Vladyslav Vashchuk
Left-back: Kakhaber Kaladze
Right midfield: Aleksandr Khatskevich
Central midfield: Valentin Belkevich
Central midfield: Andriy Husin
Left midfield: Vitaliy Kosovskiy
Centre-forward: Serhiy Rebrov
Centre forward: Andriy Shevchenko
Manager: Valeriy Lobanovskiy
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