Viktor Bannikov

Viktor Bannikov

Personal information
Full name	Viktor Maksymovych Bannikov
Date of birth	28 April 1938
Place of birth	Luhyny, Zhytomyr Oblast, Soviet Union
Date of death	25 April 2001 (aged 62)
Place of death	Kyiv, Ukraine
Height	1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1]
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1959	Avanhard Zhytomyr
1960–1961	Desna Chernihiv
1961–1969	Dynamo Kyiv	151	(0)
1970–1973	Torpedo Moscow	107	(0)
Total		258	(0)
National team
1964–1972	USSR	14	(0)
Teams managed
1976	FC Zorya Luhansk(director)
1977–1978	Spartak Zhytomyr
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Viktor Maksymovych Bannikov (28 April 1938 – 25 April 2001) was a Ukrainian football official and a Soviet player. He was considered one of the best goalkeepers in the Soviet Union earning the title of the best twice in 1964 and 1970. Bannikov had 138 shutouts earning him a place in the symbolic Lev Yashin club. Distinguished Master of Sport of USSR (1991).

Playing career

He was born in one of the villages in Zhytomyrschyna, Ukrainian SSR, to ethnic Russian parents. In the city of Zhytomyr he started his career into the big football. In 1961 he moved to Kiev where he spent 8 years of his playing career for Dynamo. During this time he was considered as one of the best players, and together with Dynamo he won the championships in 1967 and 1968. Also he was the member of the Soviet national team that took fourth place at the 1966 FIFA World Cup. As the member of the Kievan club he also was the holder of the Soviet Cup in 1964 and 1966. In 1968 he made a record that never was broken in the Soviet football by goalkeeping for 1122 minutes without conceding a single goal. In 1972 now with Torpedo Moscow he also won the Soviet Cup competition.

Professional career and awards

During his playing career, five times he was named to the symbolic dream team (33 of the best) which was picked on an annual basis. At the end of the 70s he was on the coaching positions for couple of Ukrainian teams. In 1991 he earned the distinguished master of sport of USSR award. He held a title of a distinguished coach of the Ukrainian SSR. From 1991 to 1996 he was the president of the Football Federation of Ukraine and until 2001 he stayed there as the vice-president. He had initiated the first official match for the Ukraine national football team. He had been awarded the Ruby Order of UEFA "For service". He dedicated his whole life to football and particularly to the development of the Ukrainian football.

National team

In his 14 international representations for his country he allowed 13 goals and won only six of them. His first game for the National Team was on 29 November 1964 against Bulgaria which was ties at nil. The most disastrous game came against Sweden in 1972 where he allowed three(!) goals and was substituted. The game was tied at four, and it was his last game on the international level. Having a great career at the club level, his international record was kind of shaky. His best game for the national team was against Wales at home grounds in 1965 (2:1 win). Bannikov lost only a single game when the national team yielded to Brazil at home in 1965 (0:3).

References

1. Strack-Zimmermann, Benjamin. "Viktor Bannikov". www.national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 11 May 2015.

Further reading

• Viktor Bannikov at National-Football-Teams.com
• Short biography (Russian)