Dynamo Kyiv is the most accomplished Soviet and post-Soviet football team. Its accomplishments include numerous USSR and Ukraine championships and National Cups as well as UEFA trophies. The full list of Dynamo Kyiv’s accomplishments can be found here .
Below you will find an ever growing account of Dynamo Kyiv’s history divided, to the best of my ability, into more or less self-contained epochs of the club’s history.
Dynamo Kyiv was founded in 1927 as a sports society of Police and the Ministry of Interior. This society had already existed in several major cities in USSR, particularly in Moscow, where the Dynamo Moscow team was one of the best teams in Moscow championships. These early Soviet teams did not consist of proffessional football players, they included the employees of the organizations they represented. For example, all Dynamo Kyiv players held posts in the Ministry of the Interior.
During this the earliest epoch of the club's history, Dynamo Kyiv was not an elite team in USSR, in fact, they were not always the best Kyiv team. In Kyiv, they had to deal with ZhelDor (Lokomotiv) Kyiv, a very strong local competitor, representing the SouthWestern Railway System workers. In Kharkiv, which until 1934 was the capital of Ukrainian SSR, there were several strong teams as well. In fact, Kharkiv was also considered the capital of Ukrainian football, proving it in national competitions. There were no real club competitions in USSR back then, there were, however, competitions involving largest cities in the country. Ukraine, more often than not, was represented by teams from Kharkiv. But, slowly, by 1935, Dynamo Kyiv emerged as the best team from Kyiv. Aided by the move of Ukrainian capital from Kharkiv to Kyiv, Dynamo Kyiv became a natural choice to represent Ukraine in the first official USSR Football Championship, in the Spring of 1936, thus a new chapter of Dynamo Kyiv's history began.
During the first years of USSR Championships, Dynamo Kyiv had showed that Ukrainian football is among the best in Soviet Union. In 1936-1941, Dynamo Kyiv managed to finish second in the very first championship (Spring 1936) and third in 1937. They also finished 4th in 1938.
Dynamo Kyiv also showed its strength in Europe, where in 1936 as a basis of Ukrainian Select Team they defeated powerful Red Star from Paris 6-1 and defeated several European trade union teams with a combined score of 88-3.
That same year Dynamo Kyiv defeated Turkish National Team, 9-1 and next year they lost to the Basque Select Team, 1-3. Several Dynamo Kyiv players of that time were among the best Soviet Football had to offer: Nikolai Trusevich, Anton Idzkovskiy, Mikhail Sviridovskiy, V. Shilovskiy, K. Schegodskiy, K. Piontkovskiy, V. Prokofiev, M. Volin, I. Lifshits, Nikolay Makhinya. They were coached by the legendary Mikhail Tovarovskiy.
During the World War II, many Kyiv professional footballer4s were unable to escape German occupation. During the occupation, they were all employed at Kyiv Bread Factory. In August 1942, Germans found out about the players of Dynamo and Lokomotyv still in Kyiv and decided to allow a local sports enthusiast to form a football team out of them. This team included 8 Dynamo Kyiv players and several players of Lokomotiv Kyiv who were also unable to escape the German occupation. The team included following players: Nikolai Trusevich, Mikhail Sviridovskiy, Nikolai Korotkikh, Aleksey Klimenko, Fedor Tyutchev, Mikhail Putistin, Ivan Kuzmenko, Makar Goncharenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Vladimir Balakin, Vasiliy Sukharev, and Mikhail Melnik (Lokomotiv Kyiv). Germans brought in several leading military teams from Germany and Hungary, and Start players, starving and under conditioned, defeated them all. Soon after Kyiv players had won their last game, some of them were suspected of sabotage and supporting local resistance groups, so the German authorities had arrested many of the Kyiv players, put them into a concentration camp, and, after a camp insurrection, executed several of them. Among the executed were Nikolai Trusevich, Ivan Kuzmenko, and Aleksey Klimenko. In addition, Nikolai Korotkikh was executed as his photograph, wearing an NKVD (Ministry of the Interior) uniform was found. There had been reports that right before the execution Nikolai Trusevich cried out, "Red Sport will triumph!" As the result of the war and occupation, Dynamo Kyiv was seriously damaged and it would take a long time for them to recover their pre-war significance in Soviet football. A more complete version of the events of 1942 can be found here.
Having suffered serious losses in the War, Dynamo Kyiv for a long time could not field a decent team of players. In 1946, they placed last in a 12 team league. Dynamo Kyiv was then spared, because of the successes they had had and a serious kadre situation they were in after the War. Occasionally, Dynamo Kyiv did shine, though. Under the leadership of O. A. Oshenkin, Dynamo managed to finish 2nd in 1952 and, in 1954, they won the Cup, for the first time in club's history. The following players were main Dynamo Kyiv players of that era: Oleg Makarov, A. Lerman, B. Golubev, N. Golyakov, P. Tischenko, T. Popovich, A. Larionov, M. Mykhalina, Edward Yust, A. Koltsov, Alexander Zazroev, Mykhaylo Koman, Z. Sengetovskyi, V. Zhilin, P. Vinkovatov, V. Bogdanovich, V. Zhuravlyov, V. Fomin, V Terentyev. In 1955, Golubev, Fomin, and Makarov were called to the Soviet National Team. This collection of players had proven to be a viable foundation for the next generation of Dynamo Kyiv players who will finally bring home the biggest trophy of Soviet football.
When, in late 1950s a new coach came to Dynamo Kyiv, V. D. Soloviev, a former star with CDKA Moscow, changes were happening in Kyiv football. A group of talented local young players was growing up and being brought up to play at the highest level of Soviet Football, wearing Dynamo's white-and-blue colors. The names of these players of the new generation would soon become famous all over USSR and abroad. They were Valeriy Lobanovskiy, Viktor Kanevskiy, Oleg Bazilevich, Andrei Biba, Valentin Troyanovskiy, Vladimir Anufrienko. As they grew and matured, Dynamo Kyiv started to approach the highest prize in Soviet football. Strengthened by the addition of the talented Yuriy Voinov, Vassiliy Turyanchik, Joseph Sabo, Viktor Serebryannikov, V. Schegolkov, Anatoliy Suchkov, and Nikolai Koltsov, the team joined the fight for the championship.
In 1960, Dynamo Kyiv finished second to Torpedo Moscow. Next year not even all the stars of Torpedo Moscow could prevent Dynamo Kyiv from becoming the first non-Moscow team to win the USSR championship title.
The fame of Dynamo Kyiv was further strengthened by new coach V. Maslov, who was invited to lead Dynamo Kyiv in 1963. In 1964, Dynamo Kyiv again won the Cup, and in 1966-1968, they won three straight USSR championships (the feat that has not been bested in Soviet football's history). Also, Dynamo Kyiv had become the first soviet club to enter UEFA arena. By 1967, they already defeated Scottish Celtic, one of the top teams in European Football of that time. 4 Dynamo Kyiv players (Ostrovskiy, Sabo, Porkuyan, Serebryannikov) played on 1966 USSR World Cup team in England that placed 4th. 6 Dynamo Kyiv players played on 1970 USSR World Cup team (Serebryannikov, Muntyan, Puzach, Byshovets, Khmelnitskiy, Rudakov). Dynamo Kyiv added another USSR title in 1971. But the most important event in the early 1970s for Dynamo Kyiv was the arrival of the new head coach, Valeriy Lobanovskiy, who would become one of the best coaches in world footballing history and take Dynamo to the heights of European prominence. His training program was new and unheard of, very physical, and very team-oriented. He was also aided by the arrival of a great new generation of future Dynamo Kyiv stars: Oleg Blokhin, Leonid Buryak, Volodymyr Onyschenko, Viktor Veremeev, Anatolyi Kolotov, etc. This process completed in 1974 and Dynamo responded by winning a "double", Championship and a Cup, in 1974.
Starting in 1975 Dynamo Kyiv had finally won the respect of the whole football-playing Europe. Dynamo Kyiv crushed through the 1974/1975 UEFA Cup Winners Cup to win it on May 14, 1975, against Ferencvaros, 3-0. On their way, they defeated PSV Eindhoven and Eintracht Frankfurt, some of the best club sides in European play. Later that year the USSR National team, almost entirely made up of Dynamo Kyiv players qualified for 1976 European Championship Finals. In the Fall, Dynamo Kyiv dismissed Bayern Munich, arguably the best European side of that time to win the prestigious SuperCup. At the end of the year Dynamo Kyiv added the seventh title of domestic championship and Oleg Blokhin became the MVP of the USSR championship for the third time in a row and the European Player of the Year (chosen by France Football's poll) The following players were awarded the Honored Master of Soviet Sport award: Oleg Blokhin, Leonid Buryak, Vladimir Veremeev, Viktor Kolotov, Anatoli Konkov, V. Matvienko, V. Muntyan, V. Onischenko, Stefan Reshko, Yevgeniy Rudakov, V. Troshkin, M. Fomenko.
In 1977, Dynamo Kyiv won another domestic championship title and reached the semifinals of UEFA Champions Cup. They followed it up next year with their fifth Cup. A new generation of Dynamo Kyiv players was growing up to replace the honored veterans: V. Lozinskiy, Volodymyr Bessonov, Anatoli Demyanenko, Sergei Baltacha, Vassili Evtushenko, Yuriy Romenskiy, Andrei Bal, V. Kaplun, A. Khapsalis and other talented players in Dynamo's pipeline.
These youngsters helped the few remaining veterans to win two straight championships in 1980 and 1981. In 1982, Dynamo Kyiv sent 8 players to the 1982 World Cup in Spain as the core of USSR National Team. Most will remember the goal Andrei Bal had scored there in the preliminary round match against Brazil.
Dynamo Kyiv had hit a slump in 1982-1984. The team struggled while replacing the retiring veterans and developing the young generation. But, in 1985, Dynamo Kyiv was again poised for great things.
In 1985, Dynamo Kyiv had won the championship (their 11th) and Cup double. But the great success came next year. In the season of 1985, Oleg Blokhin, a heralded leader of Dynamo Kyiv and Soviet football, had reached a unique mark: 200 goals in USSR Championships. No player has been able to even approach that mark. The second best was Aleksandr Ponomarev of Traktor Stalingrad, who retired in 1952, with 148 goals. In 1985/1986 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, Dynamo Kyiv swept all the opposition off their path to the trophy, Utrecht, Universitatea Craiova, Rapid Wien, Dukla Praha, all fell by the wayside and, in the final, Dynamo Kyiv confidently destroyed Atletico Madrid, 3-0! Once again, Dynamo Kyiv had climbed atop of the second most prestigious club competition on the continent. The club followed that success with their 12th USSR Elite League title
In 1987-1989, for many reasons, Dynamo Kyiv were unable to return to their winning ways. They managed to reach the pedestal twice more and win one more Soviet Cup. In 1987, they even reached the UEFA Champions Cup semifinals once again, losing to FC Porto Oporto of Portugal, an eventual UEFA Champions Cup winner. But the processes of democratization and freedom brewing in the country since 1985 had opened the doors to many talented Soviet footballers to the West. Most talented Dynamo Kyiv players had chosen to play abroad for large contracts and other incentives. Dynamo Kyiv, in the meantime, was trying to grow yet another crop of talented players. They were able to lure Oleg Protasov and Gennadi Litovchenko from a very strong Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, a fellow Ukrainian club. Protasov had already won the UEFA's Silver Boot - an award for the second highest scorer in domestic competitions in Europe, in 1987. In addition, the club pipeline produced several great new young players, such as Oleg Salenko, Sergei Yuran, Oleg Luzhnyi, who were able to assist Dynamo Kyiv to yet another Soviet Elite League title, in 1990. Unfortunately, in 1991, the last season of USSR domestic football competition, the team was unable to repeat the earlier success. Nevertheless, at the end of USSR Elite League's history, Dynamo Kyiv stood as the team that has won the most championship titles in Soviet football history - 13!
After the break up of Soviet Union, Dynamo Kyiv continued to dominate domestic football, now in the independent nation of Ukraine. After an unexpected second place finish in 1992, they have won 9 straight Ukrainian Premier League (UPL) titles from 1993 - 2001. They would go on to add 3 more UPL titles in 2002 - 2007. They have also won 9 National Cups since Ukrainian Independence. Dynamo has also,once again, proved their mettle on the international arena, where they had reached UEFA Champions League Semifinals in 1998/1999 and quarterfinals in 1997/1998. Dynamo Kyiv had routinely sent 10 - 12 players to play for the Ukrainian National Team, which had stopped one step short of the qualification for major tournaments three straight times in 1996 - 2002. In 2006, Dynamo Kyiv players were the core of the Ukrainian National Team, which had reached World Cup quarterfinals, the highest achievement for any post-Soviet national team.
Since 1991, Dynamo Kyiv produced a pleuthora of very strong football players. Of those, we should mention Viktor Leonenko, Olexander Shovkovskiy, Serhiy Rebrov, Andriy Shevchenko (the 2004 Ballon d'Or winner), Holovko, Vashuk, Vitaliy Kosovskiy, Valiantsin Belkevich, Khatskevich, Andriy Husin, Oleh Husev, Andriy Yarmolenko, Artyom Milevskyi, Olexander Aliyev, and several others.
After most of the players of the 1990s footballing generation had finished their playing careers, it had fallen to Oleh Husev and Olexander Shovkovskyi, the two remaining Dynamo stalwarts, to lead the new look and very international Dynamo towards new challenges in domestic and continental football. A new pleyad of talented players graduated the famous Dynamo academy, Zozulya, Andriy Yarmolenko, Artyom Kravets, Denis Harmash; Yevhen Khacheridi arrived from OLKOM Melitopol. They were joined by talented foreigners who chose to ply their trade in the white-and-blue jersey of Dynamo Kyiv, Ismaël Bangoura, Brown Ideye, Dieumerci Mbokani, Ognjen Vukojevic, Danilo Silva, Domagoj Vida, Jeremain Lens, Younès Belhanda, Lukman Haruna, Derlis Gonzalez, Łukasz Teodorczyk, Miguel Veloso, Aleksandar Dragović, Vitorino Antunes.
In 2012 and 2016, several Dynamo players donned the Ukrainian National Team jerseys to represent the nation in the finals of the European Championships.
