We shine a light on some underappreciated contributors to European football on today’s episode of Greatest Games, in association with The Blizzard, alongside BBC and Okko Sport contributor Sasha Goryunov!

Sasha joins us to discuss the standout game he remembers from a childhood growing up in the Soviet Union, as Spartak Moscow ensured they won the 1989 Soviet League with victory over Dynamo Kiev. Dynamo were managed by the revolutionary tactical thinker Valeriy Lobanovskyi, who was among the early adopters of computers for statistical analysis and a pioneer of pressing football. He lined up against the 35 year-old Oleg Romantsev, the coach who brought an air of calm to the Spartak dressing room. What unfolded was a chaotic game rounded off by a Valeri Shmarov free-kick worthy of winning any title.

For more stories from the annals of football history, visit www.theblizzard.co.uk to explore their archives that contain over 700 articles of stories just like this one!

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