What if there were a Soviet team at the Euros?

With Euro 2012 just a few days away, I’m sure most of us have already picked our favourites for the tournament. Some of you will be supporting the artistic Dutch, while others will root for German efficiency over the English game of ‘getting stuck in’. Still others would love to see Spanish tiki-taka pitted against French va-va-voom. Or if you love the art of defending, you’ll be observing Italian catenaccio. And why not? These sides have excellent players. But there is one side that could put them all to the sword, and beat them convincingly in the process. The only problem is that this team doesn’t exist any more. And the name of the team is Soviet Union. The Soviet National Football Team was founded in 1923, a year after the establishment of the ‘Great and Mighty Communist Union’ and ceased to exist in 1991 soon after its collapse. During it’s time, it was a force to be reckoned with, missing out on World Cup qualification just twice— in 1974 and 1978. Their best WC finish was fourth place in England in 1966. [caption id=“attachment_331592” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“In a dream Union team, Cech would be a contender for the number one shirt. Getty Images”]  [/caption] They were, however, quite impressive in the Euros, winning the inaugural competition in 1960, and finishing second thrice (1964, 1972, 1988) and fourth in 1968. The Soviets also won two gold medals at the Summer Olympics in 1956 and 1988, the World Youth Championship in 1977 and the FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1987. The Union had great players during its time as well. Oleg Blokhin was the team’s top scorer with 42 goals in 112 games, which also makes him their most capped player. Currently coach of Ukraine, the former Dynamo Kiev striker won the Ballon D’Or in 1975, making him the first Ukrainian and only the second Soviet player to win the award. The first Soviet player to win this award was legendary goalkeeper Lev ‘The Black Panther’ Yashin, who until today remains the only keeper to have won the European Footballer of the Year Award. Known for his imposing stature, he spent his entire club career with Dynamo Moscow. Yashin was decorated with the Soviet Union’s highest civilian award, the Order of Lenin in 1967 for his service to the game. His testimonial game was held at Lenin Stadium in Moscow, with superstars such as Eusebio, Pele and Franz Beckenbauer all featuring in it and was attended by more than 100,000 people. A bronze statue of Yashin now stands outside the Dynamo Stadium in Moscow. But the greatest accolade given to Yashin belongs to FIFA, who, since 1994, give the Lev Yashin Award to the best goalkeeper in a World Cup. Winners of this award include the likes of Fabien Barthez, Oliver Kahn and Gianluigi Buffon. Today’s Union team, should it exist, would consist of some of the best players in Europe. Eastern European football is not what it was a few years ago— as characterised by the likes of Spartak and Dynamo Moscow, Zenit St. Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk, Dynamo Kiev and several other sides playing in Europe season after season. At this point of time, these clubs have money too, as characterised by the likes of Anzhi Makhachkala, whose owner has built them a brand new stadium and is doling out millions to players like Samuel Eto’o. Today, players from Eastern Europe play in some of Europe’s best leagues, and are the mainstays of the clubs they play for. Edin Dzeko recently became the first ever Bosnian to win the Premier League, while collecting a winners’ medal with him was Aleksandar Kolarov. Both Branislav Ivanovic and Petr Cech are a huge chunk of the Chelsea defensive foundation. Neven Subotic, Robert Lewandowski and Jakub Blaszczykowski were ever present in Borussia Dortmund’s title run in the Bundesliga. Napoli’s front three have been electrifying this season, and Marek Hamsik’s performances as part of that trio have only served to better his reputation, while Nemanja Vidic and Tomas Rosicky, the former having retired from international football, need no introduction. Another Croatian— Everton’s Nikica Jelavic, lit up the EPL season after going on an incredible scoring run. But as Vladimir Putin said, “whoever doesn’t miss the Soviet Union has no heart. Whoever wants it back has no brain.” The Union’s reputation in human rights, politics and propaganda is well known for all the wrong reasons, and needs no explanation whatsoever. Like the Communist Dream, this team does not – and should not – exist. Although I would love to follow my heart given that this is football, I’m going to follow my brain just this once. Given below is a 23-man squad that the Soviet Union could bring to Euro 2012 had they existed. Please note that since the Union included most of Eastern Europe, most Eastern European teams would come under the Union, and the tournament itself would be held in the Union. Goalkeepers: Petr Cech (Chelsea and Czech Republic), Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow and Russia), Wojciech Szczesny (Poland and Arsenal) Defenders: Branislav Ivanovic (Chelsea and Serbia), Vedran Corluka (Tottenham Hotspur and Croatia), Neven Subotic (Borussia Dortmund and Serbia), Aleksandar Kolarov (Manchester City and Serbia), Darijo Srna (Shakhtar Donetsk and Croatia), Marek Suchy (Spartak Moscow and Czech Republic), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool and Slovakia) Midfielders: Anatoliy Tymoshyuk (Bayern Munich and Ukraine), Marek Hamsik (Napoli and Slovakia), Luka Modric (Tottenham Hotspur and Croatia), Igor Denisov (Zenit St. Petersburg and Russia), Ivan Rakitic (Sevilla and Croatia), Miralem Pjanic (AS Roma and Bosnia), Balazs Dzsudzsak (Dynamo Moscow and Hungary), Jakub Blaszczykowski (Borussia Dortmund and Poland) Forwards: Edin Dzeko (Manchester City and Bosnia), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund and Poland), Andrei Arshavin (Russia and Arsenal), Nikica Jelavic (Everton and Croatia) I know there are a lot of players left out of the squad, but there were only so many I could pick. Please feel free to suggest players.