Igor Belanov (Soviet Union, Dynamo Kyiv) - 1986

Igor Ivanovich (or Ihor Ivanovych) Belanov (Ukrainian: Ігор Іванович Беланов; born 25 September 1960) is a retired Soviet and Ukrainian footballer who played as an attacking midfielder or second striker.

He made a name for himself at Dynamo Kyiv, winning five major titles and being named European Footballer of the Year in 1986. He then spent six years in Germany with two teams, with little success.
Belanov represented the Soviet Union at one World Cup and one European Championship.
In 2011, Igor Belanov together with Oleg Blohin and Vitaliy Starukhin was named as the "legends of Ukrainian football" at the Victory of Football awards.

Beginnings / Dynamo Kyiv

Belanov was born in Odessa, Ukraine, Soviet Union. He started playing professionally in his hometown, with SKA Odessa and FC Chornomorets Odessa, joining country giants FC Dynamo Kyiv in 1985, and scoring ten goals in his first season, which ended with league and cup conquest.
Along with teammates Oleg Blokhin and Oleksandr Zavarov, Belanov led the scoring charts at the 1985–86 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup (five apiece) as Dynamo won the competition for the second time.^[2] He played the full 90 minutes in the final against Atlético Madrid (3–0).

Germany

Midway through 1989, 29-year-old Belanov got the long-awaited clearance to join a Western European side, making a move to Germany to join Borussia Mönchengladbach. His debut in the Bundesliga came on 4 November 1989 in a 0–4 away defeat against VfB Stuttgart, but he failed to impress overall, scoring only four goals in his one-and-a-half-season stint.
Belanov moved to second level's Eintracht Braunschweig in January 1991, after his wife had been involved in a shoplifting affair. He made his debut for his new club on 23 February, and went on to net just 13 times in the competition in three seasons combined, also suffering relegation in 1992–93 without making a single appearance.

Retirement

In 1995 Belanov returned home to Chernomorets for one season, retiring at almost 37 after a spell with FC Illychivets Mariupol, appearing in only five games in two seasons combined.
He expressed opposition against the Euromaidan events, and said that he'd prefer to see Ukraine and Russia to be united.^[3][4]

International career

Belanov played 33 matches for the Soviet Union, scoring eight goals. His best performance came at the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, where he netted four and assisted for six others as the team (which comprised 13 Dynamo Kyiv players) reached the round-of-16; he scored a hat-trick in the game against Belgium, in a losing extra time effort (3–4).^[5]
This performance at the World Cup, along with Dynamo's Cup Winners' Cup success, helped Belanov win the European Footballer of the Year award. He was also part of the squad that reached the final of UEFA Euro 1988, where the national side faced the Netherlands. With the score at 0–2, USSR were awarded a penalty: he took it, but saw goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen stop the shot as the score remained unaltered.