Russia All-team 23 member team

Russia 2008

Although Ukraine dominated the football in the USSR during the 1980's, Russia is main force behind some of the Soviet Union's most successful period.  The Soviets were the most successful country at the European Championship before 1972 when West Germany won their first trophy.  In the first four tournaments, they reached the Final three times, winning it in 1970.  In 1968, they failed to reach the Final only because of losing a coin toss.  They did not do as well in the World Cup, but they reached the semifinal in 1966.   Ethnic Russians such as Lev Yashin, Albert Shesternyov, Eduard Streltsov and Igor Netto were the major stars on those teams.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia's best performance was at Euro 2008.  The reached the semifinal after beating Holland 3-1 in the quarterfinal. 

If there were an All-Time World Cup, this would be the 23 players I would bring to the tournament. The team consisted of Russian players from both the Soviet Union and Russia.

Team
GK: Lev Yashin 
He is considered the greatest keeper in the history of the game. With the national team he won the 1956 Summer Olympics and the 1960 European Championship. He also played in three World Cups, in 1958, 1962 and 1966. He took the USSR to 4th place in 1966.  He spent his entire career with Dynamo Moscow.

Lev Yashin

GK: Rinat Dasaev 
He was considered one of the best keepers in the world during the 1980's.  He was capped 91 times from 1979 to 1990, being the second-most capped player ever for the Soviet Union. He appeared in the 1982, 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups, as well as the Euro 1988, where the Sivietrs finished second.

GK: Yevhen Rudakov
He was an ethnic Russian born in Moscow.  His career was associated with Dynamo Kyiv where he is regarded as their greatest keeper.  He became the first foreigner to win Ukraine's Player of the Year in 1971. He also represented the USSR  42 times and helped them reach the Euro 1972 finals.

RB: Mikhail Ogonkov 
He was a member of the USSR team that won the 1956 Olympic gold medal.  He spent his entire career with Spartak Moscow.  He career was cut short in 1958 when he was suspended for three years.

CB Anatoli Bashashkin 
He was captain of the Soviet Union at the 1952 Olympics, but following their politically embarrassing defeat to Yugoslavia he was stripped of the captaincy.

CB: Anatoli Maslyonkin
He earned 33 caps for the USSR , and participated in two World Cups, as well as the first ever European Nations' Cup in 1960, where the Soviets were champions. He also won a goal medal in football at the 1956 Summer Olympics.

CB: Albert Shesternyov 
He was the most famous defender from the former Soviet Union.
Nicknamed "Ivan the Terrible", he was the captain of the great Soviet team of the 1960s, he earned 90 caps an appearance record only broken subsequently by Oleg Blokhin and Rinat Dasaev in the late 1980s.  He played for CSKA Moscow for his entire career.

CB: Viktor Onopko
He was an Ukrainian, but chose to play for Russia after the collapse of the USSR.  He picked up 4 caps for CIS and 109 caps for Russia. He played in the 1994 and 2002 World Cups, as well as Euro 96.

CB: Vagiz Khidiyatullin 

He earned 58 caps and scored 6 goals for the USSR , and played for them in the 1980 Summer Olympics, 1988 UEFA European Championship and the 1990 FIFA World Cup.
 

LB: Evgeny Lovchev  

The Soviet player of the Yer in 1972. He played 52 for the USSR.  He was one of the best fullback of his time.

Evgeny Lovchev

LB: Yuri Zhirkov
He played over 50 times for Russia.  He earned a big move to Chelsea in 2009, but he moved to  FC Anzhi Makhachkala in 2011 and then, Dynamo Moscow in 013.  He also played for CSKA Moscow.

DM: Valery Voronin
He was Soviet Footballer of the Year in 1964 and 1965. Between 1960 and 1968 Voronin earned 63 caps and scored 5 goals for the USSR, and represented the country in the 1962 and 1966 World Cups.

CM: Igor Netto 
He was regarded among the best midfielders in Soviet history.  He played most of his career for Spartak Moscow.  He was the captain of the USSR from 1954 to 1963. He led the country to the gold medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics, and victory at the first ever European Championship in 1960. He missed all but one match in the 1958 FIFA World Cup due to injury, and also played all four matches in the 1962 FIFA World Cup when the Soviet Union reached the quarterfinals. In total he collected 54 international caps and four goals. 

Igor Netto

LW: Sergey Ilyin
He ws probably the best left winger in Soviet football history. He was best known for his stint with Dinamo Moscow, where he was the captain from 1935 to 1941.

AM: Yuriy Voynov
He earned 23 caps for the USSR , and represented the country in the 1958 FIFA World Cup and the 1960 European Nations' Cup, where the USSR were crowned the first ever European champions.  He was selected to the 1958 FIFA World Cup team of the tournament.

CM: Fyodor Cherenkov

He played 494 matches for Spartak Moscow between 1977 and 1993, more than any other player in the club's history. He played on the Soviet national team, scoring 12 goals in 32 appearances. He was the Sviet Player of the Year in 1983 and 1989.

AM/RW: Valeri Karpin
He scored Russia's first goal after the breakup of the Soviet Union, in a 2–0 win against Mexico on 17 August 1992. Karpin played for Russia at the 1994 World Cup, Euro 96, and the 2002 World Cup. 

RW: Igor Chislenko 
He was  legendary winger for Dinamo Moscow.  He also played for the USSR national football team, appearing 54 times for the Soviet Union and scored 21 goals. He played in the 1962 and 1966 World Cup, was a runner up in Euro 1964 and was one of the stars of the 1966 World Cup. 

RW: Andrey Kanchelskis 
He was one of the first players after the collapse of the USSR that succeeded in the West. He is remembered for his spells with English clubs Manchester United and Everton, and in Scotland with Rangers.

AM/LW: Andrei Arshavin
He first made his name with Zenit St. Petersburg after they won the UEFA Cup 2008.  He then went on to star at the Euro 2008 where Russia reached the semi-final. 

Andrei Arshavin

FW: Valentin Ivanov
He appeared 59 times for the Soviet Union, scoring 26 goals.  he is the co-leading scorer at the 1962 World Cup and co-1960 European Nations' Cup top scorer.  He spent his entire career with Torpedo Moscow.


FW: Viktor Ponedelnik
He scored the winning goal the Final of Euro 1960 that the Soviets its forst ever major trophy. He played most of his career with SKA Rostov-on-Don.

FW:  Eduard Streltsov 
He was one of the greatest strikers in Soviet history.  He first won an Olympic Gold medal in 1956. He was the Soviet Footballer of the Year in 1967 and 1968.  In 1996, Torpedo renamed their home ground "Eduard Streltsov Stadium" in his honour.

Streltsov, Yashin and Netto

Honorable Mention


Squad Explanation
The majority of the squad are players from the old Soviet Union.  All of the old Soviet players are ethnic Russian.  The post-Soviet Union players were based on the national team they chose to play for.  Viktor Onopko was an Ukrainian, but he opted to play for Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union.  He was ineligible to represent Ukraine in football. 

Starting lineup