The Kiev arrow

The name Igor Belanov, much like that of his friend Alexandre Zavarov, remains inextricably entwined within the history of both the Dinamo Kiev side that dashingly won the Cup Winners' Cup in 1986 and the USSR's national side of the 1980's.

He led the forward line even without the ball at his feet, Belanov was gifted with true speed, a skill he honed with his first professional club, Chernomorets Odessa.

After four years at the club he joined coaching legend Valeri Lobanovski at the mighty Dinamo Kiev in 1985, the year he also won his first cap for the USSR.

Success was immediately forthcoming, with the league and Cup double in his first season as part of a team that was known for its total football style of play.

Having won the USSR league title for the second time the following year, Belanov and Kiev then proved their class on the European stage.

In the 1986 Cup Winners' Cup Belanov and co simply romped toward the final where they crushed Spanish side Atletico Madrid 3-0 in Lyon. In the quarter-finals they had beaten the previous season's runners-up Rapid Vienna by an aggeagate score of 9-2.

European player of the year

Belanov and the Soviet side shone at the 1986 World Cup in Mexico too and initially threatened to dominate the tournament, before a defeat in an all time classic against Belgium.

The Belgians eventually won that second round tie 4-3 with Belanov scoring a hat-trick to add to his strike in the 6-0 first-round thrashing of Hungary.

His four World Cup goals and the Cup Winners' Cup success earned Belanov one of the games greatest accolades when he then picked up the European Player of the year award for 1986.

Two years later the same Soviet side went all the way to the European Championships final. There they faced the talented Dutch at the Munich Olympic stadium and were helpless against an on-form Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten, who assured Dutch succeess with a score of 2-0.

To add to the agony, Belanov missed a penalty, a moment he would later describe as his "worst ever memory".

Belanov then pursued his career in West Germany with Borussia Monchengladbach in 1989, thus becoming the first ever Soviet player to play in a German league team.

It was a less fruitful era for Belanov, injuries limiting his appearances and a theft scandal tarnishing his brilliant footballing reputation.