Eduard Streltsov

Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov (Эдуа́рд Анато́льевич Стрельцо́в; 21 July 1937 – 22 July 1990) was a Soviet footballer who played as a forward for Torpedo Moscow and the Soviet national team during the 1950s and 1960s.

A powerful and skilful attacking player, he scored the fourth-highest number of goals for the Soviet Union and has been called "the greatest outfield player Russia has ever produced".

He is sometimes dubbed "the Russian Pelé".

Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov was born in Perovo, an eastern district of Moscow, on 21 July 1937, the son of Anatoly Streltsov, a front-line soldier and intelligence officer, and Sofia Frolovna.

Anatoly did not return to the family following the Second World War, instead choosing to settle alone in Kiev; Sofia therefore raised her son on her own, working at the Fraser Cutting Instruments Factory to support Eduard and herself.

As a result, Streltsov had a modest upbringing, the highlights of which were playing football and following his favoured team, Spartak Moscow.

The factory recognised his talent from a young age: Streltsov became the Fraser Factory football team's youngest ever player when he was 13 years old.

Born and raised in east Moscow, Streltsov joined Torpedo at the age of 16 in 1953 and made his international debut two years later.

Three years later in 1953, a friendly match was organised between Fraser and a youth team from Torpedo Moscow.

Streltsov impressed the Torpedo coach, Vasily Provornov, and after befriending him, left Fraser to play for Torpedo.

Aged 16, Streltsov made his debut for Torpedo during the 1954 season, appeared in every league game and scored four goals.

The team finished ninth in the league, a drop from third the previous year.

In his second season Streltsov was the league's most prolific goalscorer, scoring 15 goals in 22 games as his side rose to fourth place.

Streltsov was selected for the Soviet national team for the first time in 1955, halfway through the season; his debut came in a friendly match against Sweden in Stockholm on 26 June, when he scored a hat-trick within the first 45 minutes as the Swedish team was defeated 6–0.

On his second appearance, a friendly home game against India, he scored three goals again.

He was part of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and came seventh in the 1957 Ballon d'Or.

A further game in Hungary and a goal against France meant that by the start of 1956, Streltsov had scored seven goals for the Soviet Union in four matches.

After scoring in a match against Denmark in April 1956, he missed three international matches before returning in September with a goal after three minutes in a 2–1 away victory over West Germany.

Streltsov continued to score regularly for Torpedo, managing 12 league goals during the 1956 season, but appeared in two successive defeats for the Soviets before they travelled in November 1956 to the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

Streltsov scored three goals in a 16–2 victory over Australia in an unofficial match on 15 November before scoring a late winning goal in the first tournament match against the United Team of Germany nine days later.

The Soviets required a replay to overcome Indonesia in the quarter-finals and met Bulgaria in the semi-final.

The match finished 0–0 after 90 minutes, and with defender Nikolai Tishchenko and Streltsov's fellow Torpedo forward Valentin Ivanov both injured, the Soviet team had only nine fit players when Bulgaria scored early in extra time.

Streltsov's performance was later described by journalist Jonathan Wilson as "magnificent"; he scored an equaliser after 112 minutes and then set up Boris Tatushin of Spartak Moscow four minutes later to score the winning goal.

Streltsov missed the final against Yugoslavia as the team manager, Gavriil Kachalin, believed the two forward players should be club team-mates; as Ivanov was unfit, Streltsov was dropped as well.

Nikita Simonyan, who took his place, offered Streltsov his gold medal following a 1–0 victory over the Yugoslavs, an offer which the Torpedo player refused, saying "Nikita, I will win many other trophies".

Streltsov received two votes in the 1956 Ballon d'Or.

At club level, he scored 12 goals in 15 league matches during the 1957 season.

Torpedo, never league champions and traditionally overshadowed by local rivals such as CSKA, Dynamo and Spartak, finished as runners-up of the Soviet Top League.

At the end of that season, Streltsov came seventh in the 1957 Ballon d'Or, gaining 12 votes; by the start of the World Cup year, 1958, his international record stood at 18 goals in 20 games.

The following year, his promising career was interrupted by allegations of sexual assault shortly before the 1958 World Cup.

Streltsov scored the first goal in a 2–0 win in a World Cup qualifying play-off match in Poland which meant the Soviet Union qualified for the 1958 World Cup.

Soviet authorities pledged he could still play if he admitted his guilt, after which he confessed, but was instead prosecuted and sentenced to twelve years of forced labour under the Gulag system (abolished in 1960 and replaced by prisons).

The conviction was highly controversial, with many pointing to conflicts between Streltsov and government officials.

Streltsov was released after serving approximately half of his sentence, and in 1965 he resumed his career with Torpedo Moscow.

Streltsov was restored to the Soviet national team in 1966, and in 1967 and 1968 named Soviet Footballer of the Year.

In the first season of his comeback, the club won the Soviet championship; in 1968 Torpedo won the Soviet Cup.

By the time of his retirement in 1970 he had pioneered innovations such as the back-heeled pass, which became known in Russia as "Streltsov's pass".

He died in Moscow in 1990 from throat cancer, which his first wife alleges was a result of irradiated food served to him during incarceration.

Six years later, Torpedo renamed their home ground "Eduard Streltsov Stadium" in his honour.

Statues of Streltsov now stand outside the stadium bearing his name and the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow.