Volodymyr Bezsonov

Volodymyr Vasylyovych Bezsonov (Володимир Васильович Безсонов, also spelled Vladimir Vasilijević Bessonov from Владимир Васильевич Бессонов, born 5 March 1958) is a Ukrainian football manager and former player who played for the former Soviet Union national football team.

The most recent team he was managing was FC Dnipro in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Bezsonov's career began in 1976 with Dynamo Kyiv.

Bezsonov won 79 caps and scored 4 goals for the Soviet Union national team from 1977 to 1990 and was included in three FIFA World Cup squads.

He also holds the record for the fifth most appearances for the team.

In 1979, Bezsonov played a couple of matches for the Ukrainian SSR at the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR.

There, he spent most of his career, except for a short one-season stint in Israeli club Maccabi Haifa F.C. in 1990–91.

He was well known as a lightning quick full-back with a powerful shot.

Bezsonov was attack-minded and scored a good return for a defender.

He ended with 27 goals in the 377 games that he played for Dynamo.

In the 1990 World Cup, he was sent off against Argentina.

His team ended up losing the game 2–0 which eventually became his farewell match for the Russian Sbornaya.

Together they have a daughter, Anna Bessonova, who also competed internationally in rhythmic gymnastics and became world champion in 2007, as well as winning an Olympic bronze in 2004 and 2008.

In February 2022, a photo of Bezsonov on the frontline during the Russian invasion of Ukraine was posted on social media by his daughter.

Dynamo Kyiv

Soviet Union

Most recently, Bezsonov was the head coach of FC Dnipro in the Ukrainian Premier League, but was sacked in September 2010 following the team's elimination from the UEFA Europa League and a number of poor results domestically.

Bezsonov is married to Viktoria Serkyh, a former two-time world champion in rhythmic gymnastics.