Oleg Blokhin

Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin, also spelled Oleg Vladimirovich Blochin (Ukrainian: Олег Володимирович Блохін) (born 5 November 1952 in Kiev) is a Ukrainian football coach and current head coach of the Ukrainian national team. Blokhin was formerly a standout striker for Dynamo Kyiv and the Soviet national team. In 1975 he was named European Footballer of the Year, winning the Ballon d'Or, becoming the second Soviet and the first Ukrainian player to achieve such a feat.

Career

Blokhin was born in Kiev, the capital of the Ukrainian SSR, in 1952 to a Russian father and Ukrainian mother.

Playing

Blokhin was one of the greatest strikers in the world throughout the 1970s, hitting the target regularly through a period of great success at his hometown club Dynamo Kiev and becoming the greatest goalscorer in the history of the Soviet League. Only the regime in the Soviet Union prevented him from moving abroad to play in Europe's strongest leagues.

Blokhin played during most of his career for Dynamo Kyiv, becoming the USSR national championship's all-time leader and goalscorer with 211 goals, as well as making more appearances than any other player with 432 appearances. He won the championship 8 times. He led Dynamo to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1975 and 1986, scoring a goal in each final. Blokhin is also the USSR national football team's most capped player with 112 caps, as well as their...
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