Football Club 'Dynamo Kyiv', also known asDynamo Kyiv, or simplyDynamo, (Ukrainian:Футбольний клуб «Динамо» Київ[dɪˈnɑmoˈkɪjiu̯]) is a Ukrainian professionalfootball club based inKyiv. Founded in 1927 as a branch of the biggerSovietDynamo Sports Society, the club as a separate business entity was officially formed only in 1989 and currently plays in theUkrainian Premier League, and hasnever been relegated to a lower division. The club has secured brand rights from the Ukrainian Dynamo society and has no direct relations to the sports society since 1989. Their home is the 70,050 capacityOlimpiyskiy National Sports Complex.
Since 1936, Dynamo Kyiv has spent its entire history in the top league of Soviet and later Ukrainian football. Its most successful periods are associated withValeriy Lobanovskyi, who coached the team during three stints, leading them to numerous domestic and European titles. In 1961, the club became first-ever in the history of Soviet football that managed to overcome the total hegemony ofMoscow-based clubs in theSoviet Top League. TheSpartak Moscow–Dynamo Kyiv rivalry that began in the mid-1970s, is widely considered to have been one of the most exciting football rivalries in the Soviet Union.[3] Since becoming the first Soviet football club to participate in UEFA competition in 1965, Dynamo Kyiv has played in European competitions almost every season.
Today's club was established based on the first squad of Kyiv's branch of theall-Union Dynamo sports society and itsrepublican branch in theUkrainian SSR, originally based out ofKharkiv. The Soviet government relocated capital to Kyiv in 1934. The all-Union Dynamo sports society was a sports department of the Soviet state securityKGB, originally Cheka-OGPU. During the Soviet period Dynamo's players same as players of all Dynamos in theSoviet Union were officially Soviet uniform servicemembers earning rank, salary, and pension when playing on the team of masters.
On 13 May 1927, the statute of the Kyivan Proletarian Sport Society (PST) Dynamo was officially registered by the special commission in affairs of public organizations and unions of the Kyiv district.[4] The All-Union sport society ofDynamo in Moscow was formed earlier in 1923 on the initiative of theFelix Dzerzhinsky. A year later thefirst Ukrainian branch cell of the Dynamo sports society was formed inKharkiv. Under the banner of Kyivan Dynamo gathered the representatives of the local GPU (State Political Directorate), the Soviet secret police, the best footballers of which defended the honors of the Trade Union club "Sovtorgsluzhashchie", aportmanteau for Soviet retail servicemen.[5] It was a common practice of the early Soviet sports societies that were formed based on already existing "pre-revolutionary" (1917Bolshevik Revolution) sports societies in 1920s.
The leadership of Dynamo did not dare to reorganize the well-established club and the main title contender in the middle of a playing season. Therefore, the first mention of the football club Dynamo could only be found on 5 April 1928 in the Russian-language newspaper (at that time)Vecherniy Kiev ("Evening Kyiv").
The Kyivan Sport Society Dynamo currently is organizing its own football team. "Dynamo" petitioned to Okrsofik for inclusion of its team in the playing season.
It was then when by the initiative ofSemyon Zapadny, chief of the Kyiv GPU, the football team was created. His deputy, Sergei Barminsky, started to form the team not only out of regularchekists (members of the Soviet secret police), but also footballers of other clubs in the city among which is mentioned a team "Sovtorgsluzhaschie".[6] All the footballers were either part of the consolidated city team or the city champions. The newly created team played its first official match on 1 July 1928 against a local consolidated city team while visitingBila Tserkva.[4] Already on the fifth minute the Dynamo-men opened the score in the game, however, at the end the club lost it 1–2.[7] On 15 July, the Bila Tserkva newspaperRadyanska Nyva ("Soviet Fields") put it in such words:
In the second halftime Bila Tserkva easily strikes the ball in the net, thus, equalizing the score. Kyiv tried several counter attacks and even earned a free kick which was not able to convert. Near the end Bila Tserkva under the applause of thousands of spectators strikes in the second ball. The final whistle of the referee has fixated the victory of Bila Tserkva with the score 2:1.
The next match played by Dynamo was on 17 July 1928 hosting another Dynamo from the port city ofOdesa.[4] The match ended in draw 2:2. At the end of July Dynamo toured Belarus playing against the republican team of Belarus (1:5) and the districtal team of Gomel District (3:2). On 1 September 1928 Dynamo Kyiv was hosting the Dynamo's primary team from Moscow and were thrashed 2:6. It was then Dynamo Kyiv was led by a playing coach Vasyl Boiko whose role is indicated as an instructor-organizer. Later in October 1928 Dynamo Kyiv took part in its first official tournament the 1928 Kyiv city championship and won it. On 18 November 1928 Dynamo Kyiv overpowered the Kyiv's main football team of that period,Zheldor, 1:0.
As the club gained more experience and played on a regular basis, it started to fill the stadium with spectators with both the club and football in general gaining popularity inSoviet Ukraine.
On 14 September 1929 Dynamo Kyiv played its first international match against visiting workers' team fromDeutsch-Wagram,Lower Austria and lost it 3:4.
Its club stadium Dynamo opened on 12 June 1933,[4] a year before the Soviet government turned the city into capital of the Soviet Ukraine.
During the Soviet era, the club was one of the main rivals, and often the only rival, to football clubs fromMoscow. Its ability to challenge the dominance of the Moscow clubs in Soviet football, and frequently defeat them to win the Soviet championship, was a matter of national pride for Ukraine. Leaders of theUkrainian SSR unofficially regarded the club as their national team and provided it with generous support, making Dynamo a professional team of international importance.
In 1936, the firstSoviet Championship was played, and Dynamo Kyiv was one of the pioneers of the newly formed league. The club's early successes were however limited to a second-place finish in 1936 and third place in 1937. In the 1941 season, the club only played nine matches asWorld War II interrupted league play.
Poster of the return match (in Ukrainian Cyrillic / German Latin)
With the start of theGerman-Soviet War, as part ofWorld War II, most sports events in the Soviet Union were suspended or discontinued. Some sports organizations and individual athletes were evacuated toSoviet Central Asia or east of the Volga River. Many footballers joined the ranks of the Soviet Red Army either voluntarily or through mobilization. Kyiv ended up under German occupation within a few months ofOperation Barbarossa due to the successful encirclement of Soviet troops by German forces, a wide-scale Kyiv's encirclement (Battle of Kiev).
For mobilization purposes, the Soviet war propaganda story is often told of how the Dynamo team, playing as "Start, City of Kyiv All-Stars", was executed by a firing squad in the summer of 1942 for defeating an All-Star team from the German armed forces by 5–1. The actual story, as recounted by Y. Kuznetsov, is considerably more complex. Still, this match has subsequently become known in the Soviet media as "The Death Match". This story also became part of the post-Soviet myth of the Great Patriotic War for the Russian people.
After the Nazi occupation of Ukraine began, former professional football players (Dynamo andLokomotyv) found employment in the city's Bakery No. 3, and continued to play amateur football. The team participated in exhibition games that took place in the city among various other teams, including teams composed of theWehrmacht soldiers. The Kyiv team played under the name of "Start", comprising eight players from Dynamo Kyiv (Mykola Trusevych, Mykhailo Svyridovskiy, Mykola Korotkykh, Oleksiy Klymenko, Fedir Tyutchev, Mikhail Putistin, Ivan Kuzmenko, and Makar Honcharenko) and three players from Lokomotyv Kyiv (Vladimir Balakin, Vasyl Sukharev, and Mykhailo Melnyk).
In July and August 1942, "Start" played a series of matches against the Germans and their allies. On 12 July, a German army team was defeated. A stronger army team was selected for the next match on 17 July, which "Start" defeated 6–0. On 19 July, "Start" defeated the Hungarian team MSG Wal 5–1. The Hungarians proposed a return match, held on 26 July, but were defeated again, 3–2.
"Start"'s streak was noticed and a match was announced for 6 August against a "most powerful" "undefeated" GermanLuftwaffeFlakelf (anti-aircraft artillery) team, but despite the game being talked up by the newspapers, they failed to report the 5–1 result. On 9 August, "Start" played a "friendly" againstFlakelf and again defeated them. The team defeated Rukh 8:0 on 16 August, and afterwards, some of "Start"'s players were arrested by theGestapo, tortured – Mykola Korotkykh died during the torture – and sent to the nearbylabour camp at Syrets. There is speculation that the players were arrested due to the intrigues of Georgy Shvetsov, founder and trainer of the "Rukh" team, as the arrests were made a couple of days after "Start" defeated "Rukh".
In February 1943, following an attack bypartisans or a conflict between the prisoners and administration, one-third of the prisoners at Syrets were killed in reprisal, including Ivan Kuzmenko, Oleksiy Klymenko, and goalkeeper Mykola Trusevych. Three of the other players – Makar Honcharenko, Fedir Tyutchev, and Mykhailo Sviridovskiy – who were in a work squad in the city that day, were arrested a few days later or, according to other sources, escaped and hid in the city until it was liberated.
The story inspired three films: the 1961 Hungarian film dramaTwo Half Times in Hell, the 1981 American filmEscape to Victory, and the 2012 Russian filmMatch.
In the first post-war years, all those who remained in the team were already quite old to play on the first team. Although in those years Dynamo Kyiv was joined by a whole group of younger footballers from Transcarpathian clubs (Vasyl Hodnychak,Ernest Yust,Zoltan Dyerfi,Zoltan Senhetovskyi,Mykhailo Koman,Dezyderiy Tovt and others), the team still could not really compete with other clubs, who endured the war better. In 1945, Dynamo took the penultimate place in the championship, and in 1946, the very last, and, according to the regulations, it was supposed to be relegated, but an exception was made for the team, remembering the wartime losses. In addition, these events were accompanied by coaching fever: from 1946 to 1951, the club changed ten coaches.
The first post-war success was the victory in the doubles (reserves) tournament in the 1949 season. Since 1946, the Soviet first-tier league has been conducting a championship among younger players, which ran parallel to the championship among the first squads.
The turning point came during the 1951 season, before whichOleg Oshenkov took charge of the club. The new coach introduced to the main team younger players who had proven themselves well in doubles (reserves) competitions. He also drastically shortened the winter vacation of his players, offering them a serious physical training program that included sports games, various exercises, and even boxing. Already in the next championship, which took place in a round robin in Moscow, it brought the first results. Dynamo Kyiv turned from a mid-table team into one of the favorites, winning the silver medals, just behindSpartak Moscow.
On 29 July 1959, an international friendly match between the football teams "Dynamo" (Kyiv, Ukraine) and "Dynamo"[a] (Bacău, Romania) took place in Kyiv, which ended with a score of 3:0.[9]
In the1961 season, Dynamo won theSoviet Union championship for the first time. The team from the capital of the Ukrainian SSR finished ahead ofTorpedo Moscow (title holders) by 4 points. Dynamo Kyiv played 30 matches in the national championship (16 participants). Only three of those matches Dynamo lost, and nine ended in a draw. The fact that they scored as many as 54 goals in 30 games testifies to the strength of the Dynamo's offensive line, where played such players likeOleh Bazylevych,Viktor Kanevskyi,Valeriy Lobanovskyi,Viktor Serebryanikov. And about the strength of the defensive line - the fact that the experienced goalkeeperOleg Makarov never had to take the ball out of the net in 12 matches. It was the first time in the history of theSoviet Union championships, when the national title of the country's champion was gained by a non-Moscow club.[10]
The first Dynamo gold medals received:[11] (first number indicates games played, second - goals scored (or allowed))
After the triumphant season of 1961, in the following two seasons, Dynamo's position significantly worsened. In 1962, the team took 5th place, and the following year, 7th.
The first "three-peat" and first European appearances
Maslov and his subordinates were entrusted with becoming the first Soviet club to participate in a European club tournament. This was the1965–66 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.
The political motives of the USSR leadership explain everything. The communist ideology did not accept the possibility of Soviet athletes losing to capitalist rivals and played it safe for a long time. For example, the1964 Soviet champion,Dinamo Tbilisi, was not trusted to participate in the1965–66 European Cup. This continued until 1965, when Dynamo Kyiv was declared to participate in the Cup Winners' Cup. “We are entering a competition whose conditions, behind-the-scenes struggles, and specific tactical techniques are known to us only by hearsay,” said Kyiv coach Viktor Maslov before the start.[12]
I don’t know why this decision was made, but our team had the feeling that we were being used as “guinea pigs.” (as inanimal testing) It was very convenient for the Moscow clubs with titles to watch the tournament without risking their reputation. We had to play “blindly”: none of the opponents were known to us. There were no tapes of matches of future opponents anywhere near us. And for a representative of the coaching staff to go and watch the opponent’s game live was something out of the realm of fantasy (seeIron Curtain). Everything was new and unknown. In one word, pioneers.[13]
— Dynamo midfielderAndriy Biba, the author of the first Soviet goal in European club tournaments
However, the start of the tournament was successful as Dynamo defeatedColeraine from Northern Ireland with a score of 6:1 and 4:0. After that, Dynamo beat the NorwegianRosenborg twice more - 4:1 and 2:0. But in the quarterfinals they were eliminated byCeltic (0:3 and 1:1), with whom they had to play in mid-January. Therefore, the playing form of the Kyiv team was far from optimal, and in addition, they played their home game not in Kyiv but inTbilisi.[14]
In1967 and1968, Dynamo again won the Soviet Class A Group 1, thereby repeating the record of Moscow'sCDKA, three championship titles in a row. In the same 1967, the Kyiv team made its debut in the1967–68 European Cup. Maslov's team sensationally eliminated the current holder of the trophy, ScottishCeltic F.C.,[15][16] in the first stage, but lost to Polish championGórnik Zabrze in the round of 16.
In October 1973, before a match againstKarpaty in Lviv (20 October 1973), the Kyiv team's players were introduced to a new head coach, 34-year-oldValeriy Lobanovskyi. In January 1974, Lobanovskyi was joined by his former Dynamo partnerOleh Bazylevych, who had coachedShakhtar Donetsk after his retirement. This tandem worked until the end of 1976. Both coaches had equal rights, although Bazylevych was primarily a prominent theorist, while Lobanovskyi organized the training process.[19] In 1974,Anatoliy Puzach also joined the staff. Oleh Bazylevych initiated an invitation to join the club of physical training scientists. The physical training program for the players was developed by scientist Anatoliy Zelentsov. After the 1974 season, the press characterized the Dynamo's style under the new coaches not very positively and criticized them for rationalism, unwillingness to play attacking football away from home (the so-called "away model" - playing from defense to obtain a draw), and for performing at mediocre speeds. But good results were achieved in 1974, the Kyiv team won the1974 Soviet Top League and the1974 Soviet Cup.
The "Lobanovskyi era" began with Dynamo's double in 1974 andOleh Blokhin being recognized as the best football player in the country. In 1975, Dynamo won the championship again, 5 points ahead ofShakhtar.
In the first three rounds of the1974–75 European Cup Winners' Cup, the Kyiv team defeatedCSKA Sofia,Eintracht Frankfurt, where the famousJurgen Grabowski played, and the TurkishBursaspor. Dynamo's semifinal opponent was the Dutch championPSV. The game in Kyiv ended in a 3:0 rout defeat of the guests, and Dynamo lost the second game by a narrow margin of 1:2.
The Dynamo's list of players that became holders of the 1975 European Cup Winners' Cup: (first number indicates games played, second - goals scored (or allowed))
According to the results of the tournament, Dynamo won 8 out of 9 matches, which is 88.88% of all matches, making it thebest winning team at that time. That record was surpassed only in 2020 byFC Bayern Munich and later by some other teams.
All 3 goals in these games were scored byOleh Blokhin, who at the end of the year was recognized by "France Football" as the best footballer in Europe and awarded theBallon d'Or ("Golden Ball"). In addition to him, there was another Dynamo player in the classification,Leonid Buryak, who shared 23-26 places.[20] At the same time, Dynamo set a record for the Soviet "list of 33 best football players": as many as 12 Kyivans were on the list, and 8 of them were ranked at No. 1. Ten the European Cup Winners' Cup holders received the highest sports title, "Honored Master of Sports". According to the 1975 results, the BritishSports Journalists' Association recognized Dynamo Kyiv as the strongest football team in the world.[21]
After the triumph of 1975, a certain decline in Dynamo's game began, which lasted until 1985. The team continued to win Soviet trophies, but there was no breakthrough in the game. In addition, constant failures in European cups continued. In 1983, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, appointed head coach of theSoviet Union national football team, left Dynamo and returned to the club in 1984. The new "Lobanovskyi team" confirms its international class: Dynamo won the1985–86 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup for the second time, and almost the entire Dynamo team as the USSR national team played at the1986 FIFA World Cup and the1988 European Championship, where it became the vice-champion of Europe. Ihor Belanov was the second Dynamo player to win the 1986Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball).
The Dynamo's list of players that became holders of the 1986 European Cup Winners' Cup: (first number indicates games played, second - goals scored (or allowed))
In 1989, the club transitioned into an independent company, being disassociated from the Ukrainian republican society of Dynamo.[22] The club transitioned from the Soviet "team of masters" to a regular professional football club of "western" style as it was interpreted then. It was also part of theMikhail Gorbachev'sPerestroika reforms, known asKhozrasschyot, when state enterprises had a difficult time keeping their associated organizations afloat and encouraged them to transform into self-sustained businesses.[23][24]
During the last seasons of theSoviet Top League, it competed in the national colors of Ukraine as part of the national movement that grew very popular.
After thedissolution of the Soviet Union, the club became a member of the newly formedUkrainian Premier League. By the summer of 1993, however, the club was in crisis as the economic policy of Dynamo presidentViktor Bezverkhy set Dynamo on the path to bankruptcy. On 19 July 1993, an extraordinary assembly of coaches and players fired Bezverkhy and established a stock society called "Football Club "Dynamo (Kyiv)".Hryhoriy Surkis was elected president of the new company. The republican and city councils of the Dynamo society agreed to hand over two training centers and Dynamo Stadium to Dynamo Kyiv. The founders besides the football team and the Dynamo councils became also the commercial consulting centre Slavutych and the British firm Newport Management. A review board was created, consisting of directors of the Ministry of Interior of Ukraine, and the Security Service, Border Troops, and General Prosecutor of Ukraine.
Dynamo's status as the country's principal club did not change, however, as they went on to dominate domestic competitions, winning or being runner-up in every year of the Premier League's existence and becoming a fixture in theUEFA Champions League. Its main rival in Ukraine isShakhtar Donetsk, a club from theDonbas region, that came second to Dynamo several times before winning its first Premier League in2002. The matches between these two sides are called theUkrainian derby.
In 2007, as a part of club's 80-year anniversary, two gold stars were added to the top of the crest, representing ten Ukrainian championship titles and ten USSR champion titles. Due to club's poor performance in theUEFA Champions League during the last two seasons, Dynamo's management took a somewhat unexpected decision by appointing the first foreign manager in the club's history. Previously, only former players or Dynamo football academy graduates became managers, but in December 2007 Russian coachYuri Semin was invited to become the new manager of Dynamo Kyiv. However, the club yielded to Shakhtar Donetsk in both the Ukrainian Cup and Premier League in 2008. In 2009. in the club's most successful European campaign since 1999, it reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Cup (eliminating such teams asValencia andParis Saint-Germain) but was defeated at that stage by Shakhtar Donetsk. However, 2009 also brought success, as the club celebrated its 13th Premier League title.
In a season which contained their record win, a 9–0 victory overIllichivets Mariupol, the club only managed to finish runners-up in the league in 2010–11, after Shakhtar Donetsk. In what would be iconAndriy Shevchenko's final season at the club, Dynamo also finished as runners-up in 2011–12. In the 2011–12 season Dynamo also managed to reach the group stage of the Europa League after being eliminated in the Champions League third qualifying round byRubin Kazan by 0–2 in Kyiv and 2–1 inKazan. In the Europa League playoffs, the club managed to defeatLitex Lovech with a 3–1 aggregate score. In the group stage, Dynamo finished third after a disappointing campaign in a group containingBeşiktaş,Maccabi Tel Aviv andStoke City.
In April 2013, it was announced the club would play two European ties behind closed doors due to racism from fans during previous European ties. In the 2012–13 season, the club managed to qualify for the Champions League group stage after eliminatingFeyenoord 3–1 andBorussia Mönchengladbach 4–3 on aggregate and qualified for the Champions League group stage. Dynamo was placed in a group with Paris Saint-Germain,Porto andDinamo Zagreb and finished in third place with only five points and was eliminated in the Europa League round of 32 byBordeaux 2–1 on aggregate. In the Premier League, Dynamo finished third, whereas in the Cup, it was eliminated in the round of 32. Overall, the 2012–13 season was a disappointment for Dynamo. The 2013–14 season was an equally disappointing season as Dynamo finished in fourth place in the league, the worst since the establishment of the Premier League and only managed to reach the round of 32 in the Europa League where it was eliminated by Valencia 2–0 on aggregate.Oleh Blokhin was sacked and was replaced by former playerSerhii Rebrov. As a result, Dynamo managed to win the2013–14 Ukrainian Cup for the first time in five years.[25]
Serhii Rebrov, former player and manager of the team from 2014 to 2017
In the beginning of the 2014–15 season, Dynamo signed many promising players such asAleksandar Dragović,Jeremain Lens (departed after end of the season),Łukasz Teodorczyk andVitorino Antunes. Under Rebrov, Dynamo won the2014–15 Ukrainian Premier League – undefeated – and the2014–15 Ukrainian Cup to earn a domestic double for the first time in eight years. In the2014–15 Europa League, Dynamo comfortably qualified from a group containingAalborg BK,Steaua București andRio Ave, finishing in first place with 15 points. In the round of 32, the club eliminatedGuingamp 4–3 on aggregate, and in the round of 16, eliminatedEverton 6–4 on aggregate after a spectacular 5–2 performance in Kyiv. Rebrov prioritized the passing game but focused on solid defensive foundations. However, in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, Dynamo was eliminated byFiorentina 3–1 on aggregate.
In the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Dynamo signed the highly talentedDerlis González and was drawn in Group G of the2015–16 Champions League alongsideChelsea F.C.,FC Porto andMaccabi Tel Aviv F.C. Dynamo finished in second place with 11 points after a spectacular performance and a memorable 0–2 inPorto. However, Dynamo was punished byUEFA for a racist incident in the home game against Chelsea where four black men were attacked in the stands by Dynamo fans.
Despite this, Dynamo reached the round of 16 in the Champions League for the first time since 2000, where it was drawn withManchester City. Dynamo was eliminated 1–3 on aggregate but managed to hold an impressive 0–0 draw inManchester. Dynamo's domestic performance was equally memorable as the club celebrated the2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League only losing to archrival Shakhtar Donetsk 0–3 twice and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the2015–16 Ukrainian Cup. At the end of the season, several star performers (such asMiguel Veloso,Aleksandar Dragović,Younès Belhanda andŁukasz Teodorczyk) departed the club and were not replaced.
The 2016–17 season was a relative disappointment for Dynamo, as the club finished in second place in the2016–17 Ukrainian Premier League, behind Shakhtar Donetsk, with a difference of 13 points after a string of disappointing results. In the2016–17 Champions League, the club was drawn in Group B alongsideNapoli,Benfica andBeşiktaş J.K. Dynamo finished in fourth place after a dismal campaign, but managed to record a memorable 6–0 win over Beşiktaş in Kyiv. In the winter transfer window, Dynamo signed promising defendersAleksandar Pantić andTamás Kádár and focused on youth academy talents such asViktor Tsyhankov,Artem Besyedin andVolodymyr Shepelyev, managing to improve its performances. Dynamo lost the2016–17 Ukrainian Cup to Shakhtar Donetsk 0–1 in the final.
For the 2017–18 season, after Serhii Rebrov departed, the club appointed former playerAlyaksandr Khatskevich as Rebrov's replacement. In Khatskevich's first two seasons at the helm, Dynamo failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stage, having to settle for the UEFA Europa League group stage instead. Both times they were eventually eliminated in the Round of 16, first byS.S. Lazio (2–4 on aggregate) in2017–18, and then byChelsea F.C. (0–8 on aggregate) in2018–19. Domestically, Dynamo remained firmly in second place behind Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League. Despite the apparent lack of progress in the results, Khatskevich was rewarded with a two-year contract extension.[26]
However, only six matches into his new extension, Khatskevich was fired on 14 August 2019,[27] after once again failing to advance to the UEFA Champions League group stage. Dynamo's Sports Director,Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko, was appointed as manager. Despite the change, the results on the field hardly improved, as Dynamo was eliminated from continental competitions by placing 3rd in Group B of the2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage.
On 23 July 2020, Mircea Lucescu became the head coach of Dynamo. Lucescu signed a two-year contract.[28]
Being a member of the All-Union Sports SocietyDynamo, the Dynamo football team of Kyiv adopted the same emblem of the Dynamo's sports society as its first logo, which featured on their shirts since 1927 and was acursive blue Cyrillic letter "Д" (D)[29] in a verticalrhombus. Similar emblem existed in other Soviet football teams throughout the Soviet Union such asFC Dynamo Moscow,FC Dinamo Tbilisi,FC Dinamo Minsk, and others. The idea of symbol is attributed to a native of Ukraine Leonid Nedolya-Honcharenko who at that time served as a chief of political department of the OGPU troops in Moscow District.[30]
The symbol the club obtained onfranchise rights from the Ukrainian Fitness and Sports Society "Dynamo" (seeDynamo–Ukraine). Over the years, the club's logo has undergone many changes and replacements, but the cursive "D" has remained ever since.
In 2003 after Dynamo won their 10th domestic trophy, a golden star was added at the top of the logo to celebrate the club's success. The second star was added to the logo in 2007 during celebrations of Dynamo's 80-year anniversary. Although Dynamo has won only 15 Ukrainian league titles, their 13 titles as USSR Champions were taken into account.
Dynamo's emblems displayed at the stadium
Dynamo's traditional colours are white and dark blue, with white being the predominant colour. Throughout their history the club has usually played in a white shirt and blue shorts. This was changed in 1961 when a blue sash was added to the kit; it was removed soon afterwards. In 2004, the club's management decided to restore the famous sash as atalisman. It was added to the away kit and remained there until the beginning of the2008–09 season, when it was replaced by a white kit with a shirt having thin blue vertical stripes, the first time in over 50 years that a club had worn such a pattern.
During the last two seasons before the breakup of the Soviet Union, Dynamo's kit was similar to Metalist, yellow shirts and blue shorts. This color scheme carried a symbolic meaning, representing thenational colours of the yet-not-adopted Ukraine national flag. In the1990 Soviet Cup Final, the yellow-blue Dynamo team thrashed the all-Red Lokomotiv 6–1 atLuzhniki Stadium. In the early years of Ukrainian independence, the club swapped their yellow colour for white. However blue remained one of Dynamo's colours and is still a main colour of the club's away kit.
The original logo of the professional club (1989–1996)Logo (1972–1989) as part of republicanDynamo (Ukraine) societyLogo of 1996–2010 to the 80th anniversary
Each gold star on the Dynamo's emblem represents ten championships.
Dynamo Kyiv has participated in all of the USSR and Ukrainian championships to date, and has won both competitions more times than any other team. The club's best performances were in the 1970s and 1980s, a time in which theSoviet Union national football team was composed mostly of players from the club. Dynamo Kyiv tied the national record for winning three consecutive Soviet Premier League titles in 1966, 1967, and 1968.
Dynamo Kyiv won theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1975 and 1986 as well as theEuropean Super Cup in 1975, after two games againstBayern Munich. In 1977, 1987, and 1999, the club reached the semi-finals of theUEFA Champions League. These victories are associated with the name ofValeriy Lobanovskyi, who played for the club in the 1960s and later became the club's long-term head coach. In 2009 the club reached the semi-final of theUEFA Cup.
Dynamo strikerOleh Blokhin is the Soviet Premier League's all-time top scorer with 211 goals, and has also made more appearances than any other player in the championship's history with 432.
Dynamo strikerOleh Blokhin is the Soviet Union natioall team all-time top scorer with 42 goals, and has also made more appearances than any other player for the team with 112. Two other Dynamo strikers –Oleh Protasov andViktor Kolotov – are among the Soviet Union national football team top five best scorers with 29 and 22 goals respectively. Two other Dynamo players –Anatoliy Demyanenko andVolodymyr Bezsonov – are among the Soviet Union national football team top five players with most appearances 80 and 79 respectively.
While there is no such institution in the club, it does honor its notables players as "Golden Names", while coaches are honored as "Legendary Mentors".
The club's home ground,Valeriy Lobanovskyi Dynamo Stadium, is situated in a park located in the centre of the city, close to theDnieper River bank. The stadium holds 16,873 spectators, and has been the club's home since 1934. When it was built the stadium's capacity was 23,000.[36] After being destroyed in 1941 duringWorld War II, it was rebuilt in 1954. By the end of the 20th century, the stadium was reconstructed as a football-only venue with individual seats. These changes reduced the facility's capacity to its present one. In 2002 after the sudden death of Dynamo's longtime player and coachValeriy Lobanovskyi, the stadium was renamed in his honour. AfterNSK Olympiyskiy was closed for reconstruction in 2008, Dynamo also began to play its European games at the Lobanovsky Stadium.
Due to a high demand for European fixtures of the club throughout its European history Dynamo played a majority of their home fixtures at Kyiv's and Ukraine's largest stadium, theOlimpiyskiy National Sports Complex, historically dubbedThe Republican Stadium, which held 83,450 spectators. The stadium has been the home of theUkrainian Cup final since its inaugural game in 1992 and up until 2007. The stadium was closed for a major reconstruction in 2008, after Ukraine and Poland were chosen to host theUEFA Euro 2012. The Olympiysky became Kyiv's main venue[clarification needed][citation needed] as well as the stadium that hosted the final; it also become a UEFA Elite rated stadium.
The team also has a modern-equippedtraining base in the Kyiv suburb ofKoncha-Zaspa. The club maintains its own football school for children and youths, also situated in Kyiv. Junior Dynamo teams are colloquially known asDynamo-2 andDynamo-3. Its reserves team -called "double" (дубль) in both Ukrainian and Russian- participates in the national Reserves tournament, where "doubles" of all 16Vyscha Liga teams compete. Many notable Dynamo Kyiv players progressed through the club's youth system, among them isAndriy Shevchenko, one of the graduates of the school.
Since 2022, Dynamo Kyiv has been forced to play its UEFA home games outside of Ukraine. For the 2022–23 season, Dynamo started in the UEFA Champions League qualifications playing three games atWładysław Król Municipal Stadium,Łódź (Poland). Later that season, in the UEFA Europa League, it played another three games atJózef Piłsudski Cracovia Stadium,Kraków. For the 2023–24 season, Dynamo played two games atRapid-Giulești Stadium,Bucharest (Romania). For the 2024–25 season, Dynamo played three games atArena Lublin,Lublin (Poland). Later that season, in the UEFA Europa League, it played another four games atVolksparkstadion,Hamburg (Germany). For the 2025–26 season, Dynamo returned toArena Lublin,Lublin (Poland).
Dynamo Kyiv has several reserve teams. Dynamo reserve teams competed in national competitions since 1946. The club was fielding its reserve team in theSoviet Top League competitions for reserve teams (so called doubles) that existed in 1946–1991. Dynamo doubles team holds a record for number of champion titles of the Soviet Top League for doubles winning it 15 times with a closest pursuing Spartak doubles team trailing with 9 titles. In 2004 the club revived its reserve team which later became youth (U-21) team competing atUkrainian Premier League competitions for U-21 and U-19 teams. Dynamo football school (academy) fields few teams inUkrainian Youth Football League as well as Kyiv city football league. Among possibly most exotic football academy graduates is a former Moroccan internationalTarik El Jarmouni.
Besides its normal junior squads, FC Dynamo Kyiv also has fielded its second team Dynamo-2 which competed among regular "teams of masters" (Soviet analog of professional teams) as well as republican competitions (amateur level) during the Soviet period. The first time the team participated in football competitions at professional level was in 1964 when it took part in theSoviet Second League (in so called the Ukrainian Soviet football competitions). Withdissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991,Dynamo-2 was revived based on the Dynamo's reserve team that participated in the Soviet Top League for doubles. The team continued to play inUkrainian First League for over 20 years. Along with the second team, Dynamo created also its third team Dynamo-3 which at first played at amateur level and later advanced toUkrainian Second League. Since 2016, Dynamo has discontinued its numbered team.
Since parting from its parent Dynamo society in 1989, Dynamo Kyiv becoming exclusively a football club (other departments were left with the Kyiv city branch ofDynamo–Ukraine) had also its own women team which while not being as successful as the main team, had some degree of success when they were playing first at Soviet and later at Ukrainian competitions. In 1994 the whole women's section was liquidated as the owners of the club lost interest in it.
In 2017 the Ukrainian Association of Football pursued existing mens football clubs to help with the development of women's football in Ukraine and either create own teams or adopt already existing teams of separate women football clubs or sports schools.
In 2021 Dynamo in cooperation with the Kyivan Olympic College reestablished its women football team replacing the college team at the second tier of the two-tier national football pyramid for women and gained promotion the same season.
The Dynamo fan movement is one of the oldest inUkraine. Active support began in 1980s during the Soviet period (Ukrainian SSR). Then began to appear first graffiti with the team's logo and was registered one of the biggest fights in theUSSR: Dynamo fans against fans ofSpartak Moscow in the center ofKyiv.[37] In the 1990s on the stands became popularEnglish style.[citation needed]
Historically Dynamo ultras would frequently holdpatriotic (Ukrainian nationalism) and stronglyanti-communist actions. During the reign ofViktor Yanukovych the ultras had bad relations with the government, caused by persecutions of fans and other political factors.[38] The most publicized action was "Freedom Pavlichenko" (Ukrainian:Волю Павліченкам) in support of political prisoners father and son Pavlichenko.[39] The ultras Dynamo took part in theIndependence Day of Ukraine and Heroes Day celebrations.
Dynamo ultras often use the image ofSviatoslav the Brave in the design of their banners.[40]Svyatoslav, a printed magazine of Dynamo ultras, also bears the Kyiv prince's name.[41]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Oleksandr Shovkovskyi currently holds Dynamo's official appearance record, having made 637 appearances in all competitions, over the course of 17 seasons from 1993 until 2016. He also holds the record for Ukrainian Premier League (Vyshcha Liha) appearances with 426, whileOleg Blokhin remains unreachable forSoviet Top League appearances with 432.
Including all competitions,Oleg Blokhin is the all-time leading goalscorer for Dynamo with 266 goals since joining the club in 1969, 211 of which were scored in Soviet Top League (another Dynamo record).Serhiy Rebrov, who is the all-time topscorer for Ukrainian Premier League, comes in second in all competitions with 163.
Dynamo Kyiv qualified for continental competitions for the last 32 years since 1990 and missed only twice (two seasons) since 1973.
Dynamo Kyiv made a forceful entrance into European competitions in the1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup, advancing into the quarter-finals before losing toCeltic. The club is a regular visitor to UEFA competitions, having participated in over 50 tournaments. Dynamo Kyiv has not missed a single season of European competition since 1990 and, since 1973, has only missed out twice (1984–85 and 1988–89). During the Soviet era, the club won the European Cup Winners' Cup twice, in1975 and1986, the1975 European Super Cup and reached the semi-finals of theEuropean Cup/Champions League three times, once under the Ukrainian banner.
German journalists fromDer Spiegel[58] Rafael Buschmann and Michael Wulzinger published a book titledFootball Leaks – 2.
A separate part titled "Ukrainische Bruderschaft" (Ukrainian Brotherhood) describes brothers Ihor and Hryhorii Surkis's activities in the football sphere and their relation to the "Newport" offshore. All FC "Dynamo’s" activities are financed by this company. The authors refer to Football Leaks documents.[59]
The book tells that starting from 1993, all the financial activities of Kyiv-based FC Dynamo have been performed via the company Newport, controlled by the club's boss Ihor Surkis. Having cited the FIFA data, the authors noted that in 2011–2017 the Newport has spent US$324 million to buy 82 players for FC Dynamo. The taxes from this sum haven't been paid in Ukraine.[citation needed]
^Pavlushko, Anton."Динамо Киев – все бомбардиры в Чемпионате Украины по футболу" [Dynamo Kyiv – all scorers in Ukrainian football championship (149 players)].Статистика чемпионата Украины по футболу – все игроки, матчи и голы, составы команд и переходы.
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