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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Oleg Wladimirowitsch Kuznetsow - Oleh Volodymyrovych Kuznetsov | |||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1963-03-22)22 March 1963 (age 62) | |||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Magdeburg,East Germany | |||||||||||||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | |||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Central defender | |||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||
| 1971–1980 | SDYuShOR Desna | |||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||
| 1981–1982 | Desna Chernihiv | 86 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 1983–1990 | Dynamo Kyiv | 181 | (5) | |||||||||||
| 1990–1994 | Rangers | 35 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 1994–1995 | Maccabi Haifa | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 1995–1997 | CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||
| Total | 247 | (7) | ||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||
| 1986–1991 | USSR | 58 | (1) | |||||||||||
| 1992 | CIS | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||
| 1992–1994 | Ukraine | 3 | (0) | |||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | CSKA Kyiv (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Arsenal Kyiv | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2004 | Dynamo Kyiv (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2002–2007 | Ukraine (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2008 | Moscow (assistant) | |||||||||||||
| 2010 | Ukraine U17 | |||||||||||||
| 2011 | Ukraine U18 | |||||||||||||
| 2012 | Ukraine U19 | |||||||||||||
| 2013 | Ukraine U16 | |||||||||||||
| 2014 | Ukraine U17 | |||||||||||||
| 2015 | Ukraine U18 | |||||||||||||
| 2016 | Ukraine U19 | |||||||||||||
| 2017 | Ukraine U16 | |||||||||||||
| 2018 | Ukraine U17 | |||||||||||||
| 2019 | Ukraine U18 | |||||||||||||
| 2020 | Ukraine U19 | |||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Ukraine U16 | |||||||||||||
| 2023 | Ukraine U19 | |||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||
Oleh Volodymyrovych Kuznetsov (born asOleg Wladimirowitsch Kuznetsow in Germany) (Ukrainian:Олег Володимирович Кузнєцов) (born 22 March 1963) is a Ukrainianfootball coach and former professional player. He won domestic honours in the Soviet Union withDynamo Kyiv (as well as theUEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1986), in Scotland withRangers, in Israel withMaccabi Haifa and in Ukraine withCSKA-Borysfen Kyiv. Kuznetsov won 58caps for theUSSR national team between 1986 and 1991, being suspended for the final ofUEFA Euro 1988 then was also selected for its successors, theCIS (five caps) andUkraine (three caps).
Kuznetsov was born inMagdeburg,East Germany into a military family stationed in East Germany. His family returned to their native Ukraine and the town ofChernihiv when his father retired from the army and got a job as an engineer at a local radio plant. His mother worked as an engineer in a construction and design institute, from where she retired. Kuznetsov started playing when he was eight years old with local football schools before signing for the city's professional clubDesna Chernihiv in 1980, continuing to improve his technique and tactics under the guidance of coachYukhym Shkolnykov. He made 86 appearances for Desna and helped the team to finish twelfth in theSoviet Second League (Zone 5) in the1981 season,[1] improving to second place in the1982 season (Zone 6).[2][3][4][5]
After a successful 1982 season, Kuznetsov moved toDynamo Kyiv[2] where he remained until September 1990. He won theSoviet Top League in1985,1986 and1990, theSoviet Cup in1985,1987 and1990, and theUEFA Cup Winners' Cup in1985–86. He became regarded as one of the best defenders in Europe in the second half of the 1980s, known for his strong ball-winning skills and long-range shooting power.
Kuznetsov transferred to Scottish clubRangers in 1990. He injured hiscruciate ligament in his second game (againstSt Johnstone)[6] and did not play again for a full year. New defensive players were brought in during his layoff such asDave McPherson, and he was never a first choice again.[7] A year after his arrival another Ukrainian, his former Dynamo Kyiv teammateOleksiy Mykhaylychenko, joined the club, but they only played in 20 matches together across three seasons.[8] He moved on in 1994 after a four-year stint badly hampered by injuries, withBasile Boli coming toGlasgow to take his place in the squad.
After being released by Rangers, Kuznetsov played for one season in Israel withMaccabi Haifa, winning the1994–95 Israel State Cup and finishing runners-up in the1994–95 Liga Leumit.[9]
Kuznetsov returned to Ukraine to finish his career withCSKA-Borysfen Kyiv. In1995–96 he won theUkrainian Second League to achieve promotion to theUkrainian First League.[10][11]
He appeared in 58 games for theUSSR national team (one goal), five times for the interimCIS after the fall of theSoviet Union and three times for the independentUkraine side. He claimed a silver medal with the USSR atEuro 1988,and also appeared for them at the1986 and1990 FIFA World Cups;[12] On 9 September 1990, he scored his only goal for the USSR in a 2–0 win againstNorway inUEFA Euro 1992 qualifying at theCentral Lenin Stadium inMoscow;[13] subsequently he played for the CIS atEuro 1992 Finals.
Kuznetsov began coaching in 1998 at the last club he played for professionally,CSKA Kyiv. Starting out as an assistant coach, he became head coach for the 2001–2002 season (withCSKA Kyiv becomingArsenal Kyiv in the meantime).
He moved to the coaching staff atDynamo Kyiv and later had several roles with theUkraine national team, including as a member of the staff with the senior squad that reached the quarter-finals of the2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, and taking charge of various youth age group teams over the next decade.
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Desna Chernihiv | 1981 | Soviet First League | 42 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| 1982 | Soviet First League | 44 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 44 | 0 | |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1983 | Soviet Top League | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| 1984 | Soviet Top League | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 2 | |
| 1985 | Soviet Top League | 29 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| 1986 | Soviet Top League | 27 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29 | 2 | |
| 1987 | Soviet Top League | 24 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 35 | 4 | |
| 1988 | Soviet Top League | 26 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |
| 1989 | Soviet Top League | 29 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40 | 4 | |
| 1990 | Soviet Top League | 20 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 3 | |
| Rangers | 1990–91 | Scottish Football League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1991–92 | Scottish Football League | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | 0 | |
| 1992–93 | Scottish Football League | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| 1993–94 | Scottish Football League | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| Maccabi Haifa | 1994–95 | Liga Leumit | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| CSKA-Borysfen Kyiv | 1995–96 | Ukrainian Second League | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 3 |
| 1996–97 | Ukrainian First League | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 1 | |
| Career total | 337 | 20 | 29 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 374 | 23 | ||
Individual
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