On Friday, Alexander Bubnov, the former defender of the Moscow Dynamo, the champion of the USSR, the winner of the Cup and the USSR Super Cup as part of the blue and white team, turns 70 years old.
Alexander Viktorovich was born on October 10, 1955, in Lyubertsy, near Moscow, but spent his childhood and adolescence in Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz), where he began playing football at the Yunost Youth Sports School. Bubnov's first coach, Murat Ogoev, discovered the future Dynamo player in one of the city's schools during a routine scouting tour of football talent. An exhibition match was held at the local Dynamo Stadium between peers from the Youth Sports School and regular boys. The Youth Sports School team won by a landslide, with Bubnov still scoring two goals.
Followed by victory with Yunost in the RSFSR Championship among sports schools in Pavlovsky Posad, recognition as the tournament's best defender, a spot on the Rostov SKA reserves, and the first Spartak team from Ordzhonikidze, for which Bubnov first played in 1973. A year later, he joined Dynamo Moscow, where he played 258 matches (14th place in the club's history), scored nine goals, and won three trophies: the 1976 USSR Spring Championship, the 1977 USSR Cup, and the 1977 USSR Super Cup.
"When I joined Dynamo under Gavriil Dmitrievich Kachalin and Lev Ivanovich Yashin, I wanted to play. I didn't think about money or even my future. I had a feeling I would play football my whole life," Bubnov recalled in his book.
He made his debut for the white-and-blues on November 10, 1974, when Dynamo lost to Dnipro in a USSR Championship match. Bubnov came on at the very end, replacing Oleg Dolmatov, but played the full 90 minutes in the next match against Chornomorets. The following season, Alexander Viktorovich was already a starting player and on May 24, 1975, he scored his first goal against Rostov SKA.
Bubnov played central defense, where he stood out for his height, strength, and reliability. He made virtually no mistakes and always provided cover for his teammates. In 1976, he went to the European Junior Championship with the USSR national team and won gold. In 1977, he was called up to the senior national team (he played 35 matches and scored one goal). He was then recognized as the best in his position (center back) for two consecutive years and was included in the "List of 33 Best Footballers of the USSR" (1977, 1978).
"Our trump card was our defense—the perfect blend of experience and youth. Nikulin, Novikov, Parov, Makhovikov, Dolmatov. By that time, I'd already won the European Junior Championship. Plus, in goal, we had two equally capable goalkeepers—Gontar and Pilguy. With a backside like that, no one was scary." These are Bubnov's memories of the 1976 championship season.
In 1983, Bubnov transferred to Spartak at the personal invitation of another Dynamo legend, Konstantin Ivanovich Beskov. Alexander Viktorovich played for the Red-Whites until 1989, after which he moved to French club Red Star, where he retired a year later and took up coaching. He worked for teams such as Dynamo-Gazovik (Tyumen), Slavia (Mozyr), Ikar (Sarov), Fabus (Bronnitsy), and Dynamo (Kyiv).
After retiring from coaching, Bubnov turned to football analysis and expertise. For several years, he worked as a columnist for leading Russian newspapers, appeared on football broadcasts, and hosted his own programs. He is currently one of the hosts of the project "Comment.Show."
We congratulate Alexander Viktorovich on his anniversary and wish him good health, family happiness, and success in his professional endeavors!