85 years since the birth of Valery Maslov

Valery Pavlovich was born on April 28, 1940 in the Khabarovsk Territory, and his childhood years were already spent in Perovo, near Moscow, where he enrolled in the football section of the Fraser plant. In 1954, he also began playing for the Trud children's team from Zhukovsky.

Maslov began his adult career in Vympel near Moscow, where he combined football and ball hockey. He did not want to make a choice in favor of one sport and was engaged in them at the same time until the end of his career. And if for the 30s and 40s the combination of hockey with football was quite common practice, then in the post-war years, especially in the 60s, the level of national championships and competition at the international level were so high that it was extremely difficult to compete in several sports at the same time. Nevertheless, Maslov succeeded.

– For me it was in the order of things. Switching from football to hockey only made me feel better. It was only necessary to conduct a few training sessions on the ice, to remember how the partners play," Maslov noted.

Dynamo invited Maslov in 1961. By that time, Valery Pavlovich had a reputation as a versatile player, who on the field was distinguished by incredible diligence, endurance and inexhaustible energy. In his first match for the blue and white, Maslov scored a goal already in the 28th minute, hitting the gates of the Leningrad Admiralty.

For 11 years as a member of Dynamo, Maslov played 351 matches, which is the fifth indicator in the club's history, and scored 54 goals. Together with the team, Valery Pavlovich became the champion of the USSR (in 1963), won silver medals three times, took the National Cup twice (1967 and 1970) and six times was included in the list of the 33 best football players of the season in the USSR.

At Dynamo, he was called the "engine of the team" and the "man with two hearts" for his full dedication to professional sports, constant activity on the field and incessant creative impulse from the first to the last minute of the match.

In bandy, Maslov achieved even more impressive results: ten-time champion of the USSR as part of Dynamo, three-time winner of the European Champions Cup, eight-time world champion, the best striker of the World Championship, twice the best striker of the USSR. Moreover, Valery Pavlovich became the only captain of the USSR national football and bandy teams in history – a truly unique achievement.

After finishing his career, Maslov graduated from the Higher School of Coaches and alternated between working in football and hockey clubs. In 1994, he led the Russian national bandy team to victory at the Junior World Championship. In 2011, he moved to coaching at the Dynamo FC school, and later became an adviser to the director of the Academy named after L.I. Yashin, remaining faithful to the blue and white colors until the last days.

– There is such a thing as a team player. So, we can still say about Maslov that he is a commanding person. I am sure if Dynamo had chosen a captain, Palych would always have received an armband as a sign of full trust and respect for himself. What are Maslov's game trumps? Incredible dedication, game thought and desire only to win! At that time, no one measured the game mileage of the player. But, I think, by this indicator, in every match he surpassed any major league football player. And although as a mid–line player he was obliged to help the defense, Valera regularly scored goals, many of which turned out to be decisive," recalled former Dynamo Moscow player and coach Yuri Semin.