On Wednesday, the famous Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Nikolai Gontar turns 77 years old.
Nikolai Pavlovich was born in Vladivostok and started playing football at the local Dynamo school. He moved to Moscow at the end of 1971, and at first Lev Yashin, who then worked as the head of the team, helped him to get used to the capital.
He spent the entire 70s in competition with Vladimir Pilguy, and she made both talented goalkeepers stronger. The spring championship of 1976, the last "golden" one for the blue and white at the moment, was fully played by Gontar, who deservedly got into the list of the 33 best football players in the country and made his debut in the USSR national team in November.
As a result, for 12 years in the gates of Dynamo, Nikolai Pavlovich played 210 matches (the 4th figure among Dynamo goalkeepers), became the champion and bronze medalist of the USSR. After finishing his career, he graduated from coaching and stayed at Dynamo, having worked as a goalkeeper coach for the main team for many years. Currently, he works as the head coach of the Lev Yashin Dynamo Academy and last year received the title of Honored Worker of Physical Culture of the Russian Federation.
We congratulate Nikolai Pavlovich on his birthday and wish him good health, inspiration and many years of work for the benefit of his native club!