1991 Soviet Top League

The 1991 Soviet Top League season was the 54th since its establishment and the last one. Dynamo Kyiv were the defending 13-times champions. A total of sixteen teams participated in the league, twelve of them have contested in the 1990 season while the remaining four were promoted from the Soviet First League due to withdrawals. The representatives of the Baltic states as well as Georgia chose not to take part in the competition.

Soviet Top League
Season1991
ChampionsCSKA Moscow
Champions LeagueCSKA Moscow (for Russia)
Cup Winners' CupSpartak Moscow (for Russia)
UEFA CupDynamo Moscow
Torpedo Moscow
(for Russia)
Top goalscorer(18) Igor Kolyvanov (Dynamo Moscow)
Biggest home winSpartak – Dynamo M. 7–1 (26th)
Biggest away winDynamo M. – Torpedo 1–4 (18th)
Metalurh – Chornomorets 1–4 (16th)
Highest scoringSpartak – Dynamo M. 7–1 (26th)
Dynamo M. – Dnipro 6–2 (28th)
← 1990

The season began on 10 March and lasted until 2 November 1991. The season was won by PFC CSKA Moscow that returned to the top league prior to the last season while winning the Soviet Cup competition as well. Due to participants withdrawal in the preceding season four new teams entered the league. Upon the conclusion of the season no clubs were relegated and 12 out of its 16 participants formed a base for either the Russian or the Ukrainian competitions, while other four participants joined their own newly formed national leagues. If the Soviet Union had remained intact, Metalist Kharkiv and Lokomotiv Moscow would have been relegated to the Soviet First League for the next season, while FC Rotor Volgograd and FC Tiligul Tiraspol would have been promoted to the Top League for 1992.

Top six clubs of the league later entered European competitions for their respective nations. The Ukrainian clubs chose to qualify through a separate national competition.

Participating teams

The league was expanded to 16 after the last season, during which number of clubs left the Soviet competitions (from Georgia and Baltic states). The last-placed FC Rotor Volgograd of the 1990 Soviet Top League lost promotion/relegation playoff to Lokomotiv Moscow and was relegated to the 1991 Soviet First League. Rotor Volograd returned to the Soviet First League after two seasons absence, while at the same time Lokomotiv Moscow returned to the Soviet Top League after only a one-season absence.

Beside the fourth placed Lokomotiv three more teams were promoted and included the champion (FC Spartak Vladikavkaz) and the runners-up of the 1990 Soviet First League (FC Pakhtakor Tashkent and FC Metalurh Zaporizhia).

  • FC Spartak Vladikavkaz – champions (returning for the first time since 1970 after 20 seasons absence)
  • FC Pakhtakor Tashkent – 2nd place (returning after six seasons)
  • FC Metalurh Zaporizhia – 3rd place (debut)
  • FC Lokomotiv Moscow – promotion play-off (returning after a season)

Locations
Location of teams in the 1991 Soviet Top League.

Stadiums
Stadium Team Opened Capacity Notes
Republican Stadium, Kyiv Dynamo Kyiv 1923 100,062
Olympic Stadium Luzhniki, Moscow Spartak Moscow 1956 81,000
CSKA
Central Stadium Dynamo, Moscow Dynamo Moscow 1928 71,430
Central Stadium Hrazdan, Yerevan Ararat 1970 70,000
BSS Central Stadium, Odesa Chornomorets 1935 55,000
Central Stadium Pakhtakor, Tashkent Pakhtakor 1956 55,000
OSC Metalist, Kharkiv Metalist 1926 42,000
Dinamo Stadium, Minsk Dinamo Minsk 1934 40,000
Meteor Stadium, Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro 1966 40,000
Republican Stadium Spartak, Vladikavkaz Spartak Vladikavkaz 1962 32,464
Central Stadium Shakhtar, Donetsk Shakhtar 1936 31,718
Central Stadium Lokomotiv, Moscow Lokomotiv 1966 30,000
SC Olimpiyskiy, Moscow Dynamo Moscow 1980 22,000 used in round 2nd
Frunze Republican Stadium, Dushanbe Pamir 1946 21,400
Torpedo Stadium, Moscow Torpedo 1959 16,000
CSKA used in round 29th
Abovyan City Stadium, Abovyan Ararat 1966 5,500 used in rounds 19th, 22nd, 23rd
LFK CSKA, Moscow CSKA 1979 4,000 used in rounds 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th
Spartak Moscow used in round 3rd
Dynamo Moscow used in rounds 1st, 5th, 6th
Lokomotiv used in round 4th
Central Stadium Metalurh, Zaporizhia Metalurh 1938 ?

Final standings
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
1 CSKA Moscow (C) 30 17 9 4 57 32 +25 43 Qualification for Champions League first round
2 Spartak Moscow 30 17 7 6 57 30 +27 41 Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round
3 Torpedo Moscow 30 13 10 7 36 20 +16 36 Qualification for UEFA Cup first round
4 Chornomorets 30 10 16 4 39 24 +15 36 Withdrew from the league
5 Dynamo Kyiv 30 13 9 8 43 34 +9 35
6 Dynamo Moscow 30 12 7 11 43 42 +1 31 Qualification for UEFA Cup first round
7 Ararat 30 11 7 12 29 36 −7 29 Withdrew from the league
8 Dinamo Minsk 30 9 11 10 29 31 −2 29
9 Dnipro 30 9 10 11 31 36 −5 28
10 Pamir Dushanbe 30 7 13 10 28 32 −4 27
11 Spartak Vladikavkaz 30 9 8 13 33 41 −8 26
12 Shakhtar Donetsk 30 6 14 10 33 41 −8 26 Withdrew from the league
13 Metalurh Zaporizhia 30 9 7 14 27 38 −11 25
14 Pakhtakor Tashkent 30 9 7 14 37 45 −8 25
15 Metalist Kharkiv 30 8 9 13 32 43 −11 25
16 Lokomotiv Moscow 30 5 8 17 18 47 −29 18
Source:
(C) Champion.

Under UEFA

Under AFC
    • Uzbek League (Pakhtakor Tashkent)
    • Tajik League (Pamir Dushanbe)

Number of teams by union republic
Rank Union republic Number of teams Club(s)
1  RSFSR 6 CSKA Moscow, Dynamo Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Spartak Vladikavkaz, Torpedo Moscow
 Ukrainian SSR Chornomorets Odesa, Dynamo Kyiv, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, Metalist Kharkiv, Metalurh Zaporizhia, Shakhtar Donetsk
3  Armenian SSR 1 Ararat Yerevan
 Belarusian SSR Dinamo Minsk
 Tajik SSR Pamir Dushanbe
 Uzbek SSR Pakhtakor Tashkent

Top scorers
18 goals
14 goals
13 goals
12 goals
  • Dmitri Kuznetsov (CSKA Moscow)
10 goals
9 goals

Managers
ClubHead coach
PFC CSKA MoscowPavel Sadyrin
FC Spartak MoscowOleg Romantsev
FC Torpedo MoscowValentin Ivanov (until September)
Yevgeni Skomorokhov (from September)
FC Chornomorets OdessaViktor Prokopenko
FC Dynamo KyivAnatoliy Puzach
FC Dynamo MoscowSemen Altman (until March)
Valery Gazzaev (from April)
FC Dinamo MinskEduard Malofeyev (until April)
Mikhail Vergeyenko (from April)
FC Ararat YerevanArmen Sarkisyan
FC Dnipro DnipropetrovskYevhen Kucherevskyi
FC Pamir DushanbeSharif Nazarov
FC Spartak VladikavkazValery Gazzaev (until March)
Nikolai Khudiyev (April to July)
Ruslan Khadartsev (from July)
FC Shakhtar DonetskValeriy Yaremchenko
FC Metalurh ZaporizhyaIhor Nadein
FC Pakhtakor TashkentFyodor Novikov (until June)
Alexander Tarkhanov (from November)
FC Metalist KharkivLeonid Tkachenko
FC Lokomotiv MoscowValeri Filatov

Awards
PrizeFounderLaureate
Footballer of the YearFootball weeklyIgor Kolyvanov
Goalkeeper of the YearOgoniok magazineValeri Sarychev
Top Scorernewspaper LaborIgor Kolyvanov
Knight of AttackSoviet Warrior magazineIgor Kolyvanov
Top RookieSport Games magazineValeriy Velichko
With Two SquadsFootball FederationSpartak Moscow
Grigory Fedotov MemorialCSKA MoscowSpartak Moscow
Fair PlayPerson and Law magazineChornomorets Odessa
Large ScoreFootball weeklyChornomorets Odessa
Will to Winnewspaper Sovetskaya RossiyaPamir Dushanbe
Best Difference of AggregatesStart magazineSpartak Moscow
Aggressive Visitornewspaper Komsomol's BannerCSKA Moscow
Danger of the BestSport Moscow weeklyChornomorets Odessa
Progress Cupnewspaper Labor NewspaperChornomrets Odessa
First Heightnewspaper Socialist IndustryCSKA Moscow

Medal squads

(league appearances and goals listed in brackets)

1. PFC CSKA Moscow

Goalkeepers: Mikhail Yeremin (15 / -14), Dmitri Kharine (11 / -8), Aleksandr Guteyev (6 / -10).
Defenders: Sergei Kolotovkin (25 / 1), Sergei Fokin (25 / 1), Dmitri Galiamin (21 / 2), Dmitri Bystrov (21), Oleg Malyukov (19), Vasili Ivanov (15), Valeri Minko (8), Viktor Yanushevsky (8), Mikhail Sinyov (1).
Midfielders: Valeri Broshin (30 / 4), Dmitri Kuznetsov (29 / 12), Igor Korneev (29 / 10), Mikhail Kolesnikov (28 / 2), Vladimir Tatarchuk (24 / 5), Aleksandr Grishin (5), Dmitri Karsakov (1), Lev Matveyev (1).
Forwards: Oleg Sergeyev (30 / 9), Valeri Masalitin (18 / 7), Sergey Dmitriev (16 / 4), Ilshat Faizulin (3).

Manager: Pavel Sadyrin.

Transferred in during the season: Dmitri Kharine (from Dynamo Moscow), Lev Matveyev (from Zvezda Perm), Sergey Dmitriev (from Xerez CD), Viktor Yanushevsky (from Tennis Borussia).

Transferred out during the season: Mikhail Yeremin (deceased), Dmitri Karsakov (to FC KAMAZ Naberezhnye Chelny), Dmitri Galiamin, Dmitri Kuznetsov, Igor Korneev (all to Espanyol), Vladimir Tatarchuk (to Slavia Prague), Valeri Broshin (to Kuopion Palloseura), Sergei Fokin (to HJK Helsinki), Sergey Dmitriev (to Stahl Linz).

2. FC Spartak Moscow

Goalkeepers: Stanislav Cherchesov (30 / -30).
Defenders: Dmitri Popov (30 / 5), Vasili Kulkov (22 / 1), Andrei Mokh (20 / 1), Dmitri Khlestov (14), Boris Pozdnyakov (10), Yevgeni Bushmanov (8 / 1), Dmitri Ananko (7), Dmitri Gradilenko (6), Sergei Bazulev (4), Sergei Chudin (1).
Midfielders: Hennadiy Perepadenko (28 / 5), Valery Karpin (28 / 3), Aleksandr Mostovoi (27 / 13), Andrei Ivanov (23), Igor Shalimov (22 / 5), Fyodor Cherenkov (22 / 3), Oleg Ivanov (14), Valeri Popovitch (6), Igor Kozlov (2), Oleg Imrekov (1), Aleksandr Karatayev (1), Serhiy Perepadenko (1).
Forwards: Dmitri Radchenko (29 / 13), Valeri Shmarov (19 / 6).

One own goal scored by Viktor Vasilyev (FC Spartak Vladikavkaz).

Manager: Oleg Romantsev.

Transferred in during the season: Andrei Mokh (from Dynamo Moscow), Dmitri Radchenko (from Zenit Leningrad), Igor Kozlov (from CSKA Moscow), Fyodor Cherenkov (from Red Star).

Transferred out during the season: Igor Shalimov (to Foggia), Vasili Kulkov, Aleksandr Mostovoi (both to Benfica), Valeri Shmarov (to Karlsruher SC), Boris Pozdnyakov, Oleg Imrekov (both to FC Stahl Linz), Sergei Bazulev (to OLS), Andrei Mokh (to Espanyol), Hennadiy Perepadenko (to Hapoel Tzafririm).

3. FC Torpedo Moscow

Goalkeepers: Valeri Sarychev (17 / -12), Aleksandr Podshivalov (14 / -8).
Defenders: Andrei Afanasyev (27 / 1), Aleksei Yushkov (24 / 5), Aleksandr Polukarov (19 / 1), Mikhail Solovyov (17), Maksim Cheltsov (5).
Midfielders: Gennadi Grishin (29 / 7), Igor Chugainov (28 / 2), Sergei Shustikov (28 / 1), Sergey Agashkov (26 / 3), Andrei Kalaychev (23 / 2), Nikolai Savichev (21 / 3), Dmitri Ulyanov (16 / 1), Sergei Zhukov (9), Oleg Shirinbekov (8 / 1), Sergey Borisov (7), Vladimir Yeryomin (3), Aleksei Arefyev (1).
Forwards: Yuri Tishkov (24 / 8), Vadim Rogovskoy (14), Yuri Matveyev (12 / 1), Aleksandr Kuzmichyov (6), Andrei Talalayev (5), Aleksandr Gitselov (3).

Manager: Valentin Ivanov (until September), Yevgeni Skomorokhov (from September).

Transferred in during the season: Aleksandr Podshivalov (from Ararat Yerevan), Aleksei Yushkov, Yuri Matveyev (both from Uralmash Sverdlovsk), Igor Chugainov (from Lokomotiv Moscow), Vladimir Yeryomin (from Chornomorets Odessa).

Transferred out during the season: Aleksandr Polukarov (to Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C.), Vadim Rogovskoy (free agent), Oleg Shirinbekov (to Vasas SC), Vladimir Yeryomin (to FC Metalurh Zaporizhya), Aleksei Yushkov (to Dynamo Moscow), Aleksandr Gitselov (to Zagłębie Lubin), Sergei Zhukov, Aleksei Arefyev (both to Abahani Dhaka), Yuri Matveyev (to Uralmash Yekaterinburg), Aleksandr Kuzmichyov (to Lokomotiv Moscow).

Managers and captains
Club Republic Coach Replaced coach(es)
PFC CSKA Moscow Russian SFSRPavel Sadyrin
FC Dynamo Moscow Russian SFSRValeri GazzayevSemen Altman (acting)
FC Lokomotiv Moscow Russian SFSRValeri Filatov
FC Spartak Moscow Russian SFSROleg Romantsev
FC Spartak Vladikavkaz Russian SFSRNikolai KhudiyevValeri Gazzayev
FC Torpedo Moscow Russian SFSRYevgeni SkomorokhovValentin Ivanov
FC Chornomorets Odessa Ukrainian SSRViktor Prokopenko
FC Dynamo Kyiv Ukrainian SSRAnatoli Puzach
FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Ukrainian SSRYevhen Kucherevskyi
FC Metalist Kharkiv Ukrainian SSRLeonid Tkachenko
FC Metalurh Zaporizhia Ukrainian SSRIhor Nadein
FC Shakhtar Donetsk Ukrainian SSRValeri Yaremchenko
FC Ararat Yerevan Armenian SSRArmenak Sarkisyan
FC Dinamo Minsk Byelorussian SSRMikhail VergeyenkoEduard Malofeyev
FC Pakhtakor Tashkent Uzbek SSRAleksandr TarkhanovFyodor Novikov
Akhrol Inoyatov
FC Pamir Dushanbe Tajik SSRSharif Nazarov

See also
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