Igor Netto: biography, personal life and interesting facts. Honest football by Igor net Igor net captain of which team

Today I will talk about the permanent captain of Spartak and the USSR national football team, Igor Netto. And there is something to tell about him.

And I really wanted you, thanks to this information, to learn not only what was visible and understandable to all fans of the famous football player, but also what for a long time was hidden not only from his fans, but also even from the people closest to Netto - his partners. Therefore, read the entire post and watch the video. It will be very interesting.

And further. The post will be very ambiguous. I thought for a long time whether to tell about my older brother Igor Lev Alexandrovich or not. It’s just that many people, especially those born in the USSR, prefer “polished” information about their idols. And still read.

Family. So that's where this temperament comes from!

Igor Aleksandrovich Netto was born in Moscow on January 9, 1930 in a very interesting family. Father Alexander Genrikhovich is a Latvian rifleman, a fiery revolutionary, who went through the Japanese, Civil War and the First World War. Mom, Yulia Vilhelmovna, worked as a secretary at the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs until Igor was born and, according to her, saw all the leaders of the revolution: Lenin, Chicherin, Trotsky

Igor became the second child after his older brother Lev. By the way, it was named after Lev Davydovich, whom the family idolized. But we will return to the older brother later.

In general, Netto is an Italian surname. Back in the 18th century, Igor’s great-great-grandfather on his father’s side moved from Italy to Estonia and took root. The Netto family moved to Moscow at the beginning of the twentieth century.

Then the revolution, high positions, the birth of sons and an inexplicable rescue from the arrest and death of his father (almost all the Latvian Riflemen were destroyed).

Italian roots to some extent explain the hot temperament inherent in Igor Aleksandrovich and not at all characteristic of Estonians, who are accustomed to doing everything thoroughly and slowly. 🙂 Although no, not all!

Estonians have a saying that translates as follows:

“In the forest, poop quickly, otherwise the bear will grab your bare butt.”

Great saying. Igor Alexandrovich also liked her. And, although he was not great at Estonian, he still learned the proverb in the original.

Igor Netto could do almost everything on the field

He began playing football in the Moscow House of Pioneers, where his brother brought him. And it was truly a happy day for Soviet football.

Already at the age of 18 he joined the main team of Spartak, and at 22 he became its captain. In total, Igor Aleksandrovich spent 18 seasons in one of the best clubs in the country.

Netto was truly a great, very technical player. The ball and Netto were simply made for each other. On the field, Igor Aleksandrovich could do everything, or almost everything. The only thing the famous football player did not have was a well-placed long-range shot. Although sometimes it was possible to “shoot”

Many experts consider Netto to be the father of the Spartak style. Namely, playing fast short and medium passes.

In addition, as they say now, he was a real conductor. He saw the field perfectly, understood and felt the game.

When they write about Netto that he lived by football, this is the absolute truth. And football was much more than just a game for him.

It is very difficult to explain or find an appropriate comparison. But it seems to me that Igor treated football and his duties as a captain the same way we once in childhood treated collecting waste paper or reviewing formations and songs. Don't laugh and don't be indignant! It’s just that those who remember that time will agree with me.

And there was a time when the motto

Pioneer is an example to all the guys

taken very seriously

This is akin to a pioneer leader who sacredly believes in what he is doing. Or the little star commander. How much pride and how much responsibility. It’s just that over the years this goes away for most, but for Netto it didn’t.

Strict, serious and demanding of himself, he always expected a similar attitude from his partners.

Goose and a flock of sheep

An interesting picture appears. Sheep are grazing peacefully in the field and a goose is running among them and hissing at everyone. I wanted to visually depict this picture, but changed my mind. I don’t know how to draw harmless cartoons, but it’s fraught with the danger of depicting real characters! You shouldn’t joke like that with Spartak fans. Ato, you may not even live to see 52 :) And yet...

Dear readers, here I, unfortunately, will not be original and this information can be read in every second article dedicated to Igor Netto. Therefore, I will not dwell on it in great detail.

Well, yes! The ram is not only the husband of the sheep. For Igor Aleksandrovich, any of his partners, whether in Spartak or in the USSR national team, was a “ram” who did not know how to play football.

Frankly speaking, I don’t understand how grown men, not inferior in talent to the captain (Nikita Simonyan, Viktor Ponedelnik, Igor Chislenko, Eduard Streltsov), tolerated such treatment. But the fact remains... they endured and were not offended.

As for Goose, as you understand, it was Netto himself. That’s what both his partners and fans called him. Either for long neck, or for his hoarse, hissing (when angry) voice, but this nickname firmly stuck to him.

The main victories of Igor Netto

Of course, one of the loudest victories of Igor Netto and the USSR national team was the victory of our team at Olympic Games ah in Melbourne in 1956 and winning the European Cup in Paris in 1960.

• As for the Olympics, I have already dedicated a separate post to this event. Where he rendered his, perhaps, impartial verdict on this victory.
• The European Cup also deserves a more thorough analysis. So, if you're interested, subscribe to blog updates so you don't miss out.
  The only thing I can say is that, as in the story of Olympic gold in 1956 in Melbourne, there are a lot of BUTs!

But I’ll tell you that immediately after the victory several of our presenters were invited to play for Real Madrid. Moreover, I consider this invitation to be a real, without any “buts”, achievement of Igor Alexandrovich.

Igor Netto in Real Madrid???!!! Naive Bernabeu...

Yes, it was the famous Real Madrid president Santiago Bernabeu who invited Netto, Monday, Bubukin, Ivanov and Yashin to the now legendary Madrid club. Holy naivety! It is interesting that he made such a “impudent” proposal in the presence of one of the leaders of the Soviet team - let’s call him “a man in civilian clothes”!

Apparently, “ch in sh” never expected such impudence. Otherwise, how can one explain that in refusing Bernabeu, he said simply unforgivable stupidity when he stated that

"... all our players already have contracts with other clubs, and therefore, despite our best wishes, they will not be able to play for Real Madrid

What contracts? We are amateurs!!! All our guys play football only after their work shift! In general, it was lucky that the Bernabeu did not spread his statement around the world.

True or beautiful legend?

I just can’t ignore this case. It’s not as clear-cut as some media outlets are trying to present to us.

1962 World Championship in Chile. In the decisive game for reaching the 1/8 finals, the national teams of the USSR and Uruguay meet. Our team only needs a draw to qualify; the Uruguayans only need a win.

The game itself was very hard and rough. The Uruguayans especially tried. They had plenty of motivation. To take revenge for the defeat in Moscow 0:5, well, they really wanted to become World Champions. Moreover, both times when the World Cup was held in South America, the Uruguayans succeeded.

Let's continue. 10 minutes before the end of regular time the score is 1:1. The opponents are being “strangled” specifically. And then, after Igor Chislenko’s shot, the ball ends up in the Uruguayans’ goal. The goal is counted. Next comes the most interesting part.

The entire opposing team attacked the referee. In their opinion, the ball entered the goal through a hole in the net on the side of the goal. But neither the side referee nor the main referee changes their decision.

The captain of the USSR national football team himself convinced the referee that there was no goal

Beautiful, courageous, honest!

The goal was canceled. Our team then scored and moved on. How do you like it?

Now I won’t say anything. Yes, this is impossible. The only reliable source (video) does not exist in nature. And the stories of eyewitnesses are so contradictory and confusing that it is very difficult to understand.

Let's just think together whether this could happen in principle. Let me remind you, 1962.

1. I think there is no need to explain in detail what kind of “pumping” our athletes received before any competition. Victory at any cost... Otherwise! What is “otherwise”? Whatever! From deprivation of titles to suspension from football. So think about what Netto personally risked and how he could have set the team up if they had lost. And by the way, for reference. After the end of the World Championship, the performance of the USSR national team, despite getting into the top eight, was considered unsatisfactory by our high ranks.
2. In the first edition of his book, which went into typesetting already in 1963, Igor Aleksandrovich did not say a word about this episode. But 10 years later, in the second edition, when the media were promoting the image of an honest captain with all their might, he appeared.
3. There were no enthusiastic responses from journalists immediately after this victory and the championship. Perhaps this is due to the unsatisfactory rating in general.
4. Some participants in the events, including, diplomatically make it clear that they do not remember such an episode.
5. And finally, the main thing. Let's go back to the first point again. To the personal responsibility of Igor Netto.

At the very beginning of my story, I mentioned Igor’s older brother Lev.

My brother went missing... Heavy line on the form

Every time the captain of the USSR national team filled out a form before going abroad (either to the Olympics in Helsinki in 1952 or to Melbourne), after painful thoughts, in the column “Relatives” he wrote “my brother disappeared during the war and nothing is known about him.” "

But, in fact, this was not true. Igor knew perfectly well not only that his brother was alive, but also where he was.

"American Spy"

• During the war, Lev Aleksandrovich Netto was captured and sent to a prisoner of war camp near Frankfurt.
• In March 1945, he was released by American troops, and in May he returned to his homeland and continued serving in the army.
• In 1948, he was arrested on the denunciation of a colleague and with the brand “Enemy of the People” (American spy) was sentenced to 25 years in the Gulag.
• Released under amnesty in 1956

So Igor Alexandrovich knew perfectly well where his brother was. And his fear while filling out forms is, of course, understandable. Here you can lose not only a visa abroad...

Another thing is that it is very doubtful that our officials did not know the true state of affairs. In general, how and why the relationship with the “enemy of the people” did not affect the fate of the younger brother is a question.

By the time of the World Championships in Chile, Lev Alexandrovich had already been released and rehabilitated. Legally. But those who went through this hell know very well that legal “rehabilitation” meant little back then. The stigma of being an enemy of the people cannot be removed with the stroke of a pen. Igor Aleksandrovich also understood this very well, just as he understood that if it is difficult to remove the stigma, then attaching the label “brother of the enemy of the people” with all that it entails is very simple.

So I think, how could Igor decide to do such a noble act? Knowing and understanding everything? And your entire football career, hiding information about your older brother from everyone?

And what do you think? True or beautiful legend? And also, dear readers, I want you to understand me correctly. I don’t blame Igor Alexandrovich at all. I have no right. Even if it is a beautiful legend. He didn't come up with it. The country needed another hero, and I have no doubt at all about the ability of Soviet image makers to rivet the Pavlikov Morozovs and Stakhanovites.

All. I'll finish. And in conclusion, I suggest you watch a very interesting video, where you will learn in detail about the fate of Igor and Lev Netto. About the personal life of the great football player, about how he survived parting with football, about his illness and death. Look, it will be very interesting

Dear readers, if you have anything to tell about this legendary football player, speak.
Write in the comments or send interesting stories via the feedback form on the page. The country must know its heroes.

That's all. See you soon.

Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Honored Trainer of the RSFSR, Olympic champion, European Cup winner, five-time champion USSR, three-time winner of the USSR Cup, winner of the First Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR

Igor Aleksandrovich Netto was asked more than once the question: where did his last name come from? He replied that his parents were Estonians. Father Alexander Genrikhovich was born in 1885 in the Estonian town of Valka, and his mother was from Tartu. Yulia Vilhelmovna worked as a technical secretary at the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs and, as she later told her children, she saw Lenin, Trotsky and Chicherin there several times. She was friends with the sisters of the diplomatic courier Theodor Nette - the same one to whom the poet Vladimir Mayakovsky dedicated his poems. At home, his elder brother Igor still has a photograph depicting Theodor Nette with his sisters and Yulia Vilhelmovna Netto. The striking similarity of the surnames does not mean that they were relatives. They were connected only by friendly relations.

By the way, friends and acquaintances called Igor’s mother Yulia Vasilyevna - it was easier and more convenient. And she responded, remaining Wilhelmovna only according to her passport. Alexander Genrikhovich Netto’s patronymic name in everyday life was also replaced - he became Andreevich. According to relatives, Igor’s father had a party nickname - Andreich. Apparently, over the years she “stuck” to him. Alexander Netto was one of those who, one might say, made the Great October Revolution. He was part of a detachment of famous Latvian riflemen who stormed the Winter Palace in 1917. Alexander Netto treasured his party card like the apple of his eye, parting with it only in the most extreme cases. The elder Netto fought back in Japanese war, went through the Civil War and the First World War.

Alexander Netto's family lived modestly, counting the days until the next salary. After the birth of her second son, Igor’s mother stopped working—caring for her material well-being fell entirely on her husband’s shoulders. Sometimes free food packages helped out, but they were given only on major holidays - November 7 or May 1.

When Alexander and Yulia got married, they decided in advance that they would have two children. Lev was born in 1925, and in 1930 he had a younger brother.

It seemed to Yulia Vilhelmovna that Igor was ready to play football endlessly. He returned home from school, threw his briefcase and went to kick the ball with the guys. In the same shoes that he wore to school. The mother scolded: “Why are you ruining your shoes? You won’t have enough shoes to spare!” Igor stood with his head down and asked for forgiveness, but a day later he again ran in his boots to the football field. His parents were forced to buy him sneakers, and then boots.

Igor studied with grades of three and four. True, mathematics was relatively easy for him, and he loved solving problems. He loved to play chess. It is possible that it was this game, which developed analytical thinking, that later helped him on the football field to design his team’s attacks and predict the enemy’s retaliatory moves.

According to his brother, Igor could be content with little in life. He did not strive to get rich, to buy a luxurious dacha, an expensive car. But in football and everything similar to sports, I only wanted to win. I wanted to be the first.

By his own admission, Igor supported Dynamo Moscow as a child. One day he learned that the famous Dynamo goalkeeper Lev Yashin, with whom Igor played for the USSR national team, wanted to play for Spartak before joining Dynamo. Smiling, Yashin suggested that Igor change clubs, to which Netto seriously replied: “It’s too late. For me, Spartak has become my home. I won’t leave it anywhere.”

He started playing for the red and white at the age of 18. And he left Spartak only when he hung up his boots. They tried to lure him to other clubs (where there were more benefits than at Spartak), but each time Netto refused.

Igor spent eighteen years as a member of Spartak (from 1948 to 1966), playing 367 matches in the national championships - a record figure in the entire history of the club.

He won his first title, the USSR Cup winner, at the age of 20 in 1950. At the end of that season, he was included in the “33rd” list for the first time, and immediately at number 1.

In 1952, Netto became the champion of the USSR for the first time, and then made his debut in the national team.

In 1953 - new success - another victory in the championship of the Soviet Union. Two years before Melbourne, he received the title of Honored Master of Sports of the USSR.

In 1955, the Soviet Union national team arrived in Cairo for a friendly match with Egyptian football players. Gamal Abdel Nasser himself, the head of the country, was present at that match, which ended in victory for our team. The Egyptians called Igor the GREAT NET. They had never seen players of this level before. In the same year, Netto became the captain of Spartak.

The main tournaments of Igor Netto were still ahead: the First Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, the Olympic Games in Melbourne in 1956, the European Cup in Paris, where Igor and his teammates became triumphant, the World Championships of 1958 and 1962, where the USSR national team was very noticeable.

In 1956, the players of the USSR national team returned from Melbourne as Olympic champions. Igor Netto was the captain of that “golden” team, and Ilyin scored the only goal in the final match - against the Yugoslav national team (in fairness, we note that that “golden” goal was scored by Anatoly Isaev, who threw the ball over the Yugoslav goalkeeper. Ilyin finished the ball into the net already on the goal line).

I.A. Netto often recalled the long road from Melbourne home to Moscow. It lasted for nineteen days! The Soviet state decided to save money on its athletes and send them back from distant Australia by ship.

When the motor ship "Georgia" arrived in the city of Vladivostok after an 11-day voyage, dozens of ships stationed in the port on the roadstead greeted the Olympic heroes who had returned to their homeland with powerful horns. “I even got a shiver through my body when I heard these sounds,” Netto recalled. “It was damn nice: we’re home, they’re waiting for us.” And they are proud of our victories!”

At almost every station of the Vladivostok-Moscow long-distance train, in which the Olympians were traveling, local residents organized spontaneous rallies. Siberians - open-minded people with broad souls - carried vodka and even whole buckets of alcohol straight to the carriages. Although the Melbourne Olympics were called summer, they took place in late autumn, and our athletes returned home in the winter, in December.

Soon Igor met Olga. He moved into a new apartment on the Taras Shevchenko embankment in 1954. His neighbor in the stairwell turned out to be actress Zoya Fedorova. One day, returning home, Igor met a new, unfamiliar face on his landing. A blonde girl with huge radiant eyes came out of Zoya Fedorova’s apartment and, noticing Netto, smiled shyly. The stranger quickly fled. But the very next day Igor saw her again: now she was opening Fedorova’s apartment with the key. As it turned out, the neighbor took in a lodger - a first-year student at the Shchukin Theater School. The student came from Zaporozhye, and her name was Olga Yakovleva.

She was undeniably pretty. Fragile, pretty and, at first glance, very shy. It is unlikely that this 18-year-old provincial girl could seriously dream that in a matter of months she would be offered her hand and heart by a famous football player, an Olympic champion, who in some countries was called nothing less than “the great Netto.” But that's exactly what happened. Netto fell in love.

Igor's mother, Yulia Vilhelmovna, was categorically against his marrying Yakovleva. She believed that he needed another wife who would sit at home, create comfort in the apartment and wait for her husband from work. Yulia Vilhelmovna did not like actresses, and she immediately disliked Igor’s fiancée, who only dreamed of being an actress. Maybe the mother’s heart sensed that Olga would not bring family happiness to her son...

The wedding took place on January 9, 1960. On this day Igor Netto turned 30 years old. A banquet on the occasion of the double holiday was thrown at the capital's Prague restaurant. Igor’s mother did not come to Prague; she did not bless this marriage. And Igor’s father was no longer there. He died in December 1956.

Igor was upset that his wife Olga did not want to have children. She decided to make a career in the theater and believed that she could not be torn between work and a child. Igor secretly hoped that the feeling of motherhood, which almost every woman wants to experience, would still prevail after a while. Alas... They were replaced by two dogs - the poodle Phil and the cocker spaniel Mika.

After graduating from the Shchukin School in 1962, Yakovleva for some reason ended up not in the Vakhtangov Theater, but in Lenkom. Fame in theater circles came to her soon - Olga was given leading roles in many Lenkom productions. Later, when she moved to the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, Olga Yakovleva's star flared up with new strength. Both in Lenkom and in the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya - the outstanding director Anatoly Efros is with her. They say that when Olga Yakovleva was first introduced to Efros, they whispered in her ear:

– Anatoly Vasilyevich, this is Igor Netto’s wife.

- Whom? – Efros asked. - Net? What is he famous for?..

In 1987, Igor and Olga officially divorced, although they continued to live in the same apartment. Many friends and relatives had no idea about their divorce.

Probably, one of its causes could be Alzheimer's disease, which struck the famous football player in the late 1980s...

But let's go back to 1960, to Paris.

The national team met with the Czechoslovak team in the semi-finals and won 3:0. Forward Valentin Ivanov played brilliantly in that match, scoring two goals. Lev Yashin defended the goal very well, taking dead balls several times.

In the 1960 European Cup final, the team's opponents, again, as at the Melbourne Olympics, were the Yugoslavs. In those years, “Yuga” had many great football players on its roster, among whom Shekularats, perhaps, stood out for his special technique. The Yugoslav national team played in attack with powerful forwards: Jerkovic, Galic and Kostic, who crushed the defense of the championship hosts, the French, in the semi-finals

The national team lost the first half (0:1). As the famous football journalist Lev Filatov, who witnessed that match at the Parc des Princes, later recalled, the Yugoslavs at the end of the first half “strangled” their opponents so much that the small Soviet delegation sitting in the stands had a strong desire to blow the whistle as soon as possible. break. Alas, in the 40th minute, Galich headed the ball into Yashin’s goal from a pass from Yerkovich. And it’s good that the Yugoslavs didn’t score the second goal.

During the break, our defender Maslenkin said dully:

- Ten more minutes of this game - and that’s it, it’s all gone.

“Yes,” Yashin supported him, scratching the back of his head. – “Yugi” is perhaps stronger than the Czechs.

In the second half, Gavriil Dmitrievich Kachalin's team clearly improved. Just five minutes after the break, Valentin Bubukin powerfully shot from twenty-five meters, the Yugoslav goalkeeper Vidinich parried the shot, but Slava Metreveli was the first to arrive in time to the rebounded ball - 1:1. The USSR national team players perked up. Netto and Voynov, through whom the entire game was built, time after time brought their partners into striking positions, and now the defense of the “Souths” had difficulty holding back the attacks of the Soviet football players. Regular time did not reveal a winner.

But in the 112th minute the combination of Bubukin - Voynov - Meskhi - Monday finally ended with a goal. The ball flew from Victor Ponedelnik's head into the upper right corner 2:1.

The next day, the European champions, walking around Paris, saw in a kiosk the latest issue of a football magazine - with color photographs taken during the final match.

“Well, the capitalists give! – said Netto. “What efficiency!”

The magazine sold in great demand. The guys walked along the Boulevard Saint-Germain, flipping through the pages as they went and smiling contentedly. Then Kachalin asked:

“Guys, do you even understand what a victory you won here?”

Valentin Bubukin answered for everyone:

“When we get home, then we’ll understand what we’ve done here.”

It cannot be said that upon arrival in Moscow, the players of the USSR national team, led by their captain Igor Netto, instantly became national heroes. In the minds of most fans, victory at the 1956 Olympics was still valued higher than the European Cup, which only later acquired the official status of a continental championship. The Soviet party bosses took our success in Paris for granted: they said, it wasn’t the Brazilians who beat them.

Two years later, at the World Championships in Chile, the Czechoslovakian team, which Netto’s teammates beat “in Europe” with a “dry” score, took second place. And the Yugoslav team reached the semifinals there, in Chile.

Igor Netto took part in two world championships - in 1958 and 1962. Both of them ended the same way for the USSR national team: having overcome the group barrier, our players lost to the hosts of the tournament. The first time – to the Swedes (0:2), the second – to the Chilean team (1:2). But for Netto himself, these championships turned out differently.

On the eve of the trip to Sweden, the captain of the USSR national team received a minor injury. It seemed like nothing was wrong, but he was forced to miss the first two matches - with the national teams of England and Austria. Meanwhile, the game with the British became somewhat historic. The USSR national team had never competed at a world championship before. Instead of Igor Netto, vice-captain Nikita Simonyan led the Soviet team to the duel with the founders of football.

The USSR national team was leading 2:0, five minutes before the end it was winning 2:1, but the British escaped defeat. Hungarian referee Zsolt awarded a very dubious penalty against Yashin. No judges could help the Austrians - 2:0 in favor of the national team (and in this match a penalty kick was awarded to the Soviet team, but Yashin parried the strike of the Austrian Butsek). Netto, who had not yet fully recovered from the injury, appeared on the field only in the third game - against the Brazilians, which they lost with a score of 0:2. The match with the Brazilians remained Netto’s only one at that championship. Neither in the replay for 2nd place in the group with England (1:0), nor in the dramatic quarterfinals with Sweden, head coach Gavriil Kachalin did not risk releasing an under-treated player, although Netto was eager to fight.

A few years later, at the world championship in Chile, Netto played for the national team in all matches. Soviet football players once again beat Yugoslavia (2:0), but in the second meeting of the group tournament, with the Colombians, there was an embarrassment. Having scored three unanswered goals by the 13th minute, the USSR national team considered that Colombia was not a rival, and paid for its self-confidence. After the break, the Colombians, within just eight minutes (from 69 to 77), hit Yashin’s goal three times and saved what seemed to be a lost match - 4:4. Netto later regretted that during the game he did not “saw” the defenders a little - Maslenkin, Ostrovsky and Chokheli, who, as he put it, at some point simply fell asleep.

The USSR - Uruguay match decided which of the two teams would advance to the quarterfinals. The South Americans only needed a victory; the USSR national team was happy with a draw. It was in this match that the captain of the Soviet team, Igor Netto, committed an act that aroused the admiration of the entire football world.

The USSR team attacked with the right flank. Forward Igor Chislenko took a strong shot at goal, but missed. The ball, however, went through a hole in the side net and ended up in the goal. The referee did not see the moment of the strike; his gaze recorded only the final part of the episode: the ball was in the goal. The referee pointed to the center. Imagine his surprise when Igor Netto ran up to him and explained in broken English that there was no goal. By the way, the country's forwards Valentin Ivanov and Viktor Ponedelnik, who were near the Uruguayans' goal, also saw that the ball slipped into the net through a hole, so they were not happy about the “goal”. They calmly walked towards their half of the field, having no doubt that the referee would award a goal kick. The most curious thing is that the Uruguayan defenders and goalkeeper did not attack the referee when he pointed to the center, but initially stood rooted to the spot. The judge reversed his decision under the influence of the captain of the USSR national team.

The outcome of that match was unclear until the very end. Valentin Ivanov scored the winning goal in the 89th minute – 2:1.

When a journalist asked Victor Monday: what if Uruguay had won then? Any of the players of the Soviet national team could reproach Igor - why did he interfere? Viktor Vladimirovich, after thinking, answered like this:

“First of all, we would never lose to Uruguay. In 1962 we had a very good team– Yashin, Voronin, Netto, Metreveli, Ivanov, Meskhi, Chislenko – what names! About a month before the World Cup, we met with the Uruguay team in Moscow and won 5:0. I felt that in Chile the Uruguayans were afraid of us, and we played with a large reserve. But if we still assume that we would have lost then and would not have made it to the quarterfinals, no, none of the guys would have dared to blame Igor. After all, he acted honestly and nobly. And a victory obtained by dishonest means, in my opinion, does not bring satisfaction.”

The victory over Uruguay brought the USSR national team into the quarter finals against the hosts of the World Cup, the Chileans. In November 1961, the national team beat this team in a friendly match in Santiago (1:0). Lev Yashin entered the field not entirely healthy: even in the opening match, against Yugoslavia, he received a slight concussion. The doctors reported this to the leadership of the USSR national team, but the coaches decided not to convey unwanted information to the players. When Yashin, who was sometimes called impenetrable, conceded four goals from the Colombians, senior coach Gavriil Kachalin called the USSR Sports Committee in Moscow and outlined the situation.

“We need to give Yashin a rest,” said Kachalin. “In the next game we plan to use a reserve goalkeeper.”

But a firm instruction came from Moscow: no substitutes, only Yashin should stand at the goal!

Gavriil Dmitrievich did not dare to go against the will of the Sports Committee. Alas, in the match with Uruguay, Lev Yashin only worsened his injury. Saving the goal from a goal, he landed unsuccessfully on the lawn and grabbed his bruised head. He didn’t ask for a substitution - substitutions weren’t allowed in official matches back then. He brought the game to the end, to victory.

Netto, like Viktor Ponedelnik, also believed that in 1962 the USSR national team, based on its potential, could well count on reaching the finals. In any case, it was no weaker than the Czechoslovakian team, which won silver medals.

The relative failure of the national team in Chile was also reflected in the fate of its captain. After the 62 World Cup, Igor Netto, who was suddenly talked about as a veteran, spent main team The country has only one match, and that is a friendly (with the Swedes). When Konstantin Beskov headed the national team, he stopped including Igor in the team, and appointed torpedo player Valentin Ivanov as the team captain. Beskov explained his decision this way: it’s time to introduce fresh blood.

Netto officially said goodbye to the USSR national team on May 16, 1965. On this day, the national team met with the Austrians in Moscow. Igor entered the field in the starting lineup, but it was a purely symbolic appearance. Within five minutes he was replaced by Gennady Logofet.

A year later, 36-year-old Netto played his last match for the Moscow Spartak and left big football.

Behind Igor Aleksandrovich Netto’s back were 367 matches for Spartak, 65 matches for the national team, Olympic victory, European Cup, five USSR champion titles, three victories in the USSR Cup.

Of course, each victory is precious in its own way, but Igor himself especially highlighted the 1958 cup final “Spartak” - “Torpedo”. In the first half, the capital's automakers had at least five scoring chances, but did not use any of them. Spartak goalkeeper Ivakin worked wonders. With his whole appearance, he radiated confidence, which the red-and-white defenders and Torpedo forwards so lacked.

After the break, Igor Netto's team leveled the game. And 10 minutes before the end of the second half, Ilyin, being in a good position to shoot, was not greedy (for once!) and gave a magnificent pass to Simonyan. All he had to do was hit the empty goal. But the goal did not take place. Simonyan suddenly hesitated, the Torpedo defender kicked him on the heel from behind, and the ball bounced to the side. The judge did not notice the violation. 0:0.

Extra time was scheduled.

As Nikita Simonyan later said, Netto attacked him in the locker room:

- What a moment you missed! Yes, such things should be strangled! We would already be holding the Cup in our hands! Oh, Nikita...

-Why are you yelling? I didn’t do it on purpose...” Simonyan justified himself.

– It’s still not enough for you to deliberately not score from such a situation! – the captain continued to brand him with shame. - But guys, all is not lost yet. Go play"

In the extra half hour, Spartak snatched the victory – 1:0. The only goal from Isaev's serve was scored by... Simonyan.

That year turned out to be very successful for Spartak. He made a “double”, putting, as they wrote then, the gold medals of the champions in a crystal Cup. At the finish of the USSR Championship, only one point separated Spartak and Dynamo.

Olga Yakovleva remembers Igor Netto’s farewell match:

“In the evening, when Igor arrived from the stadium after farewell match, he silently lay down on the sofa and turned to the wall. I tried to stir him up, told him that life was not over yet, but he did not react. For almost a whole month, when I came home, I found him lying on the sofa - quiet, indifferent, sleepy. Many, many years later, Igor’s friends said that he didn’t want to leave then, he hoped to play more. But he was forced."

It was very difficult for him to retire at the age of 36. During the farewell, Igor Netto was given a special personal pass, which allowed him to visit all stadiums in the country for free. He carefully kept this pass and used it often. But one day - this was in the early 1990s - some big controller blocked the path of the great football player:

“New passes have been introduced at our stadium. Your ID is no longer valid. Step aside".

Later, having met veterans Nikita Pavlovich Simonyan at a tournament, who took over the post of vice-president of the Russian Football Union, Netto mentioned that his old “all-terrain vehicle” was no longer operational. Simonyan, of course, helped.

Netto did not produce an outstanding coach. He was not immediately offered a coaching position at Spartak (as they once offered it to the same Simonyan). A few months after graduation football career Netto went to Cyprus as the head coach of the Omonia team from Nicosia. Formally, this appointment looked quite decent. Igor Netto became the first Soviet coach to get a job in a professional football country.

But Cyprus has never been one of the leading football powers in Europe, rather it has always been on the margins. According to Igor, he went to Cyprus without any enthusiasm. He would be much more willing to work in Moscow. For example, with the Spartak double.

Netto did not stay long on the Island of Love, as Cyprus is sometimes called. In June 1967, by mutual agreement of the parties, he left Omonia and returned to Moscow. Later, Netto ended up in Yaroslavl "Shinnik", which then played in the second group of class "A" (in other words, in the first league). After Spartak, after the football that Igor saw at the World Championships and Olympic Games and which he himself recently played, the second group of class “A” made a depressing impression on him. Netto had difficulty getting used to his new role. When, as the captain of Spartak, he scolded Ilyin, Ogonkov or Paramonov for mistakes, he knew perfectly well that he was dealing with good craftsmen, who will definitely play better next time. In Shinnik there were no players of this class at all. It was useless to scold the Yaroslavl football players - they had to be retrained.

Netto held the position of second coach at Shinnik, which in no way corresponded to his ambitions. Therefore, having gained some experience over the year, he left Yaroslavl without regret, saying to himself: “I’ll never set foot in the first league again!”

Soon Netto became the head of the Moscow Spartak team, but not the football team, but the hockey team. In his younger years, he spent four seasons with the hockey team Spartak and only since 1954 did he concentrate entirely on football.

At the age of 40, he was again drawn to distant lands. Igor went to exotic Iran, leading the national team of this country.

Only in September 1971 Netto returned to Spartak. He became the coach of Spartak football school, where he worked (with short breaks) until his retirement. It was in his group that Igor Shalimov studied, who later became a famous football player for Spartak and the Italian clubs Foggia, Inter, Bologna, and Napoli.

Igor Aleksandrovich did not work with the main team of Spartak for long, only three seasons. He was invited to be his assistant by the same Nikolai Alekseevich Gulyaev, who coached Spartak back in the 1950s, when Netto was the captain of the red and white. The coaching tandem of Gulyaev and Netto led the Spartak team to silver medals at the national championship in 1974. A year later, Spartak took only 10th place. The head coach and I. Netto were forced to leave.

When the opportunity arose, he enjoyed playing for the USSR veterans team.

At the end of 1997 he suffered a stroke. Netto spent forty days in the Botkin hospital. Almost all this time, brother Lev Aleksandrovich and his wife Larisa Vasilievna were alternately on duty at Netto’s bed.

In March 1999, Igor became very ill. Professor Evsey Borisovich Mazo from Moscow City Hospital No. 1, into whose hands Netto fell, knew about his ailments even earlier. In addition, the devices showed bilateral pneumonia and high renal failure.

“We will do everything in our power,” the professor promised.

But four days later, Igor Netto, alas, passed away; his heart stopped on March 30, 1999 at 7:15 am.

The famous football player was buried in Moscow at the Vagankovskoye cemetery, in the same place where Lev Yashin, Eduard Streltsov, Igor Chislenko, Nikolai Starostin are buried...

Igor Netto, who had extraordinary technique, is not for nothing considered the best midfielder in the history of Russian football. Netto could easily beat two or three opponents at speed, walk along his left edge almost to the goal line and give a sharp pass to his partner. He scurried back and forth like a shuttle, managing to help both in defense and in attack. His not very loud, but demanding voice, which was heard every now and then during the match, forced his teammates to give their best. According to experts, Netto had one single drawback - he did not have such a strong, accentuated blow as, for example, Valery Voronin could boast. It was for this reason that the long-time captain of Spartak and the USSR national team tried to avoid long passes and almost never made long-range shots on goal. Netto preferred medium and short passes. But he made mistakes much less often than other football players.

He was not a natural goalscorer. In 65 matches with the USSR national team, Igor Netto scored only 6 goals. In the championships of the Soviet Union, he scored 37 goals (that is, he scored only in every tenth match). At the time when Netto played, the vast majority of teams entered the field not with two, as is now customary, but with five forwards. The task of hitting the goal was placed primarily before them.

It was not for nothing that he was chosen as the captain of the national team. He was a leader by nature. Leader. He was respected and obeyed. The famous Spartak player Nikita Simonyan, who scored 34 goals in one season, in the 1950 national championship, admitted: “Igor was noticeably superior to me in the art of managing the guys on the field. Sometimes - mostly in his absence - I was the captain of Spartak and the national team. But I understood perfectly well that I did not have the same leadership qualities as Igor. I couldn't get the team to fight the way he did."

True, according to Simonyan, Netto was a rare grumbler. Left winger Anatoly Ilyin got the worst of it from him. He always tried to score a goal himself, often overplayed the ball, and didn’t really like playing for his partner. Sergei Salnikov, one of Spartak’s most technical players, sometimes reacted painfully to the captain’s comments.

“Nikita,” he turned to Simonyan for help, “tell me: are you and I playing worse than him?” Why does he always cling to me? He says that I stop the ball with my thighs.

“Don’t listen,” Simonyan smiled. - Take care of your nerves.

“I can’t restrain myself,” Salnikov continued. “You’ll have to separate us.”

Net on the football field and Net outside the stadium were very different from each other. In life, Igor was the kindest person; it was possible to hear a rude word from him only under some emergency circumstances. An hour after the match, he forgot about all his complaints and enjoyed communicating with his partners.

Igor Aleksandrovich Netto - Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1954), Honored Coach of the RSFSR (1986), Olympic champion (1956), European Cup winner (1960), five-time champion of the USSR (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962), silver medalist of championships USSR (1954, 1955, 1963), bronze medalist of the USSR championships (1957, 1961), three-time winner of the USSR Cup (1950, 1958, 1963), winner of the 1st Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR (1956), finalist of the USSR Cup (1952, 1957), captain "Spartak" (1955–1964). In "33 Best" - No. 1 (1950, 1956, 1957, 1959-1963). Entered the symbolic USSR national team for 50 years (1967). Winner of the highest titles won in domestic football, holder of the Order of Lenin and the Order of Friendship. The best midfielder of the Soviet Union.

Igor Netto Aleksandrovich - the name of this man is known to everyone who is interested in football, and sports in general. He became a legend of Soviet football, won a large number of medals, various prizes and cups. But along with all the awards, Igor Netto was always just a good person. For this and for his merits as an athlete, his memory will live on for many years to come. (See also about)
Football player Netto Igor Aleksandrovich was born on January 9, 1930 in Moscow. Igor began to get involved in sports as a child, but at that time he had two passions - football and hockey. And for a long time he could not decide what was closer to him.
But then, after some time, someone was able to convince him to make his choice. Academy representatives football club“Spartak Moscow” noticed the guy’s talent and convinced him that it was in football that he could achieve success and recognition. Igor Netto could not refuse such prospects.
Soon the Spartak football academy became almost a second home for the guy. Eight years were enough for him, after which he already put on the red and white uniform. The situation in the country at that time was very difficult. The war had just ended and all the infrastructure related to sports was still in use. initial stages. There were no such conditions for athletes and spectators then. The first ones did not have so much money, there were no such fields and training bases. And the latter did not have such stadiums, with convenient seating, etc. And it was precisely players of such a class as footballer Igor Aleksandrovich Netto who brought glory to Soviet football. Such players became symbols of the era, and it was them that people came to watch, and for the sake of these people the whole country gathered to cheer for the national team. (See success story here)
Igor always played as an attacking midfielder. He “saw” the field perfectly, had good technique, had a well-placed shot, and his passes often brought success to the team. Igor was able to sit firmly in the main lineup of the Moscow team almost immediately. Subsequently, he became its captain, and of course a living legend of the football club. In total, Igor played nineteen seasons for Spartak, which included 368 friendly matches. Igor Netto became the gold medalist of the Soviet Union Championship five times, and also won the Cup three times Soviet Union. Football player Igor Netto also has personal awards. He was named National Player of the Year twelve times.

Igor Alexandrovich also achieved great success in national team. He played for the Soviet Union national team for 13 years. He managed to play 54 games. In the national team, Netto played in a position different from Spartak. As a member of the USSR national team, Igor Netto won gold at the 1956 Olympics, and in 1960 he and the team won gold at the European Championships.

Igor has always been a man of honor. He always played very nobly. An indicator of this is the match for the Soviet Union national team against Uruguay. In this match, one of Igor Aleksandrovich’s colleagues on the national team shot into the Uruguayans’ goal from a very acute angle, so that the ball flew through the outside of the goal in the place where the net was torn. Interestingly, the main referee of the match counted the goal, but Igor Aleksandrovich intervened in the process and asked the referee to cancel the goal. Our guys still won that match.
Over time, Igor’s interest in hockey did not fade away, so he did not miss the opportunity to try himself on the ice. And of course there was no doubt that he would choose Moscow Spartak for this. He played 22 matches on the ice.
Then Igor Netto turned his gaze back to football. When he finished professional career football player, released memoirs about the time spent in the camp of the Spartak Moscow club. The book was autobiographical in nature and was called “This is Football.” (See here about)
And of course, such a great football player had to try himself as a coach. He coached the following clubs: Cypriot “Omonia”, Russian “Spartak”, Russian “Shinnik”, Greek “Panionis” and “Neftchi” from Azerbaijan. Also in coaching career already former football player Igor Aleksandrovich Netto had experience with the Iranian national team as head coach.
Igor Aleksandrovich was a decent person not only on the field, but also in family life. He lived all the time in marriage with one woman - Olga Yakovleva. She was an actress. Olga was also devoted to Igor to the end. She did not leave him a single step when Igor was seized by illness. He was practically losing his memory. In March 1999, the USSR football legend died in Moscow.

Igor Aleksandrovich Netto(January 9, 1930, Moscow, RSFSR, USSR - March 30, 1999, Moscow, Russia) - Soviet football player, football coach, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1954), Honored Coach of the RSFSR (1986), midfielder of the Spartak team (Moscow) ( 1949-1966) and the USSR national team. European champion in 1960 and Olympic champion in 1956, multiple champion of the USSR.

Biography

Pupil youth team Moscow "Spartak". Was different on the field high skill possession of the ball, the ability to see the field and anticipate events. In the USSR Championship he played 368 matches and scored 36 goals.

In the USSR national team (1952-65) he played 54 matches and scored 4 goals. Participant in the 1952 and 1956 Olympic Games. Participant in the 1958 and 1962 World Championships.

He was buried in section 24 of the Vagankovskoye cemetery.

Team Achievements

• Olympic champion 1956 (5 matches, 1 goal)
• Winner of the European Cup 1960
• USSR Champion: 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962
• Winner of the USSR Cup: 1950, 1958, 1963

Personal achievements

• Included in the symbolic USSR team of the fiftieth anniversary (1917-1967).
• In the top ten best football players in Europe 1957 (9th place).
• In the lists of the best football players of the season in the USSR 13 times, of which No. 1 (1950, 1952, 1953, 1955-1963) - 12 times, No. 2 (1951).

Member of the CPSU since 1966.

Awards

• Order of Lenin (1957)
• Order of Friendship (19 April 1995) - for services to development physical culture and sports and a great personal contribution to the revival and formation of the sports society "Spartak" .

Coaching work

• Head coach"Omonia" (Nicosia, Cyprus): January-June 1967.
• Coach of Shinnik (Yaroslavl): January-July 1968.
• Head coach of Shinnik (Yaroslavl): August-December 1968.
• Head coach of the Iranian national team: 1970-1971.
• Coach of Spartak (Moscow): 1973-1975.
• Head coach of Panionis (Athens, Greece): 1977 - August 1978.
• Head coach of Neftchi Baku: January-June 1979.
• Coach of SDUSHOR Spartak Moscow: September 1971-1972, 1976, September 1979-1990.
• Trainer-consultant "Tornados" (Harare, Rhodesia): 70s.
• Head of the team of veterans of the USSR and Russia: 1991-1993.

• 367 matches - a record for the USSR championships in 1961 - 1970.
• One of the founders of the famous Spartak team of the 50s (N. Tishchenko, A. Maslenkin, M. Ogonkov, A. Paramonov, I. Netto, B. Tatushin, A. Isaev, N. Simonyan, S. Salnikov, A. Ilyin ), Netto was left alone in 1964, having outlived all his partners in football.
• 18 Seasons at Spartak is a club record. With the arrival of Netto and Simonyan (S. Salnikov and A. Paramonov had already played in Spartak), a brilliant team began to form, which became the champion of the USSR 5 times (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962), won the Cup 3 times (1950 , 1958, 1963).
• Netto was the captain of Spartak in 1952-1956, 1958-1964. In 1957, he was not chosen as captain, and Spartak remained third in the championship. In 1958, he again put on the captain's armband, and the team did a double (gold medals and the Cup).
• 5-time USSR champion (1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962) - Spartak record (for USSR championships) and 2nd in the country (after Oleg Blokhin - 7 times), winner of three silver medals (1954, 1955 , 1963), and three bronze (1949, 1957, 1961). 11 medals is a Spartak record and the 2nd highest in the country (after Oleg Blokhin - 13).
• From the list of 33 best - 8 times, and all at No. 1. Best result among midfielders. Midfielder of Soviet football - No. 1. Was included in the symbolic team for 50 years of Soviet football (1967).
• Netto became a laureate of all the tournaments for which the team fought (except for one - the World Championship): Spartak - champion and winner of the USSR Cup, the USSR national team - Olympic champion (1956), winner of the European Cup (1960).
• Netto was a participant in the first Olympic tournament for the USSR national team (1952), the first World Championship (1958) and the first European Cup (1960). Everywhere - the team captain.
• The first played 50 matches as a member of the USSR national team. Total 55 matches, 4 goals.
• He took part in the first official match of the USSR national team on July 15, 1952 in the Finnish city of Kotka with the Bulgarian national team (2:1).
• He has worn the captain's armband of the national team consistently since 1954, with the exception of those 11 matches of the national team, which he missed over these 10 years due to injuries. He was captain of the national team in 52 matches (only Albert Shesternev had more - 67 matches).
• Netto was distinguished by honesty and decency not only in life, but also on the football field. The most famous episode occurred during the 1962 World Cup match with the Uruguay team. With the score 1:1, Igor Chislenko hit the goal, and the ball flew into the net, but through a hole with outside, but the referee counted the goal. And Netto (being the captain of the USSR national team at that time), having learned about the incorrect goal, immediately began to show the referee with various gestures that his team had scored an incorrect goal: “Referee, there was no goal.” As a result, the referee of the match, having understood the situation, canceled the goal. “We are not used to unfair play,” Netto will later write in his book. “Even though it would be difficult for us, very difficult in the remaining minutes, but to get a victory due to a referee’s error?” That match ultimately ended in victory for the USSR national team. Valentin Ivanov scored the winning goal a little later.

Memory

• In Moscow, at house No. 5 on the Taras Shevchenko embankment, where Igor Netto lived from 1955 to 1997, a memorial plaque was installed. Netto received an apartment in this house for the historic victory over the West German team as part of the USSR national team in 1955.

Netto Igor Aleksandrovich is a Soviet football player, coach and hockey player. During his career, he was able to earn many titles and awards. However, the athlete went down in history not only as an outstanding football player, but also as a wonderful person. Thanks to this, Netto is still remembered.

Igor Netto: biography

Igor Alexandrovich was born on January 9, 1930. The place of birth was the city of Moscow. Interest in various types he began to show interest in sports early childhood, but it took him a long time to decide what he liked best.

The final choice was made after meeting with sports school"Spartacus". It was her leadership that predetermined Igor’s future career, providing him with the opportunity to study. From the very beginning, many coaches and teammates began to notice that the young man had great potential. Thanks to this, many famous clubs of the Soviet Union wanted to see the young football player.

The result was that Igor Netto remained in Spartak. He started playing football in the early 40s, and his initial game held in 1948. At that post-war time, the country, and with it football, was in a deplorable state and was just beginning to recover.

Players could only dream of quality specialists, as well as training fields of the required level. The stadiums were far from perfect, but they nevertheless attracted a huge number of fans. Therefore, there was a great need for celebrity personalities to show the appeal of the sport. Netto can also be called a symbol of that generation.

Football career

Igor Netto began his football career from the position of an attacking midfielder. In addition to excellent technique, he had amazing field vision, which allowed him to make excellent cutting passes that posed a huge danger to the opponent's defense. In addition, the football player had an excellent shot, thanks to which he could hit the opponent’s goal from a great distance. He almost always finished one-on-one matches in favor of his club. It was thanks to his talents that Igor Netto became a star in every tournament.

The footballer was able to break into the first team for a very short term. Soon, Igor Aleksandrovich took on the responsibilities of captain and team leader, becoming a real symbol of the capital’s club. In total, Netto spent nineteen years with Spartak. full seasons, taking part in 358 matches. The footballer was able to help his club win the championship title five times and the USSR Cup three times. In terms of the total amount of trophies, Netto ranks second, behind the famous

In addition, the player has a considerable number of personal titles. Thirteen times Igor Netto was included in the list of the best football players of the Russian Championship, taking first place twelve times.

Career in the USSR national team

The footballer’s performances in international matches were no less intense and amazing. Igor Aleksandrovich spent the period from 1952 to 1965 in the Netto national team. During this time, he took part in fifty-four games and scored four goals. It is interesting that as part of the USSR team, Netto played in the position of a defensive midfielder, and not an attacker, but such changes did not greatly affect his playing qualities.

While playing for the national team, the player was able to win the Olympics in 1956 and receive gold medals at the European Championships in 1960.

Undoubtedly, speaking about performances in the national team, it is worth remembering the noble deed of the football player in the match with the Uruguay national team. During the game, one of the goals was scored through a torn net, but was taken into account. Being the captain of the team, it was Igor Netto who asked to cancel the goal. Photos and other saved information about this act still surprise many football fans. By the way, the USSR team won that game. Such actions were not so rare in Netto's career.

Hockey career

Despite choosing the path of a football player, Igor Netto was still able to prove himself on the ice at a certain period of his life. He played as a professional hockey player for the Spartak team (Moscow). Igor Alexandrovich has twenty-two on his account official games and twenty-nine assists.

End of career and career as a coach

After playing hockey, Igor Netto still decided to return to the world of football. After finishing his playing career, he created a book that was published in 1974.

Igor Netto ended his career at 34 years old. He was not as good at coaching teams as management required. Invitations from good clubs he didn't receive any. He did not stay as a mentor in teams for long. At the same time, the clubs he coached could not take high places, and often ended up in relegation zones.

Subsequently, many experts explained Netto’s failures by the fact that he could not suppress the player within himself.

Igor Netto: personal life and family

Netto’s great-grandfather came to work in Estonia from Italy. Mother moved to Russia in 1917, and father a little earlier. Igor has a brother Lev, who was captured by Germans in 1944 and was released by American troops. In 1946-1856, Lev was in Norillag on charges of espionage for the American government, but the charges were dropped.

Until 1987, Netto was married to the actress. They had no children.

last years of life

Igor Netto is a football player who became famous for his nickname Goose. It is difficult to say why such a nickname was given. Some say it’s for his hoarse speech and long neck, while others say it’s for his wiry body and pronounced nose. However, the nickname was not of any offensive nature, but rather the opposite. Only very famous and star athletes received nicknames. Some even considered such nicknames prestigious.

IN last years During his life, Igor Netto began to suffer from Alzheimer's disease. Memory could fail a football player at the most inopportune moments. Often he forgot to turn off the gas or could not find his way home. Sometimes he changed into a tracksuit and began to wait for the bus that was supposed to take him to training. His wife refused to look after him and practically kicked him out of the house. Former teammates helped him decorate a small apartment, but he spent most of his time with his brother.

The football player died on March 30, 1999 in Moscow. The burial place was At the time of his death he was 69 years old.

Memory

• A memorial plaque was installed on the house where the football player lived.
• The apartment in which Netto lived from 1955 to 1977 was obtained for defeating the West German football team.
• Until 2014, the stadium where the youth team trains was named after Igor Netto.
• Medals that were won during the career were transferred to

Facts about the player

• Member of the CPSU since 1966.
• Ranked ninth in the list of the best football players in Europe in 1957.
• He is part of the symbolic team of the national team of the fiftieth anniversary.
• Awarded the Order of Lenin.
• In April 1995, he received the Order of Friendship for his services to the development of sports and his great contribution to the development of Spartak.

Igor Netto became one of the symbols of Soviet football. The player’s contributions to the development of the sport are enormous. It is this football player who remains for many one of the best in the history of Spartak Moscow and the USSR national team. The player did not achieve the same amazing results in his coaching career. Fate, one might say, turned away from the football player after his career ended. His wife, who had been married to him for a long time, also turned away from Igor Alexandrovich, but did not care for her husband in his last years.