Oleh Protasov

Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov (Ukrainian: Олег Валерійович Протасов; born 4 February 1964) is a Ukrainian and Soviet former footballer who played as a striker. He was a key member of the Soviet Union national team throughout the 1980s; his 28 goals for the Soviet Union are second in the team's history, behind Oleg Blokhin's 42. It should be considered that his first name is often spelled as Oleg on most of international rosters, particularly during his playing career.

Oleh Protasov
Protasov in 2011
Personal information
Full name Oleh Valeriyovych Protasov
Date of birth (1964-02-04) 4 February 1964
Place of birth Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Forward
Youth career
1972–1981 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1981–1987 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 145 (95)
1988–1990 Dynamo Kyiv 71 (30)
1990–1994 Olympiacos 83 (48)
1994–1995 Gamba Osaka 55 (24)
1996–1998 Veria 62 (11)
1998–1999 Proodeftiki 28 (5)
1999–2000 Panelefsiniakos 2 (1)
Total 446 (214)
International career
1984–1991 Soviet Union 68 (28)
1994 Ukraine 1 (0)
Managerial career
1999–2000 Veria
2002–2004 Olympiacos
2004–2005 AEL Limassol
2005 Steaua București
2006–2008 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
2008 Kuban Krasnodar
2009 Iraklis Thessaloniki
2010–2011 Rostov
2012 Astana
2012–2013 Dinamo Minsk
2014–2015 Astra Giurgiu
2015 Aris Thessaloniki
Medal record
Representing  Soviet Union
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up1988 West Germany
UEFA European U-19 Championships[1]
1982 Finland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Oleh Protasov started playing football at the age of 8 years old in his hometown of Dnipropetrovsk in Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, where he played until 1987. In 1987, Protasov moved to play for the Soviet-Ukrainian football giants, Dynamo Kyiv. In all, in the Soviet Union, he won the Soviet Championship twice and was named Soviet Footballer of the Year in 1987. He scored 125 goals in the Soviet Championship, making him the 8th best scorer of all-time of the Championship.

Following the fall of the Soviet Union, Oleh Protasov got a chance to play abroad. In 1990, he joined Greek side Olympiacos Piraeus. Leaving Olympiacos in 1994, he played in Gamba Osaka, Veria FC, and finally Proodeftiki FC, from where he retired in 1999.

International career

Protasov played for the Soviet Union 68 times, including at the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups, as well as Euro 88, where he scored two goals. He also played one game for the Ukraine national team, in 1994.

In 1983, Protasov took part in the Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR, representing the Ukrainian SSR.[2]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Protasov went into coaching, and led Olympiacos Piraeus to the Greek title in 2003. In 2005, he coached Romanian team Steaua București.

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

In December 2005, Oleh Protasov returned in Ukraine to coach his hometown team, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, after an impressive UEFA Cup performance with Steaua București. Protasov left by his own choice and was on very good terms with the entire team and owners of the club.[3]

In his first 2005–06 season as Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's coach, Oleh Protasov led the team to a 6th-place finish in the Ukrainian Premier League. In the next, 2006–07 season, Protasov improved on this, finishing 4th in the league.

In the 2007–08 season his side unexpectedly led the title race ahead of the winter break, before a poor second half left his side in 4th once again. Dnipro sacked him on 29 August 2008 after an embarrassing defeat from AC Bellinzona in UEFA cup qualification match.[4]

Kuban Krasnodar

After that, Protasov took over FC Kuban Krasnodar in the nearby region of Russia. Kuban had been recently relegated to the Russian First League. Under Protasov's leadership, the club finished 2nd in the league, with an 8-point lead over their nearest competitors. This finish earned them right to be promoted to the Russian Premier League.

However FC Kuban was hard-hit by the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, which greatly decreased the club's budget. In a mutual agreement with the club, Protasov left the club on 19 November 2008.[5]

Iraklis Thessaloniki

Then, he signed a two-year deal worth 400,000 euro per year with Iraklis Thessaloniki, starting from the summer of 2009. On 30 October, it was announced by Iraklis F.C. the termination of their contract, after 5 continual defeats in Super League and Greek Cup.

Astra Giurgiu

On 13 October 2014, Oleg became manager of FC Astra Giurgiu.[6] He was sacked on 2 March 2015.[7]

Aris Thessaloniki

Protasov agreed on a three years contract with Aris Thessaloniki, though Arvanitidis expel from head of football department position of the club, led to amateur Aris to terminate the deal after 15 minutes of its announcement.[8]

Personal life

Protasov is married to Natalia (née – Lemeshko), a daughter of Yevhen Lemeshko. He is a naturalised citizen of Greece and is able to speak Greek, alongside English, Russian and his native Ukrainian.[9][10]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[11]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1982 41000041
1983 2172000237
1984 341722604219
1985 333521644140
1986 231711202618
1987 301843003421
Dynamo Kyiv 1988 291152003413
1989 26762313510
1990 161211001713
Olympiacos 1990–91 291121003112
1991–92 211563002718
1992–93 241493413718
1993–94 984110149
Gamba Osaka 1994 271144303415
1995 281300002813
Veria 1997 3044100345
1998 3271000337
Proodeftiki 1998 2850000285
Career total 4442135325256522244

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year[12]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Soviet Union 198452
1985128
198630
198792
19881810
198983
1990113
199121
Total6829
Ukraine 199410
Total10
Scores and results list the Soviet Union's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Protasov goal.
List of international goals scored by Oleh Protasov
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
115 May 1984Kouvolan keskuskenttä, Kouvola, Finland Finland3–13–1Friendly
22 June 1984Wembley Stadium (1923), London, England England2–02–0Friendly
328 January 1985Maharaja College Stadium, Kochi, India Iran2–02–0Nehru Cup 1985
427 March 1985Boris Paichadze Stadium, Tbilisi, Soviet Union Austria2–02–0Friendly
52 May 1985Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union  Switzerland1–04–01986 World Cup qualification
62 May 1985Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union  Switzerland2–04–01986 World Cup qualification
75 June 1985Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark Denmark1–22–41986 World Cup qualification
87 August 1985Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union Romania1–02–0Friendly
925 September 1985Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union Denmark1–01–01986 World Cup qualification
1016 October 1985Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union Republic of Ireland2–02–01986 World Cup qualification
1123 September 1987Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union Greece2–03–0Friendly
1228 October 1987Lokomotiv Stadium (Tavriya), Simferopol, Soviet Union Iceland2–02–0Euro 1988 qualifying
1323 March 1988Olympic Stadium (Athens), Athens, Greece Greece1–04–0Friendly
1423 March 1988Olympic Stadium (Athens), Athens, Greece Greece3–04–0Friendly
1523 March 1988Olympic Stadium (Athens), Athens, Greece Greece4–04–0Friendly
1631 March 1988Olympic Stadium (Berlin), Berlin, West Germany Argentina3–14–2Four Nations Tournament
1731 March 1988Olympic Stadium (Berlin), Berlin, West Germany Argentina4–24–2Four Nations Tournament
1827 April 1988Štadión Antona Malatinského, Trnava, Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia1–11–1Friendly
191 June 1988Lokomotiv Stadium (Moscow), Moscow, Soviet Union Poland2–12–1Friendly
2015 June 1988AWD-Arena, Hanover, West Germany Republic of Ireland1–11–1Euro 1988 Group Stage
2122 June 1988Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, West Germany Italy2–02–0Euro 1988 Semi-finals
2227 November 1988Al-Sadaqua Walsalam Stadium, Kuwait City, Kuwait Kuwait1–02–0Friendly
2326 April 1989Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, Kyiv, Soviet Union East Germany3–03–01990 World Cup qualification
2415 November 1989Lokomotiv Stadium (Tavriya), Simferopol, Soviet Union Turkey1–02–01990 World Cup qualification
2515 November 1989Lokomotiv Stadium (Tavriya), Simferopol, Soviet Union Turkey2–02–01990 World Cup qualification
2624 February 1990Stanford Stadium, Palo Alto, United States of America United States3–13–1Friendly
2728 March 1990Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, Kyiv, Soviet Union Netherlands1–02–1Friendly
2818 June 1990Stadio San Nicola, Bari, Italy Cameroon1–04–0World Cup 1990 Group Stage
2913 November 1991GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus Cyprus1–03–0Euro 1992 qualifying

Honours

Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk

Dynamo Kyiv

Olympiacos

Soviet Union

Individual

References
  1. "Юношеский чемпионат Европы–1982 – Юношеская сборная России по футболу". Archived from the original on 24 July 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  2. Composition of teams at the Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR.
  3. Protasov parting on good terms – uefa.com; Thursday 15 December 2005
  4. Protasov carries the can at Dnipro – uefa.com; Tuesday 2 September 2008
  5. Олег Протасов: "Все вопросы с "Кубанью" уладим без шума" (Oleh Protasov: "We will handle all questions with 'Kuban' without much noise" – ua-football.com (in Russian) 20 November 2008
  6. "Protasov positive as he takes charge at Astra". UEFA.com. 13 October 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  7. "Despărţire de Oleg Protasov". afcastragiurgiu.ro. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 2 March 2015.
  8. Σεπ. 2015 21:51, Επιμέλεια: Δημήτρης Σαμόλης Δημοσίευση: 09. "Καρυπίδης αντί Αρβανιτίδη στον Άρη". sport24.gr.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  9. https://www.scotsman.com/news/bloomin-help-called-littlehampton-2347129
  10. "Oleg Protasov and Piotr Nowak". 9 June 2012.
  11. "Олег Протасов". Footballfan.net.us. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
  12. "Oleg Protasov – International Appearances". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 3 January 2015.
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