Eduard Streltsov

Eduard Streltsov

Streltsov, photographed in USSR colours, c. 1955–58
Personal information
Full name	Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov
Date of birth	(1937-07-21)21 July 1937
Place of birth	Perovo, Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
Date of death	22 July 1990(1990-07-22) (aged 53)
Place of death	Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Forward Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1950–53	Fraser
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1953–58	Torpedo Moscow	89	(48)
1965–70	Torpedo Moscow	133	(51)
	Torpedo Moscow total	222	(99)
National team
1955–58	Soviet Union	21	(18)
1966–68	Soviet Union	17	(7)
	Soviet Union total	38	(25)
Honours Men's Football 1956 Melbourne Team competition
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov (Russian: Эдуа́рд Анато́льевич Стрельцо́в ; IPA: [ɪdʊˈart ɐnɐˈtolʲɪvʲitɕ strʲɪlʲˈtsof], 21 July 1937 – 22 July 1990) was a footballer from the Soviet Union who played as a forward for Torpedo Moscow and the Soviet national team during the 1950s and 1960s. A powerful and skilful attacking player, he scored the fourth-highest number of goals for the Soviet Union and has been called "the greatest outfield player Russia has ever produced". He is sometimes dubbed "the Russian Pelé".

Born and raised in east Moscow, Streltsov joined Torpedo at the age of 16 in 1953 and made his international debut two years later. He was part of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and came seventh in the 1957 Ballon d'Or. Early the next year his promising career was interrupted by a rape scandal. The 20-year-old Streltsov was accused of raping a woman shortly before the 1958 World Cup; told he could still play if he admitted his guilt, he confessed, despite inconclusive evidence against him. He was instead convicted and sentenced to twelve years in the Gulag system of forced labour camps.

Streltsov was released after five years in the camps and in 1965 he resumed his career with Torpedo Moscow. In the first season of his comeback, the club won the Soviet championship; in 1968 Torpedo won the Soviet Cup. Streltsov was restored to the Soviet national team in 1966, and in 1967 and 1968 named Soviet Footballer of the Year. By the time of his retirement in 1970 he had pioneered innovations such as the back-heeled pass, which became known in Russia as "Streltsov's pass". He died in Moscow in 1990. Six years later, Torpedo renamed their home ground "Eduard Streltsov Stadium" in his honour. In the 21st century, statues of Streltsov stand outside the stadium bearing his name and the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow.