Valery Voronin was a midfield player who was ahead of his
time. Stylish and technically adroit, his individualist persona was frequently
in conflict with the team ethic demanded of Soviet footballers at the
time of his playing career.
Voronin joined FC Torpedo Moskva's youth team at 15 and was in the first
team two years later. He won the league championship twice, was domestic
footballer of the year in 1964 and 1965 and scored five goals in his 67
internationals including appearances at the FIFA World Cup finals of 1962
and 1966.
