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 Top  10 Facts about  Igor Netto

Igor Aleksandrovich Netto is a soviet footballer born in Moscow Russia on the 9TH OF January 1930. He was famously known as Gus for his hoarse voice and long neck. He is considered one of the greatest players of that period.

His dribbling and technical capabilities made him a dynamic midfielder. He was very versatile and had vast intelligence of the sport he could occupy any position on the field across defense and midfield.

He was also an ice hockey player as a forward for Spartak. He gained recognition as the captain of the USSR national football team during the 1952- 1965 period. Here are ten facts about this athlete:

1. He was an Ice Hockey Player

Netto did not have a great history since he was born into an immigrant family of Estonian descent.

He showed athletic prowess from a young age playing football and when winter came Ice hockey when he grew older he played professionally for the team Spartak.

He played in the 1948-1949 and 1950-1551 seasons. He played 22 official games and 29 assists. Netto’s true passion lay in football and he soon quit because of the high level of trauma that was intrinsic to the game.

He later made several appearances in the best Soviet league first as a defender before he became a midfielder for the team.

2. His Team was Awarded The Order of the Lenin

In 1957 Igor and his team were all awarded the distinguished Order of the Lenin Award. This award was the highest civilian decoration award of the USSR.

It was awarded for outstanding service in different areas of building socialism and to individuals who contributed greatly to the country’s defense.

The team was accredited this award after they won by a score of 1-0 when a Spartak player named Anatoliy Ilin made the goal.

3. He is one of the Biggest Legends of the Football Club

Netto is one of the biggest legends of the club. He played 18 seasons, 368 matches, and 36 goals for Spartak. When Igor joined the team as a teenager he made a big impact up until his retirement in 1966.

At 30 his team the Soviet Union won the European championship. In the last six years before retirement, he led his team to win one more national championship and domestic cup.

Supporter Vincent Tanguay of the Russian Football News called him and Fedor Cherenkov as far as he is concerned the most important players of Spartak Moscow’s history due to their attitude on and off the football pitch.

4. The Summer Olympics in Helsinki made Him Legendary

In 1953 Igor Netto received his debut for the national team as he led them in the Summer Olympics in Helsinki. This is where he started in the first Round a legendary 5-5 draw against the other team Yugoslavia.

This match was a serious one because of the falling out between the Yugoslavian president and the Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin. This ended up applying pressure on the team.

5. His Versatility on the Field Gave Him Fame

Igor was a very unique player. He had a keen sense of vision of the game, strong passing skills, and great technique to better further up the pitch.

His head coach realized Igor’s talent and figured he could utilize it by moving him to midfield where he developed into one of the finest box-to-box midfielders in history.

He was called one of the most brilliant playmakers of all time with a golden left foot. Expert  Joel Amorim of the Russian Football News for Spartak Moscow called him a definite player ahead of his time.

6. He was the Captain of the USSR Team.

As the Soviet teams captain Igor’s impact on the other players was immense. The Spartak boss Nikolai Starostin said it was no coincidence the other players had chosen him as captain despite his young age.

Soon after his nomination as team captain, the USSR won two great football successes in history which are the Olympic champions and European champions. He is sadly rarely remembered due to Lev Yashin’s enormous talent.

He is still considered important as expert Amorim claims he isn’t by any means less a major soccer player in the National Soviet Team than his iconic teammate

7. He was Brutally Honest

One of the most iconic games that Igor Netto played was the 1962 world cup. The Soviet Union was playing Uruguay in the last game of the group stage in order to advance.

The Moscow striker secured the first goal in the first half while Uruguay equalized in the second half. There was pressure on the soviet team to score the winning goal.

The captain Igor Netto however noticed an abnormality and after a short chat with Chislenko, he approached the referee and told him to disallow the goal because the ball went through a hole in the side netting.

The referee agreed to remove one point from the Soviet Union. The captain refused to win the match with a false point. In the end, The Soviet Union beat Uruguay despite this

8. He became a Coach after Retiring from Playing Football

After he retired from football in 1966 he had a long, though an unsuccessful career as a coach, training AC Omonia, FC Shinnik Yaroslavl, Ian, Panionios, and Neftchi Baku. Igor Netto Coached Ice Hockey but had limited success in this field.

He is still commemorated for his efforts to the Ice hockey teams where his name is reserved to honor his time and his history as a great player and important asset to the sport.

9. He received quite a number of Honors

The Football star was accredited numerous honors for his offensive mentality that made him a great player.

As the Teams captain he led them to victory to attain the Soviet champions five times, The soviet Cup winner three times, the UEFA European football championship in 1960, and the UEFA European championship team of the tournament in that same year.

The captain also attained the Soviet Olympic Team scoring one goal and attained a goal medal in 1956 and the National Team for participation and finalist in 6 matches

10. He Suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. This disease cannot be cured only treatment to minimize the serious symptomatic effects.

Igor Netto was diagnosed with this disease around 1987 when he separated from his wife who he had married 27 years before had refused to take care of him. Memory would fail the player at the most opportune moments.

He spent most of his time with his brother until he finally died on the 30th of March 1999 at the age of 69.