It is more difficult to retain the well-deserved title of champion, and in ordinary life, being recognized as the best in your field is more difficult than winning it. It depends on whether the conditions and components used to achieve the previous one are preserved.
The first loss of the championship in 1972 was the removal from the leadership of the region of Viktor Shevchenko, an experienced and skillful manager in recruiting for key executive positions, including sports manager. His involvement in the misappropriation of public funds was not proven in the high-profile Luhansk case, when about 300 residents were put on trial. The wording of his resignation was for football.
But in fact, there was a personal revenge of the newly appointed “party leader” by the Soviet republic - exile as chief engineer to a mine in Horlivka, with a ban on returning to Luhansk region.
Another example: an ordinary police officer was sentenced to 4 years in prison for failing to control the distribution and expenditure of trade union fees from employees of the Shchastya thermal power plant. The head of the regional council of the Avangard sports association was sent to a penal colony for collecting trade union funds at regional enterprises, despite the fact that it was documented that the cash collected was handed over to the accountant in full, with receipts (it was she who secretly misappropriated some of it).
These funds were an additional payment to the leading athletes of the major league teams (de jure, the profession of athlete did not exist in the Labor Code of the USSR, de facto, they were registered as physical education instructors or as “snowdrops” in efficient work teams), were their material incentive, because sports required good health, full participation in training and competitions, with constant travel outside the region, treatment after injuries, and most importantly, they had to support themselves and their families.
When the circumstances of the Luhansk case were reported to the top leadership of the Soviet Union, the latter, by law, would have to imprison hundreds of thousands of athletes, famous Olympians, and bury all Soviet sport, because on paper there was only amateur sport, supposedly only with the participation of physical education teams. The law enforcement officers received an unofficial order to limit themselves to Luhansk, not to punish athletes throughout the country, and not to undermine the foundation and authority of the world's most powerful Soviet sport.
The resignation of Herman Zonin as Zorya's head coach, who returned to his hometown of North Palmyra, despite numerous invitations from the republic's leading football clubs, the talented innovator did not return to Ukraine.
Vyacheslav Semenov, a key player of the championship team, was taken to Dynamo Kyiv.
In 1973, draws were canceled, the winner was determined by penalty kicks. Zorya lost 5 out of 6 series after the penalty shootout. Had Zorya not lost this lottery (3:4) in the last round away to Kairat in Alma-Ata, they would have taken fourth place in the standings, which gave them participation in the UEFA Cup.
600th match 13.09.1973 Avangard 25 thousand spectators Zorya - Torpedo M 0: 0. Penalty shootout: 5:2. M. Pinchuk, S. Morozov, A. Kuksov, V. Onyshchenko, V. Kuznetsov scored for Zorya.
The Luhansk team finished the reform season in 7th place (14 wins, 10 losses, goal difference 38-26), made it to the 1/4 finals of the Union Cup, where they lost to the future champion and winner of the Ararat trophy, went through two rounds in the European Champions Cup, twice defeated Cyprus' APOEL 2: 0 at home and 1:0 in Nicosia, in the 1/8 finals they lost to Czechoslovakian Spartak, 0:0 at home and 0:1 in Trnava.
If in the golden season Luhansk played concisely and reliably, with technical and tactical skills and superiority over rivals realized with an excellent willpower, then in the post-championship season they tended to play for the public, spectacularly, attractively, but lacked last year's strong athletic training and endurance.
In all subsequent seasons, Zorya slowly lost its position as a threat to the authorities, in 1974 and 1975 it was close to winning the Union Cup, in the final matches it lost to Dynamo Kyiv 0:3 (only in extra time) and Ararat 1-2.
The last attempt to regain the lost ground was in 1977, when the Luhansk team was led by Jozsef Szabo. As half of the experienced players left Zorya, they were replaced by youngsters from the Luhansk sports boarding school and the club's training groups, aged 17-19, who had played in the youth and junior national teams of the Union but had not sniffed the major league dust: Defenders Serhiy Zhuravlev, Volodymyr Kuzovlev, Valeriy Hrytsenko (played in Afghanistan in 1980-1981), Oleksandr Polukarov and Serhiy Naidenko, midfielders Oleh Hlazunov, Volodymyr Kobzarev, Valeriy Zubenko and Oleksandr Zavarov (at the age of 16, midfielder, vice-champion of the world among youth national teams in 1978, played 53 matches for Zorya in 1979 and 1982, scored 16 goals, the best footballer of the USSR in 1986 with Dynamo Kyiv, winner of the 1986 Cup Winners' Cup and the 1990 UEFA Cup, the first Soviet footballer to officially join a foreign club), forward Oleksandr Malyshenko (played 12 seasons for Zorya, played 354 matches, scored 124 goals, the best scorer in the club's history). Earlier, 21-year-old strikers Serhiy Andreyev and Viktor Stulchyn, midfielder Yuriy Kolesnikov and defender Oleksandr Sorokalet were also named to the main squad. This galaxy was the first in the forge of football talents in Luhansk region, mainly in the sports boarding school headed by Vadym Dobizha. All of them were picked up by the leading teams of the Union and Ukraine, gained fame and titles in foreign lands, where they were not afraid to use material incentives. Later on, Zorya's mentors were taken from the Varangians. That's why in 1979 they were relegated from the major league, and it took them 10 years to return.
In 1986, Zorya was led by the honored coach of Ukraine Vadym Dobizha, who managed to combine the club's veterans and the youth, and it was this combination that enabled them to win the Ukrainian championship (for the third time in the club's history), defeat Saratov's Sokil and Uzbek Sokhibkor in the transitional tournament, and participate in the First League of the Union. The sports newspaper noted: "The winners gravitate towards combination football, with such features as constant movement, sharp openings, short and medium passes, more often diagonal, passing the ball behind the defenders, and playing in one touch."
Gold medals and the title of champions of Ukraine were awarded to: Vitaliy Tarasenko, Gennady Lytvynov, Serhiy Yarmolych, Serhiy Gorkovenko, Yuriy Yaroshenko (top scorer – 22 goals), Yuriy Sverdlov, Oleksandr Dorofeyev, Volodymyr Zinchenko, Timerlan Huseynov (later the first Ukrainian football player to score 100 goals), Serhiy Pogodin, Oleh Volotyok, Volodymyr Kobzarev (captain), Volodymyr Kuzovlev, goalkeepers Vasyl Zanin and Oleksandr Tkachenko (forced to replace the injured, at the age of 39, played 435 matches for Zorya in total, conceded 422 goals, scored 12 goals), Yuriy Kolesnikov (midfielder, played 487 matches for Zorya in total, scored 88 goals), Fedir Soroka and Serhiy Yuran. Coaches V.D. Dobizha and Anatoly Kuksov (as a midfielder, 17 seasons in Zorya, 562 matches, scored 96 goals).
1000th match. USSR Championship. First League. 09/23/1984 Khabarovsk SKA – Zorya 1:1 (Yuriy Bobkov equalized in the 83rd minute).
In 1991, Zorya in the USSR championship, Buffer Zone, Western group, wins second place (first to Lviv Carpathians), 42 matches, 26 wins, 5 draws, 11 losses, conceded 34, scored 69 (more than all 22 rivals) and a ticket to the First League of the USSR. But since 1992, Ukraine began to hold a national football championship.
Already in the Higher League, in the spring of 1992, in the second subgroup, Zorya takes 7th place out of 10 participants, receives a financial savior-sponsor and an addition to the usual name, performs as Zorya-MALS. The scorer is T. Huseynov, 11 goals. The captain is Igor Fokin, a defender. He, together with the midfielder Oleg Volotko, formed a creative wing of attack, which the fans nicknamed Fockewulf-190. A very interesting game was demonstrated by the middle link of Zorya, which consisted of students of local football schools Gennady Litvinov, Volodymyr Byedny, Oleksiy Korobchenko, as well as veteran Yu. Kolesnikov. They provided passes to the attackers Huseynov, O. Sevidov and V. Fursov. The constant focus on youth, which was also sucked out by more financially capable clubs in Ukraine and its northern neighbor, played a negative role, and Zorya began to fall into the lower leagues.
1500th match Luhansk. 05/11/1997, 1200 spectators, Zorya – Veres Rivne 3:0. In the 30th minute, Eduard Mor scored a penalty, in the 67th, Zorya captain Mykola Rizun, joining a quick counterattack, doubled the score, and the third was an own goal.
Season 2002-2003 Zorya wins the Second League under the coach Volodymyr Kobzarev, thanks to the leaders in the renewed team: goalkeeper Dmitry Babenko, midfielder Sergei Kozyuberdi and defensive midfielder Gennady Sushko, forwards Igor Lytvinov and Dmitry Mashchenko (scored 11 goals each). The first legionnaire was announced - V. Musonda.
The revival of Zorya in two seasons from 2004 to 2006 is associated with the invitation to Luhansk and the creation of conditions for the growth of the quality game of "Zorya" of the experienced coach Yuriy Grigorovich Koval, who released almost the entire squad of losers and entrusted him personally with players known for their attitude to football. A significant role was played by the new leadership of the Luhansk region, headed by Oleksiy Danilov. He helped ensure that the football club did not suffer from the change of the governor of Luhansk region, the mayor or political interference, which could affect the sports activities and financial stability of the club in order to achieve power.
Yuriy Koval organized an ambitious, result-oriented squad. Goalkeeper Dmytro Kozachenko (kept 23 clean sheets), defenders Oleksandr Zadorozhny, Oleksandr Malygin (captain), Yaroslav Vyshnyak, Dmytro Semchuk, Yuriy Kondakov, Oleh Shevchenko and Andriy Dobryansky, midfielders Oleksiy Gorodov (9 goals), O. Holovko (6), Bohdan Smishko (10), Oleksandr Pogorelov, G. Ovekov and Andriy Smalko, strikers Roman Karakevych (8), Mykyta Kamenyuka (2) and Vadym Kyrylov (top scorer - 14 goals). Among the 18 participants, they took the first place: 34 matches, 27 wins, 6 draws, one defeat, the difference between goals and conceded 74-13. They beat Dynamo Kyiv-2 twice (4:0 and 2:0), Shakhtar Donetsk-2 (2:1 and 3:0) and Lviv Karpaty (1:0 and 1:0).
In the highest league of the Ukrainian championship, Zorya finished the first season in 11th place out of 16 participants, the second - in 10th, the third - in 11th. A significant role in the ineffective performances was played by the premature death from an incurable illness of the club president Valery Bukayev, financial problems, attempts to raid the property of the sponsor and use football activities in pre-election competitions in the region.
The arrival of a new owner from Donetsk, businessman Yevgeny Borisovich Heller, put an end to this. Not without difficulties, the local authorities gave permission to build a stadium with an artificial surface for the club's children's and youth school, to install and equip engineering communications and stands for fans. The selection of the necessary performers for the main and youth teams was calculated, balanced and planned, taking into account the opinion of the coaching staff. A qualitative breakthrough in the team's efficiency came when they stopped the coaching leap and entrusted the formation of the team to the younger and without a coaching background Yuriy Nikolayovich Vernydub. It was then that Zorya finished the first round as an outsider. In the spring, the football players of the Luhansk club surprised both experts, rivals and fans with their victorious march from a very decent position in the tournament table to the top.
Zorya's backups won small gold medals and the championship in competitions among youth teams of the Ukrainian Premier League.
There was an attempt to knock the team "off the rails" and a ban on playing on the field of their native Avangard arena, Zorya had to hold home matches on a field located 40 km from Luhansk in Alchevsk. It took less than a year to completely replace the field, install heating, irrigation and lighting systems. A high-quality grass lawn was provided by a specialist in his field, with an academic education and sufficient experience, the club's agronomist Vitaly Mykolayovych Grusha.
They had only just established systematic work for training and holding official championship matches, when trouble again befell the club, the occupation of Luhansk took place, the suburban training base was destroyed and looted, several spare fields were put out of action, and they were used for MLRS positions.
In order to preserve the club and participate in competitions, they were forced to move abroad in the spring of 2014. And in the fall, they rented the Torpedo stadium in Zaporizhia, renovated its lawn, and in 2015, rented the training base of FC Metalurh and held “home” matches.
UPL on the field of the Slavutych Arena.
Strange as it may seem, the team players, feeling the care of the club management and coaching staff, felt that they were capable of great football and performing worthily at the national and international levels.
Awards ceremony
Currently, the players of "Zorya" are inspired by Dutch football (and German football), adopt advanced training technologies, master modern tactical and technical features of European football and consistently learn the ability to win, which was inherent in their glorious predecessors.
More than a century of history of the football club from Luhansk cannot but arouse respect for its sporting achievements in the past. Football players, coaches, employees and the owner of the club, its veterans and fans have the opportunity to be proud of belonging to a team that dreams of new achievements, does everything possible and impossible so as not to be afraid of excessive efforts for the sake of winning every match, the current championship and returning to international competitions next season.
Forward, "Zorya"!
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