Igor Aleksandrovich Netto (Russian: Игорь Александрович Нетто; 9 January 1930 – 30 March 1999)[1] was a Soviet footballer, considered one of the greatest Soviet players ever. He started out playing on the left of defense but, due to his offensive mentality, dribbling and technical abilities turned into a dynamic central midfielder. His versatility and footballing intelligence allowed him to play a number of positions across defense and midfield.

Igor Netto

Igor Netto (left) and Lev Yashin in 1961
Personal information
Full name	Igor Aleksandrovich Netto
Date of birth	(1930-01-09)9 January 1930
Place of birth	Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union
Date of death	30 March 1999(1999-03-30) (aged 69)
Place of death	Moscow, Russia
Height	1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1949–1966	FC Spartak Moscow	368	(36)
National team
1952–1965	Soviet Union	54	(4)
Teams managed
1967	AC Omonia
1968	FC Shinnik Yaroslavl
1969–1970	Iran (Assistant)
1970–1971	Iran
1973–1975	FC Spartak Moscow (Assistant)
1975	FC Spartak Moscow
1976–1977	Panionios
1979	Neftchi Baku
Honours Representing  Soviet Union Olympic Games 1956 Melbourne Team European Championships 1960 Paris Team
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ice hockey and club career

Besides football, Netto played 22 games in the 1948–49 and 1950–51 seasons as an ice hockey forward for Spartak.[2] He quit because of the high level of traumatize intrinsic to hockey.[3][4]

During his club career he played for FC Spartak Moscow from 1949 until 1966, scoring 37 goals in 367 league games, winning five Soviet championships and three cups.

International career

He was the captain of the USSR national football team from 1952 to 1965. He led the country to the gold medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics,[5] and victory at the first ever European Championship in 1960. He missed all but one match in the 1958 FIFA World Cup due to injury, and also played all four matches in the 1962 FIFA World Cup when the Soviet Union reached the quarterfinals. In total he collected 54 international caps and four goals.[6]

Netto was a person of exceptional honesty, which was revealed most remarkably during the 1962 FIFA World Cup match against Uruguay. At a 1–1 score, Igor Chislenko managed to strike through the net, and the resulting goal was mistakenly counted by the referee who has not seen the ball trajectory. Hearing protests from the Uruguayan keeper, Netto confirmed with Chislenko that the ball went through the net, and convinced the referee to discount the goal. Netto's team won that match anyway.[3][4]

Managerial career

After retiring in 1966 he had a long, though unsuccessful career as a coach, training AC Omonia, FC Shinnik Yaroslavl, Iran, Panionios and Neftchi Baku. Netto was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1957. The stadium of Spartak Moscow reserves team is named after him.[4]

Personal life

Igor Netto was of Estonian and Italian descent, with his Italian lineage traced from an Italian gardener emigrated to the Governorate of Estonia in the 18th century.[7][8] His father Aleksander Netto (1885–1956) was originally a carpenter from Valga, Governorate of Livonia, and mother Juuli (née Tamm) (1894–1977) from Vaimastvere, Tartu County. Aleksander left Livonia for Soviet Russia with Red Latvian Riflemen in 1918. Aleksander was a fervent Communist, who even acted as a Bolshevik Councilman in Moscow.[9] During the 1930s and Stalin's Great Purge, the family didn't dare to speak Estonian and Igor learned only Russian.[9] Igor's brother Lev Netto (1925–2017), who spoke Estonian and was named after Lev Trotsky, was a Soviet prisoner for 8 years in Norilsk Gulag.[10] as was also Aleksander's brother Sergei.[11]

He was known as goose for his hissing voice, as well as goose-like walk and head shape. On 9 January 1960 he married Olga Yakovleva, an actress. They divorced around 1987 when Netto was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.[3][4]

Career statistics

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 September 1955	Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union	India	11–1	Win	Friendly
2.	2 December 1956	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia	Indonesia	4–0	Win	1956 Summer Olympics
3.	27 July 1957	Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Soviet Union	Finland	2–1	Win	1958 World Cup qual.
4.	15 August 1957	Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	0–10	Win	1958 World Cup qual.
Correct as of 7 March 2016[12]

Honours

Spartak Moscow

• Soviet Champion (5): 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962
• Soviet Cup Winner (3): 1950, 1958, 1963

Soviet Union

• UEFA European Football Championship (1): 1960
• Soviet Olympic team: 3 games in 1952 and 5 games in 1956, with 1 goal and gold medal in 1956.[1]
• National team: 54 caps, 4 goals; participant and quarter finalist in the 1958 and 1962 playing totally in 6 matches

Individual

• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament (1): 1960

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Igor Netto.

На других языках

[de] Igor Alexandrowitsch Netto

[es] Ígor Netto

[fr] Igor Netto

[it] Igor' Netto

[ru] Нетто, Игорь Александрович