The legend of Russian football: Boris Ignatiev died

On January 27, it became known that Boris Ignatiev, the former head coach of the Russian national football team, died at the age of 85. For many years he was a mentor of various teams and left a deep mark in the history of Russian football. Ignatiev went from a professional player to coach of the national team, having achieved significant success in various teams and in the international arena. Details can be found in the Izvestia article.

Boris Ignatiev: a career in football

Boris Ignatiev was born on December 5, 1940 in Moscow. From a young age, he became interested in football. He started playing in 1956, he was a pupil of the youth team of Spartak Moscow.

Over the years of his football career, Boris Ignatiev played for many teams, including Zenit (Izhevsk), Raketa and Volga (Gorky), Dynamo (Makhachkala), Meteor (Zhukovsky), Dynamo (Tselinograd), and Builder (Ufa).

The path to coaching

Ignatiev finished his playing career in 1972. After graduating from the coaching school at the State Central Institute of Physical Culture (now the Russian State University of Physical Culture, Sports, Youth and Tourism, GTSOLIFK), he began working as a coach.

In 1976-1989, Ignatiev led the USSR youth national team and became the 1988 European champion with it. This generation of players, which Ignatiev participated in, is often called the strongest in the history of Russian football. Over the years, he also worked with Olympic teams, including the USSR and Iraq.

In 1992-1996 he was a member of the coaching staff of the Russian national football team, and in 1996-1998 he became the head coach.

Before completing his coaching career in 2013, he was the head coach of the Saturn football club (Moscow Region) and Torpedo (Moscow). He was also the sports director of Dynamo Moscow and the vice president of Torpedo.

Ignatiev supported the idea of introducing a limit on foreign players. In his opinion, the uncontrolled purchase of legionnaires will destroy the system of education of sports talents among young Russian football players.

In September 2019, Boris Ignatiev became a member of the technical committee of the Russian Football Union (RFU). He was also a member of the RFU Youth Football Committee and the RFU national team committee. He regularly conducted seminars at the K. I. Beskov Center for the Training of Youth Football Coaches.

In 1978, Boris Ignatiev received the title of Honored Coach of the RSFSR. In addition, he was awarded the Order of Friendship in 1997.

Recent years

In December 2024, Ignatiev was diagnosed with stomach cancer, and, according to Irina's widow, he also had heart problems. She also announced the death of the former coach in an interview with TASS.

"Yes, Boris Petrovich died at one o'clock this morning," she said.

The memory of Boris Ignatiev

Many people in the football community have already reacted to Boris Ignatiev's death.

Vyacheslav Koloskov, Honorary president of the Russian Football Union, told TASS that Ignatiev was not only a good coach, but also a kind person.

"Boris Petrovich, of course, is one of such prominent representatives of the Soviet coaching school. <...> He was such a methodologist coach and educator coach. I constantly talked to the players, brought them to the fact that further football progress depends on them. A good tactician. But most importantly, he was a wonderful man. Reliable, kind, always ready to give a clear explanation on any issue, good-natured. It was a pleasure to spend time with him. There was no aggression, anger, envy, nothing. A real open—minded, sincere person, an excellent specialist, a good friend," he said.

The head coach of the Russian national team, Valery Gazzaev, noted that Boris Ignatiev was a patriot of the country and football until the end of his life.

"He's been sick lately, and we've been talking on the phone. An excellent coach, he gave a lot to Soviet and Russian football as a coach of the youth national team, the national team, and coached clubs. He was devoted to the football community, a decent, intelligent man, showed professionalism until the end of his life, was a patriot of the country," he said.