Boris Ignatiev, the former head coach of the Russian national football team, has passed away.

Boris Ignatiev, the former head coach of the Russian national football team, has died at the age of 85. This was announced on January 27 by his wife Irina Ignatieva.

"Unfortunately, Boris Petrovich is gone. Apparently, these are the consequences of cancer and heart problems," she said in an interview with RIA Novosti.

The widow of the ex-coach added that the dates of the farewell and funeral have not yet been determined.

Ignatiev led the national team from 1996 to 1998, replacing Oleg Romantsev. Under his leadership, the Russian national team played in the selection for the 1998 World Cup, but failed to qualify for the tournament. In total, the team played 20 matches under him, winning nine, drawing seven times and suffering four defeats. Prior to that, from 1992 to 1996, he was a member of the national team's coaching staff.

Ignatiev's coaching career was long and varied: he led the USSR youth national team, which became the European champion in 1988, the Olympic national teams of Iraq, the USSR and the CIS, and the Russian youth national team. The ex-coach also headed Torpedo Moscow, Saturn near Moscow, Saudi Arabia's Al-Ittihad and China's Shandong Luneng, and worked as an assistant at Dynamo Moscow and Kiev, Saturn and Moscow's Lokomotiv.

From 2013 to 2018, Ignatiev served as Torpedo's vice president.

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