The Soviet Cup, or USSR Cup (Russian: Кубок СССР),[a] was the premier football cup competition in the Soviet Union conducted by the Football Federation of the Soviet Union. The 1991–92 season of the tournament was known as Soviet/CIS Cup (Russian: Кубок СССР—СНГ). As a knockout tournament it was conducted parallel to the All-Union league competitions in double round-robin format.

Soviet Cup
Organising bodyFootball Federation of the USSR
Founded1936; 88 years ago (1936)
Abolished1992
RegionSoviet Union
Number of teams80 (1991–92)
Qualifier forEuropean Cup Winners' Cup (from 1965)
Last championsSpartak Moscow (10th title)
Most successful club(s)Spartak Moscow (10 titles)

The winner of the competition was awarded a qualification to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, unless it already qualified for the European Cup, in turn passed the qualification to the finalist. In case if a team would win the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup and not win its national league cup titles the next year, it qualified to the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup along with the new cup holder. The first participation in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup took place in 1965–66 when Dynamo Kyiv qualified for the European competition for winning the 1964 Soviet Cup.

On initiative of Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper starting from 1977, the Soviet Cup winner was invited to contest the Soviet Top League winner in a single match competition known as the Season's Cup which served as the Soviet Super Cup but was not considered official.

Format

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Format of competitions was constantly changing.

The very first edition of the competition in 1936 was a single-elimination tournament (more precisely sudden-death tournament) throughout all rounds. It was played during the season's summer intermission of the 1936 split season. The tournament consisted of seven rounds starting with the Round of 128.

The first changes took place in the 1938 Soviet Cup when there was introduced a preliminary (qualification) stage as the number of participants grew. The competition still was a single-elimination tournament with only more added rounds (up to 9). The Soviet Cup also featured the 1938 Cup of the Ukrainian SSR. All teams of masters (All-Union league teams) started from the final stage. The competition rounds were in-mixed within the league's playing calendar for the first time. The final stage contained 6 rounds.

In 1939 the competition was expanded as number of participants grew over 6 times. Starting from 1939 the preliminary stage was expanded and included republican football cup for each union republic, winners of which would qualify for the Soviet Cup finals.

In 1940 the competition was split. The league teams (Groups A and B) were scheduled to play for the All-Union Sports Committee Cup, while non-league teams (republican level) were competing in a separate bracket, winner of which would play the All-Union Sports Committee Cup holder. However, due to scheduling issues the All-Union Sports Committee Cup was postponed and never took place.

Involvement of the republican cup winners was suspended after the World War II and reintroduced in 1949. Those winners continued to qualify for the Soviet Cup until 1955 and starting from 1957 they were rerouted to the Soviet Amateur Cup. There is a legend that during that period the competition was nicknamed as the "Cup of Millions".

Until 1984 the Soviet Cup corresponded to the calendar of the whole Soviet football "spring"-"fall", however after that it changed to "fall"-"spring" calendar which synchronized it with the most of Europe.

In 1959-1960 the competition was conducted for two years. From 1965 to 1968 seasons were overlapping each other.

Until 1957, in the tournament participated "teams of physical culture"[1] (Soviet "newspeak" (phraseology) for non-professional, amateur teams). After 1957 teams of physical culture competed in a separate competition known as the Soviet Amateur Cup.[b] Since then, the tournament was restricted to professional clubs (teams of masters) of the All-Union competition (tiers 1 through 3).

In 1979 to 1982 there was a group stage better teams of which would continue in a traditional single-game elimination format.[1]

The 1992 Soviet Cup Final took place after the fall of the Soviet Union in the independent Russia.[2][1][3][4][5]

All tournaments final were played in a single game in Moscow, but until introduction of penalty kicks in early 1970s as a tiebreaker some finals that ended in tie were replayed. Introduction of the penalty shoot-out was adopted for tiebreaker took place in 1972 after such procedure was adopted by FIFA in 1970.

Until 1955 the tournament finals were played at Central Stadium "Dynamo", after being transferred to Central Stadium of Lenin (today Luzhniki Stadium).[citation needed]

Trophy

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Picture of trophy

The cup itself is an artistically crafted crystal vase in a silver frame. The cup is crowned with a bronze figurine of a football player with a ball. The names of the teams that won the cup are engraved on the lid and base.

The trophy's height is 57 cm (22 in), weight is 6 kg (13 lb). In 1992, after Spartak Moscow won the last USSR Cup, the trophy was given to the club forever.

The cup itself was bought in an ordinary Moscow thrift store.[6] The first chairman of the All-Union Football Section, Aleksei Sokolov, took a liking to the small pitcher, which it was decided to make a transferable trophy.[6][7] Few people knew about the Davis Cup in the Soviet Union at that time, and accusations of plagiarism could not follow by definition.

Together with the All-Union Council on Physical Culture and Sport inspector Morar, Aleksei Sokolov created a sketch of the future prize.[8] The jewelers attached silver legs to the base and built a lid with a small hole on top. There they mounted a figurine of a football player, donated by Raspevin, a great fan of this game. The crystal chest of the trophy was decorated with the coat of arms of the USSR.

Venues of the final match

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All finals were played in the Soviet Union capital, Moscow. In 1936 to 1955 it was Central Dynamo Stadium, while since 1957 it was Luzhniki Stadium which was known then as Lenin Central Stadium. There were also exceptions such as the venue of the final in 1977 and 1987/88 was Dynamo, while in 1978 it was the only time when Torpedo Stadium hosted the final match.

Seasons and final games

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List of Soviet Cup winners
Season Dates Teams Winners Score Runners–up
1936 July 18 – August 28 94[c] Lokomotiv Moscow 2–0 Dinamo Tbilisi
1937 May 23 – July 16 125 Dynamo Moscow 5–2 Dinamo Tbilisi
1938 May 5 – September 14 64*[d] Spartak Moscow 3–2 Elektrik Leningrad
1939 July 29 – September 12 49 Spartak Moscow 3–1 Stalinets Leningrad
1940 September 22 – November 10 canceled, only its qualification stage had been completed[e]
1941 no competition due to the Nazi Germany aggression against the Soviet Union
1942
1943
1944 July 30 – August 27 24 Zenit Leningrad 2–1 CDKA Moscow
1945 September 9 – October 14 32 CDKA Moscow 2–1 Dynamo Moscow
1946 October 6 – 20 16 Spartak Moscow 3–2 (a.e.t.) Dinamo Tbilisi
1947 June 1 – July 21 19*[f] Spartak Moscow 2–0 Torpedo Moscow
1948 September 25 – October 24 20 CDKA Moscow 3–0 Spartak Moscow
1949 June 16 – November 4 54*[g] Torpedo Moscow 2–1 Dynamo Moscow
1950 September 10 – November 6 69 Spartak Moscow 3–0 Dynamo Moscow
1951 August 11 – October 14 51 CDSA Moscow 2–1 (a.e.t.) Kalinin FC
1952 August 21 – November 2 50 Torpedo Moscow 1–0 Spartak Moscow
1953 September 2 – October 10 56 Dynamo Moscow 1–0 Zenit Kuybyshev
1954 August 15 – October 20 67 Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 Spartak Yerevan
1955 May 25 – October 16 16*[h] CDSA Moscow 2–1 Dynamo Moscow
1956 no competition
1957 April 28 – October 26 24*[i] Lokomotiv Moscow 1–0 Spartak Moscow
1958 June 9 – November 2 16*[j] Spartak Moscow 1–0 (a.e.t.) Torpedo Moscow
1959–60 June 11, 1959 – October 31, 1960 32*[k] Torpedo Moscow 4–3 (a.e.t.) Dinamo Tbilisi
1961 May 9 – October 29 64*[l] Shakhtyor Stalino 3–1 Torpedo Moscow
1962 April 22 – August 11 32*[m] Shakhtyor Stalino 2–0 Znamya Truda Orekhovo-Zuyevo
1963 April 7 – August 10 48*[n] Spartak Moscow 2–0 Shakhtar Donetsk
1964 April 16 – September 27 52*[o] Dynamo Kyiv 1–0 Krylya Sovetov Kuybyshev
1965 April 4 – August 15 56*[p] Spartak Moscow 0–0 Dynamo Minsk
2–1 (a.e.t.) (replay)
1965–66 April 2, 1965 – November 8, 1966 79*[q] Dynamo Kyiv 2–0 Torpedo Moscow
1966–67 April 23, 1966 – November 8, 1967 85*[r] Dynamo Moscow 3–0 CSKA Moscow
1967–68 March 16, 1967 – November 8, 1968 107*[s] Torpedo Moscow 1–0 Pakhtakor Tashkent
1969 March 23 – August 17 32*[t] Karpaty Lviv 2–1 SKA Rostov-on-Don
1970 March 31 – August 8 32*[u] Dynamo Moscow 2–1 Dinamo Tbilisi
1971 March 6 – August 8 38 Spartak Moscow 2–2 SKA Rostov-on-Don
1–0 (replay)
1972 February 20 – August 13 36 Torpedo Moscow 0–0 Spartak Moscow
1–1 (5–1 p) (replay)
1973 March 4 – October 10 36 Ararat Yerevan 2–1 (a.e.t.) Dynamo Kyiv
1974 March 6 – August 10 36 Dynamo Kyiv 3–0 (a.e.t.) Zorya Voroshilovgrad
1975 March 16 – August 9 36 Ararat Yerevan 2–1 Zorya Voroshilovgrad
1976 March 21 – September 3 42 Dinamo Tbilisi 3–0 Ararat Yerevan
1977 March 27 – August 13 48 Dynamo Moscow 1–0 Torpedo Moscow
1978 March 3 – August 12 48 Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 (a.e.t.) Shakhtar Donetsk
1979 February 28 – August 11 48 Dinamo Tbilisi 0–0 (5–4 p) Dynamo Moscow
1980 February 25 – August 9 48 Shakhtar Donetsk 2–1 Dinamo Tbilisi
1981 February 20 – May 9 48 SKA Rostov-on-Don 1–0 Spartak Moscow
1982 February 19 – May 9 40 Dynamo Kyiv 1–0 Torpedo Moscow
1983 February 19 – May 8 40 Shakhtar Donetsk 1–0 Metalist Kharkiv
1984 February 18 – June 24 48 Dynamo Moscow 2–0 (a.e.t.) Zenit Leningrad
1984–85 31 July 1984 – 23 June 1985 50 Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 Shakhtar Donetsk
1985–86 June 24, 1985 – May 2, 1986 74 Torpedo Moscow 1–0 Shakhtar Donetsk
1986–87 May 2, 1986 – June 14, 1987 80 Dynamo Kyiv 3–3 (4–2 p) Dynamo Minsk
1987–88 June 6, 1987 – May 28, 1988 80 Metalist Kharkiv 2–0 Torpedo Moscow
1988–89 May 2, 1988 – June 25, 1989 80 Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1–0 Torpedo Moscow
1989–90 May 2, 1989 – May 2, 1990 80 Dynamo Kyiv 6–1 Lokomotiv Moscow
1990–91 April 14, 1990 – June 23, 1991 78 CSKA Moscow 3–2 Torpedo Moscow
1991–92 April 17, 1991 – May 10, 1992 80 Spartak Moscow 2–0[10] CSKA Moscow

Notes:

  • The "teams" column includes number of participants in the final stage (tournament proper). Those with asterisk (x*) indicates that there was a preliminary (qualification) stage with additional number of participants.

Overall statistics

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Performance by club

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Club Winners Runners-Up Semi-finalists Years Won
  Spartak Moscow 10 5 7 1938, 1939, 1946, 1947, 1950, 1958, 1963, 1965, 1971, 1992
  Dinamo Kiev 9 1 4 1954, 1964, 1966, 1974, 1978, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1990
  Torpedo Moscow 6 9 5 1949, 1952, 1960, 1968, 1972, 1986
  Dinamo Moscow 6 5 10 1937, 1953, 1967, 1970, 1977, 1984
  CSKA Moscow 5 3 11 1945, 1948, 1951, 1955, 1991
  Shakhter Donetsk 4 4 6 1961, 1962, 1980, 1983
  Dinamo Tbilisi 2 6 7 1976, 1979
  Ararat Yerevan 2 2 2 1973, 1975
  Lokomotiv Moscow 2 1 7 1936, 1957
  Zenit Leningrad 1 2 7 1944
  SKA Rostov-na-Donu 1 2 0 1981
  Metallist Kharkov 1 1 1 1988
  Karpaty Lvov 1 0 2 1969
  Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk 1 0 5 1989
  Krylya Sovetov Kuibyshev 0 2 2
  Dinamo Minsk 0 2 2
  Zaria Voroshilovgrad 0 2 1
  Elektrik Leningrad 0 1 1
  Kalinin city team 0 1 0
  Znamia Truda Orekhovo-Zuyevo 0 1 0
  Pakhtakor Tashkent 0 1 0
  Neftchi Baku 0 0 4
  Dinamo Leningrad 0 0 3
  Dinamo Tashkent 0 0 1
  Rotor Volgograd 0 0 1
  VSS Moscow 0 0 1
  SKA Kiev 0 0 1
  SKA Odessa 0 0 1
  Admiralteyets Leningrad 0 0 1
  Qairat Almaty 0 0 1
  Chernomorets Odessa 0 0 1
  Sokol Saratov 0 0 1
  Sudostroitel Nikolayev 0 0 1
  Iskra Smolensk 0 0 1
  Tavriya Simferopol 0 0 1
  Žalgiris Vilnius 0 0 1
  Pamir Dushanbe 0 0 1
  Fakel Voronezh 0 0 1
Total 51 51 102

Performance by republic

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Republic Winners Runners-up Semi-finals Winning clubs
  Russian SFSR 31 32 59 Spartak Moscow (10), Dinamo Moscow (6), Torpedo Moscow (6), CSKA Moscow (5), Lokomotiv Moscow (2), Zenit Leningrad (1), SKA Rostov-na-Donu (1)
  Ukrainian SSR 16 8 24 Dinamo Kiev (9), Shakhter Donetsk (4), Metallist Kharkov (1), Karpaty Lvov (1), Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk (1)
  Georgian SSR 2 6 7 Dinamo Tbilisi (2)
  Armenian SSR 2 2 2 Ararat Yerevan (2)
  Byelorussian SSR 0 2 2
  Uzbek SSR 0 1 1
  Azerbaijan SSR 0 0 4
  Kazakh SSR 0 0 1
  Lithuanian SSR 0 0 1
  Tajik SSR 0 0 1
Total 51 51 102

Best coaches

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Boris Arkadiev (1899-1986).
Place Name Medals Champion clubs
gold silver
1 Viktor Maslov 6 3 Torpedo Moscow (3), Dynamo Kyiv (2), Ararat Yerevan (1)
2 Valeriy Lobanovsky 6 - Dynamo Kyiv
3 Boris Arkadiev 4 1 CDKA Moscow (3), Lokomotiv Moscow (1)
Nikita Simonyan 4 1 Spartak Moscow (3), Ararat Yerevan (1)
5 Oleg Oshenkov 3 1 Shakhtar Donetsk (2), Dynamo Kyiv (1)
6 Valentin Ivanov 2 5 Torpedo Moscow
7 Aleksandr Sevidov 2 2 Dynamo Moscow
8-11 Nodar Akhalkatsi 2 1 Dinamo Tbilisi
Konstantin Beskov 2 1 Dynamo Moscow
Konstantin Kvashnin 2 1 Spartak Moscow, Torpedo Moscow
Viktor Nosov 2 1 Shakhtar Donetsk

Another coach Albert Vollrat won two cups in 1946 and 1947.

Notes

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  1. ^ Ukrainian: Кубок СРСР, Belarusian: Кубак СССР, Uzbek: СССР Кубоги, Kazakh: КСРО Кубогы, Georgian: სსრკ თასი, Azerbaijani: ССРИ кубоку, Lithuanian: TSRS taurė, Romanian: Cupa URSS (Moldovan Cyrillic: Купа УРСС), Latvian: PSRS kauss, Armenian: ԽՍՀՄ Գավաթ, Estonian: NSVL Karikas.
  2. ^ broadly and officially known as the Football Cup of the Soviet Union among teams of physical culture collectives
  3. ^ Initially it was announced that the competition will have 87 participants.[1]
  4. ^ Total number of participants in 1938 including preliminary rounds was 275.
  5. ^ After appearance of the Soviet Amateur Cup in 1957, the 1940 Soviet Cup results were associated with the new competition.[9]
  6. ^ Total number of participants in 1939 including preliminary rounds was 80.
  7. ^ Total number of participants in 1949 including preliminary rounds was 120.
  8. ^ Total number of participants in 1955 including preliminary rounds was 67.
  9. ^ Total number of participants in 1957 including preliminary rounds was 74.
  10. ^ Total number of participants in 1958 including preliminary rounds was 106.
  11. ^ Total number of participants in 1959–60 including preliminary rounds was 113.
  12. ^ Total number of participants in 1961 including preliminary rounds was 169.
  13. ^ Total number of participants in 1962 including preliminary rounds was 168.
  14. ^ Total number of participants in 1963 including preliminary rounds was 186.
  15. ^ Total number of participants in 1964 including preliminary rounds was 194.
  16. ^ Total number of participants in 1965 including preliminary rounds was 102.
  17. ^ Total number of participants in 1965–66 including preliminary rounds was 203.
  18. ^ Total number of participants in 1966–67 including preliminary rounds was 242.
  19. ^ Total number of participants in 1967–68 including preliminary rounds was 255.
  20. ^ Total number of participants in 1969 including preliminary rounds was 104.
  21. ^ Total number of participants in 1970 including preliminary rounds was 105.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Все финалы кубка СССР по футболу (1936-1991): как это было, фотоархивы, статистика. dzen.ru. 15 August 2023 (in Russian)
  2. ^ Последний кубок СССР-СНГ по футболу 1991/1992. dzen.ru. 20 August 2023 (in Russian)
  3. ^ 30 лет последнему финалу Кубка СССР. «Спартак» выиграл трофей, который не хотел отдавать Садырин. www.sportsdaily.ru. 10 May 2022 (in Russian)
  4. ^ Последний финал Кубка СССР пытался сорвать телефонный террорист. «Спартак» это не смутило. www.championat.com. 10 May 2021 (in Russian)
  5. ^ Заминированные «Лужники», дубль Бесчастных, пенальти Харина. 31 год назад состоялся финал последнего Кубка СССР. www.sports.ru. 10 May 2023 (in Russian)
  6. ^ a b Истории из хрустальных кубков. www.xfile.ru. 9 May 2017. accessed 27 February 2024
  7. ^ Кубком СССР по футболу была обычная ваза. sport.sevastopol.su. 30 October 2023
  8. ^ ГОД 1936. ЧАСТЬ ПЯТАЯ. ПАТЕНТ НА "ВНЕЗАПНУЮ СМЕРТЬ". www.sport-express.ru (Sport-Express). 10 October 2003
  9. ^ Кубок СССР среди команд коллективов физической культуры 1940 год. vla-glubokov.narod.ru. (in Russian)
  10. ^ «Стою голым в судейской. Вдруг бросается овчарка — хорошо, ничего не оторвала». Матчи ЦСКА со «Спартаком» навсегда запомнились этому арбитру. www.sport-express.ru. 14 October 2022 (in Russian)
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