From Failure to Triumph: the Role of the Soviet Football Management System in the mid-50s

Abstract

The article defines the role of the management structure of Soviet football in the 1950s. The chronological frameworks are two Olympic tournaments in 1952 and 1956, in which the Soviet football team took part. In four years, the team has gone from the team lost already at the second stage of the tournament, which is certainly regarded as a failure, to the Olympic triumph of Soviet football in Melbourne. 

The 1952 Olympics were the first serious test of strength for Soviet sport in general and football in particular. Soviet athletes had the opportunity to demonstrate their results side by side with competitors, many of whom were representatives of capitalist countries. This was a great opportunity to show the advantages of the Soviet way of life and the level of training for the whole world. But the idea of the level of the football team of the USSR, concerning other countries, the coaches and in management circles, was quite weak. Therefore, the Soviet team failed to prepare properly.

This paper highlights the reasons that prevented the Soviet football team to successfully perform at their first Olympics, as well as how effective was the management system of Soviet football, at a time when it should draw conclusions and analyze the mistakes in preparation for the next major tournament. Despite the fact that many researchers of this topic are inclined to a critical assessment of the management system of Soviet football, the author notes its flexibility and the possibility for further progress, which is directly marked by the results in the international arena.