How FC Dynamo Moscow once beat BRITISH clubs in the birthplace of football

The invitation from the English Football Association came in Fall 1945, just five months after the end of the Great Patriotic War and World War II. FC Dynamo Moscow had just won the Russian National Championship. Now, they were to face Chelsea F.C., Arsenal F.C., Cardiff City F.C. and Rangers F.C.

The British press "prepared the ground" by spinning various tall tales about the Soviet athletes. Articles talked about veterans being sent and that the best Soviet players wouldn't come, because they were irreplaceable in the factories where they worked. The idea was also floated that there wouldn't be any matches at all and that the Soviet team would only come to watch the “pioneers of the sport” play. There weren't even exact dates for the matches, at first. Readers were encouraged to call the newspapers if they "saw a Russian shaking snow off his football boots".

‘Eleven Silent Men’

Strictly speaking, there was no reliable information available. Soviet football was unknown outside the USSR. International matches were also new to the Dynamo players. They had only three weeks to prepare, which they spent at a training base near Moscow. The team for the trip to Britain included Vsevolod Bobrov from CDKA (now CSKA Moscow) and Dynamo Leningrad players Evgeny Arkhangelsky and Boris Oreshkin.

The trip got off to a rocky start: Officials had gone to meet the Dynamo players at Northolt Airport, unaware that they had actually landed in Croydon. The footballers found themselves surrounded by journalists who had learned of the airport change. The athletes, unaccustomed to such attention, were clearly uncomfortable and the press quickly dubbed them "eleven silent men in blue coats".

The misfortunes didn't end there: the team was housed in… Wellington Barracks. They were greeted by mold and cobwebs on the walls, as well as a lack of bed linen and hot water – the players simply refused to stay there. A scandal was brewing, but, fortunately, it was hushed up when rooms were found at the Imperial Hotel.

On the pitch – with a bouquet

Tickets for the friendly matches sold out in a flash. Around 90,000 people showed up for the first match alone against Chelsea! Fans sought any opportunity to see the game: they strapped themselves to lampposts with belts and sat on rooftops, armed with binoculars.

The game ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw. Spectators, amazed by what they saw, ran onto the field after the end of the match and carried the Soviet players off it. The next morning's newspapers described the Dynamo players as top-class. "I'm deeply convinced that if we had scored the first goal ten minutes earlier, the outcome of the match would have been different. After all, we had to fight not only with the opponent, but also with ourselves, and I don't know which was more difficult," recalled Vasily Kartsev, who scored the first goal.

Even on the eve of the first match, it became clear that the traditions of the founders of football and the Soviet players differed. The Dynamo players warmed up on the field, while the English players preferred to remain in the locker room. Their jerseys had no numbers, only the club logo and they entered the game carrying bouquets of flowers – a sign of respect for their opponents.

‘Shooting Boots’

The dramatic match with Cardiff City shocked even the most seasoned fans. The Soviet footballers beat their team on their home field 1:10. "No English team could have beaten Cardiff City with such a score!" the newspapers wrote. They tried to find a rational explanation for the incident: "The Russians have found their shooting boots!"

The Soviet athletes had to play the match against Arsenal in near-zero visibility. Furthermore, the English team resorted to a ruse: they reinforced their squad with players from other teams. Later, the Soviet press referred to this match as a match against a team playing under the Arsenal banner. Despite this, Dynamo won 3-4. "I spent the entire 90 minutes in a state of tension I've never experienced before. The fog was so thick that I had no idea what was going on at the other goal. Only by the applause and the roar did I know which side the ball was on…," goalkeeper Alexei Khomich recalled.

Dynamo then drew 2-2 in their final match of the tour, against Scottish side Rangers. In total, the Moscow footballers spent 33 days in the UK. A year later, the Soviet Union joined FIFA. "Watching FC Dynamo Moscow, I came to the conclusion that we have a lot to learn from them," admitted Stanley Rose, the then head of the English Football Association and future first FIFA president.