Photo: Илья Хохлов / CC BY-SA 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Igor Belanov is a name I think deserves more reverence than it gets. Born in Odesa in 1960, this Soviet and Ukrainian striker tore defenses apart for Dynamo Kyiv and won the 1986 Ballon d'Or, becoming only the second Ukrainian to take it after Oleh Blokhin. Prying Europe's top individual prize out from behind the Iron Curtain carried a weight that's hard to grasp now. Add his Ukrainian state honors and you have a genuine piece of football history. As a blistering Cold War-era forward who outran his circumstances, he's someone I want to keep telling people about.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Igor Belanov
- Name (Japanese)
- イーゴリ・ベラノフ
- Reading
- いーごり・べらのふ
- Born
- September 25, 1960 (age 65)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rat
- Origin
- Odesa, Kherson Governorate, Ukraine
- Height
- 173 cm
- Occupation
- association football player
2. Background
Awards & achievements
- Master of Sport of the USSR, International Class
- Ballon d'Or
- Order of Merit (Ukraine), 3rd class
- Order of Merit (Ukraine), 2nd class
- Order of Merit, 1st class
- Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR
- Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 5th class
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Frequently asked questions
When was Igor Belanov born?
Born September 25, 1960 (age 65).
Where is Igor Belanov from?
Igor Belanov is from Odesa, Kherson Governorate, Ukraine.
What does Igor Belanov do?
Igor Belanov works as association football player.
How tall is Igor Belanov?
Igor Belanov is 173 cm.
Association football player — see all → · More people from Ukraine →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.