FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter was among the fifa 14 coins buy first to express his sadness at the passing of this legendary Russian icon, sentiments expressed in a letter to Sergey Fursenko, President of the Football Union of Russia. Blatter wrote: "On behalf of FIFA and the worldwide family of football, I wish to extend our deepest condolences to you and the Football Union of Russia, to the family of Valentin Ivanov, his friends and loved ones, and most especially to his son, also named Valentin, a former FIFA international referee. "Ivanov Snr was the spearhead of the great USSR team of the 1950s and 1960s that was dominated by the commanding figure of goalkeeper Lev Yashin, ‘The Black Spider’.
Another thing Ivanov had in common with Albert was his decision to play his entire career with one club, in his case Torpedo Moscow, for whom he racked up an impressive total of 124 goals in 286 games between 1952 and 1966 a record that makes him the ninth top scorer in the history of the Soviet league. A native of Moscow, Ivanov made his first team debut for Torpedo at 18 years of age, having come through the club’s youth ranks. Despite a build and height that were perfectly suited for playing through the middle during that particular era, he was even more effective in a role as inside forward. His remarkable pace and wide array of skills allowed him to gain the upper hand and take defences by surprise.
Alongside Eduard Streltsov, nicknamed the ‘Russian Pele’, he propelled Torpedo to two league crowns in 1960 and 1965. However, it was first and foremost his exploits with the national team that left a lasting imprint on the game, his 26 goals in 59 encounters placing him third behind Oleg Blokhin and Oleg Protasov in the all time Soviet scoring charts. Ivanov initially came to international prominence at the 1956 Olympic Football Tournament in Melbourne. He may only have managed one goal in four matches, but the USSR nevertheless emerged victorious from the tournament, beating Yugoslavia 1 0 in the December final to claim gold. Having developed a taste for www.fifacoinsworld.co.uk success, the FIFA World Cup was the prolific forward’s next port of call.