Igor Netto

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Igor Netto

| image =Игорь Нетто.jpg

| image_size = 255px

| caption = Igor Netto in 1997

| fullname = Igor Aleksandrovich Netto

| height = 1.80 m

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1930|1|9|df=yes}}

| birth_place = Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|3|30|1930|1|9|df=yes}}

| death_place = Moscow, Russia

| position = Midfielder

| youthyears1 =

| youthclubs1 =

| years1 = 1949–1966

| clubs1 = FC Spartak Moscow

| caps1 = 368

| goals1 = 36

| nationalyears1 = 1952–1965

| nationalteam1 = Soviet Union

| nationalcaps1 = 54

| nationalgoals1 = 4

| manageryears1 = 1967

| manageryears2 = 1968

| manageryears3 = 1969–1970

| manageryears4 = 1970–1971

| manageryears5 = 1973–1975

| manageryears6 = 1975

| manageryears7 = 1976–1977

| manageryears8 = 1979

| managerclubs1 = AC Omonia

| managerclubs2 = FC Shinnik Yaroslavl

| managerclubs3 = Iran (Assistant)

| managerclubs4 = Iran

| managerclubs5 = FC Spartak Moscow (Assistant)

| managerclubs6 = FC Spartak Moscow

| managerclubs7 = Panionios

| managerclubs8 = Neftchi Baku

| medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{URS}}}}

}}

Igor Aleksandrovich Netto ({{langx|ru|Игорь Александрович Нетто}}; 9 January 1930 – 30 March 1999) was a Russian footballer, considered one of the country's greatest players ever. He started out playing on the left of defense but, due to his offensive mentality, dribbling and technical abilities turned into a dynamic central midfielder. His versatility and footballing intelligence allowed him to play a number of positions across defense and midfield.

Ice hockey and club career

Besides football, Netto played 22 games in the 1948–49 and 1950–51 seasons as an ice hockey forward for Spartak, but stopped playing to avoid the risk of an injury affecting his football career.

During his club career, he played for FC Spartak Moscow from 1949 until 1966, scoring 37 goals in 367 league games, and winning five Soviet championships and three national cups.

International career

File:Igor Netto, Sergei Salnikov, Lev Yashin 1958.jpg and Lev Yashin at the 1958 World Cup]]

He was the captain of the USSR national football team from 1952 to 1965. He led the country to the gold medal in the 1956 Summer Olympics,{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/27606 |title=Igor Netto |work=Olympedia |access-date=7 November 2021}} and victory at the first ever European Championship in 1960. He missed all but one match in the 1958 FIFA World Cup due to injury, and also played all four matches in the 1962 FIFA World Cup when the Soviet Union reached the quarterfinals. In total, he collected 54 international caps and scored four goals.

During the 1962 FIFA World Cup match against Uruguay, with the score at 1–1, Igor Chislenko managed to strike through the net, and the resulting goal was mistakenly counted by the referee who had not seen the ball trajectory. Hearing protests from the Uruguayan keeper, Netto confirmed with Chislenko that the ball went through the net, and convinced the referee to discount the goal. USSR still won the game 2–1.

Managerial career

After retiring in 1966, Netto began a career as a coach, training AC Omonia, FC Shinnik Yaroslavl, Iran, Panionios and Neftchi Baku. He was awarded the Order of Lenin in 1957 for his achievements at the Olympics. The stadium of Spartak Moscow reserves team is named after him.

Personal life

Netto was of Estonian and Italian descent, with his Italian lineage traced to an Italian gardener who emigrated to the Governorate of Estonia in the 18th century.{{cite web |url=https://lucrumbet.com/en/a-history-of-russian-football-igor-netto-a-legend-of-moscow-spartak/ |title=Igor Netto – a Legend of Spartak Moscow {{!}} lucrumbet.com |website=lucrumbet.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210516042216/https://lucrumbet.com/en/a-history-of-russian-football-igor-netto-a-legend-of-moscow-spartak/ |archive-date=2021-05-16}}[https://rfs.ru/news/211233 Игорю Нетто - 90 лет!] His father Aleksander Netto (1885–1956) was originally a carpenter from Valga, Governorate of Livonia, and his mother Juuli (née Tamm; 1894–1977) was from Vaimastvere, Tartu County. Aleksander left Livonia for Soviet Russia with Red Latvian Riflemen in 1918. Aleksander was a fervent Communist, who acted as a Bolshevik Councilman in Moscow. During the 1930s and Joseph Stalin's Great Purge, the family did not dare to speak Estonian, and Igor learned only Russian.{{Cite web|url=https://reisikirjad.gotravel.ee/ajakiri/ohtud-moskva-lahistel/|title = Õhtud Moskva lähistel}} Igor's brother Lev Netto (1925–2017), who spoke Estonian and was named after Lev Trotsky, was a Soviet prisoner for eight years in the Norilsk Gulag.{{Cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Lev-Netto/6000000025510301644|title=Lev Netto|date=28 April 2022 }} as was also Aleksander's brother Sergei.{{Cite web|url=http://lists.memo.ru/d24/f253.htm#n36|title = Списки жертв}}

Netto was known as goose for his hissing voice, as well as goose-like walk and head shape. On 9 January 1960, he married Olga Yakovleva, an actress. They divorced around 1987 when Netto was suffering from Alzheimer's disease.

Career statistics

= International goals =

class="wikitable" style="font-size:95%;" ! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
1.	16 September 1955	Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union	{{fb\|IND}}	11–1	Win	Friendly
2.	2 December 1956	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia	{{fb\|IDN}}	4–0	Win	1956 Summer Olympics
3.	27 July 1957	Dynamo Stadium, Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union	{{fb\|FIN}}	2–1	Win	1958 World Cup qual.
4.	15 August 1957	Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	{{fb\|FIN}}	0–10	Win	1958 World Cup qual.
colspan="12"\|Correct as of 7 March 2016{{cite web\|url=http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=14920\|title=Igor Netto - national football team player\|work=eu-football.info}}

Honours

;Spartak Moscow

Soviet Champion (5): 1952, 1953, 1956, 1958, 1962
Soviet Cup Winner (3): 1950, 1958, 1963

;Soviet Union

UEFA European Football Championship (1): 1960
Soviet national team at the Olympics: 3 games in 1952 and 5 games in 1956, with 1 goal and gold medal in 1956.
Soviet national team at the World Cup: 54 caps, 4 goals; participant and quarter-finalist in the 1958 and 1962 World Cups, playing in 6 matches in total

;Individual

UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1960{{cite news|date=1 February 2011|title=1960 team of the tournament|work=Union of European Football Associations|url=https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/0253-0d7f20bc921c-495824f652eb-1000--euro-1960-team-of-the-tournament/?iv=true|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724121103/https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuro-2020/news/0253-0d7f20bc921c-495824f652eb-1000--euro-1960-team-of-the-tournament/?iv=true|url-status=dead|archive-date=24 July 2020|access-date=14 May 2020}}
UEFA Jubilee Poll (2004): #71{{cite news|date=21 December 2006|title=UEFA Awards|work= Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation|url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/uefa-awards.html#100|access-date=12 March 2024}}
The best 33 football players of the Soviet Union (13): No. 1 (1950, 1952-1963), No. 2 (1951)

References

{{reflist|refs=

[https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ne/igor-netto-1.html Igor Netto] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140306090306/http://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ne/igor-netto-1.html |date=6 March 2014 }}. sports-reference.com

[http://www.national-football-teams.com/player/19057/Igor_Netto.html Igor Netto]. national-football-teams.com

[http://www.spartak-history.ru/hist/persons/detail.php?ID=30285 Нетто Игорь Александрович]. spartak-history.ru

Elena Grigorievskaya (9 January 2014) [http://www.gazeta.ru/sport/2014/01/09/a_5841789.shtml Рыжие волосы, Гусь и приключения на ипподроме. Самые интересные истории, связанные с Игорем Нетто]. gazeta.ru

[http://rusteam.permian.ru/players/netto.html Игорь НЕТТО]. rusteam.permian.ru

}}

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