Viktor Maslov (footballer, born 1910)

For other people named Viktor Maslov, see Viktor Maslov.

In this name that follows East Slavic naming customs, the patronymic is Aleksandrovich and the family name is Maslov.

Viktor Aleksandrovich Maslov (Russian: Виктор Александрович Маслов; April 27, 1910 in Moscow – May 11, 1977) was a Soviet and Russian footballer and coach. He was especially notable during his coaching career. He won numerous USSR Championships with clubs Torpedo Moscow, Dynamo Kyiv, and one with FC Ararat Yerevan.^[3]

Viktor Maslov

Personal information
Full name	Viktor Aleksandrovich Maslov
Date of birth	(1910-04-27)27 April 1910
Place of birth	Moscow, Russian Empire
Date of death	11 May 1977(1977-05-11) (aged 67)
Place of death	Moscow, Soviet Union
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1930	RDPK Moscow	?	(?)
1931–40	FC Torpedo Moscow[1]	?	(?)
1941	FC Profsoyuz-1 Moscow[2]	?	(?)
1941–42	FC Torpedo Moscow	?	(?)
Managerial career
1942–48	FC Torpedo Moscow
1949–51	Torpedo Gorky
1954–55	FC FShM Moscow
1956	Burevestnik Chişinău
1957–61	FC Torpedo Moscow
1962–63	FC SKA Rostov-na-Donu
1964–70	FC Dynamo Kyiv
1971–73	FC Torpedo Moscow
1975	FC Ararat Yerevan
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

He is often seen as being one of the most innovative and influential football managers of all time. He was the first to experiment with players' nutrition, and invented the 4-4-2 formation, along with the notion of pressing, which, in the words of Jonathan Wilson "may be seen as the birth of modern football".^[4] Wilson credits Maslov as one of the progenitors of the pressing game. This was a key development, as before Maslov, teams tended to allow their opponents more time on the ball, whereas Maslov's strategy of pressing denied players this time and space, and led to the game based more on speed and fitness that is common across the top European and South American leagues today.