# Volodymyr Bezsonov

Volodymyr Vasylyovych Bezsonov (Ukrainian: Володимир Васильович Безсонов, also spelled Vladimir Vasilijević Bessonov from Russian: Владимир Васильевич Бессонов, born 5 March 1958) is a Ukrainian football manager and former player who played for the former Soviet Union national football team. The most recent team he was managing was FC Dnipro in the Ukrainian Premier League.

## Club career

Bezsonov is a graduate student of the Kharkiv State College of Physical Culture 1 where he began his football career. In 1975 he was joined FC Metalist Kharkiv, but only played for its reserve team.
In 1976 Bezsonov joined Dynamo Kyiv. There, he spent most of his career, except for a short one-season stint in Israeli club Maccabi Haifa F.C. in 1990–91. He was well known as a lightning quick full-back with a powerful shot. Bezsonov was attack-minded and scored a good return for a defender. He ended with 27 goals in the 377 games that he played for Dynamo.

## International career

Bezsonov won 79 caps and scored 4 goals for the Soviet Union national team from 1977 to 1990 and was included in three FIFA World Cup squads. He also holds the record for the fifth most appearances for the team. In the 1990 World Cup, he was sent off against Argentina. His team ended up losing the game 2–0 which eventually became his farewell match for the Soviet national team.
In 1979, Bezsonov played a couple of matches for the Ukrainian SSR at the Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR where Ukraine placed third.
In 1980, Bezsonov was on the Soviet squad for the 1980 Summer Olympics where the Soviet Union placed third.

## Managerial career

Most recently, Bezsonov was the head coach of FC Dnipro in the Ukrainian Premier League, but was sacked in September 2010 following the team's elimination from the UEFA Europa League and a number of poor results domestically.

## Personal life

Bezsonov is married to Viktoria Serykh, a former two-time world champion in rhythmic gymnastics. Together they have a daughter, Anna Bessonova, who also competed internationally in rhythmic gymnastics and became world champion in 2007, as well as winning an Olympic bronze in 2004 and 2008.
In February 2022, a photo of Bezsonov on the frontline during the Russian invasion of Ukraine was posted on social media by his daughter.

## Career statistics
### Club

| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Europe | Europe | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1976 (s) | Soviet Top League | 9 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 9 | 0 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1976 (a) | Soviet Top League | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 2 | 0 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1977 | Soviet Top League | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 1 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1978 | Soviet Top League | 23 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 5 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1979 | Soviet Top League | 24 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – | – | 33 | 3 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1980 | Soviet Top League | 34 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 42 | 7 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1981 | Soviet Top League | 25 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 38 | 5 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1982 | Soviet Top League | 18 | 4 | – | – | 3 | 1 | – | – | 21 | 5 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1983 | Soviet Top League | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 12 | 1 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1984 | Soviet Top League | 20 | 2 | 6 | 1 | – | – | – | – | 26 | 3 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1985 | Soviet Top League | 25 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 0 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1986 | Soviet Top League | 16 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 25 | 1 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1987 | Soviet Top League | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 0 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1988 | Soviet Top League | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 21 | 0 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1989 | Soviet Top League | 17 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | – | – | 25 | 8 |
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1990 | Soviet Top League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 277 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 39 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 367 | 40 |
* The statistics in USSR Cups and Europe is made under the scheme "autumn-spring" and enlisted in a year of start of tournaments

### International

Soviet Union :
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 1977 | 4 | 0 |
| 1978 | 10 | 2 |
| 1979 | 5 | 0 |
| 1980 | 8 | 1 |
| 1981 | 4 | 0 |
| 1982 | 7 | 0 |
| 1983 | 5 | 0 |
| 1984 | 3 | 0 |
| 1985 | 2 | 0 |
| 1986 | 11 | 0 |
| 1987 | 4 | 0 |
| 1988 | 9 | 0 |
| 1989 | 3 | 0 |
| 1990 | 4 | 1 |
| Total | 79 | 4 |
    Score and results list Soviet Union's goal tally first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1. | 20 September 1978 | Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan | Greece | 2–0 | Win | UEFA Euro 1980 qualifying |
| 2. | 26 November 1978 | Nagai Stadium, Osaka, Japan | Japan | 0–3 | Win | Friendly |
| 3. | 15 October 1980 | Teddy Stadium, Jerusalem, Israel | Iceland | 5–0 | Win | 1982 WC qualification |
| 4. | 24 February 1990 | Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California, United States | United States | 1–3 | Win | Friendly |

## Honours
### Club

Dynamo Kyiv
* Soviet Top League: 1977, 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986, 1990
* Soviet Cup: 1978, 1982, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1989–90
* Soviet Super Cup: 1980, 1985, 1986; runner-up: 1977
* UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1986
* UEFA Super Cup runner-up: 1986

### International

Soviet Union
* Summer Olympics bronze: 1980
* UEFA Euro runner-up: 1988

### Individual

* FIFA World Youth Championship Golden Ball: 1977
* Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1989; second place: 1988; third place: 1986
* Voted in the Soviet Union's "All-time World Cup team" on planetworldcup.com above other great full-backs, such as Igor Netto and Vasiliy Rats.