Soviet/Ukrainian · Kyiv, Ukraine · Born 5 November 1952Soviet/Ukrainian footballer who became the first Eastern European to win the Ballon d'Or in 1975, legendary striker and winger for Dynamo Kyiv and USSR.
Oleh Volodymyrovych Blokhin was born on 5 November 1952 in Kyiv, in what was then the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, to a Ukrainian mother, Kateryna, a decorated pentathlete, and a Russian father, Vladimir, a police officer, World War II veteran, and competitive sprinter. Blokhin inherited his parents' athleticism, developing extraordinary speed from a young age — by 16 he could reportedly run 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, a talent that translated directly onto the football pitch. Blokhin joined Dynamo Kyiv's youth system at 10 and made his first-team debut at 16, establishing himself as the club's starting striker by 18. Under the legendary coaching of Valeriy Lobanovskyi from 1973, his game developed rapidly, and he became the most feared forward in Soviet football, blending blistering pace with clinical finishing on the counter-attack. Blokhin's greatest individual season came in 1975, when he inspired Dynamo Kyiv to the Soviet league title and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, scoring 23 goals across all competitions. That form earned him the Ballon d'Or, a landmark achievement that made him the first Ukrainian and only the second Soviet player ever to win the award, following goalkeeper Lev Yashin — and he claimed it by the largest winning margin in the award's history to that point, beating West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer by 80 points. Blokhin spent 19 seasons at Dynamo Kyiv, winning eight Soviet league titles and a second European Cup Winners' Cup in 1986, and retired as the club's all-time leading scorer with 211 league goals and most-capped player with 432 appearances. Capped 112 times for the Soviet Union, he remains the national team's all-time top scorer with 42 goals, and represented his country at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. After retiring in 1989 following brief spells in Austria and Cyprus, Blokhin moved into management, most notably guiding an independent Ukraine to the 2006 World Cup — the country's first appearance at the tournament — where they reached the quarter-finals.
First Eastern European player to win the Ballon d'Or (1975)
How They Played
Pacey left winger with exceptional dribbling skills and goal-scoring ability
Lasting Impact
Greatest Ukrainian footballer of all time and Soviet football legend
Career Honours
- Or 1975
- Soviet League 8x
- European Cup Winners Cup 2x
- Soviet/Ukraine top scorer
- Ballon d'Or 1975
- European Cup Winners' Cup 1975
- European Cup Winners' Cup 1986
| Club | Period | Apps | Goals | Shirt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dynamo Kyiv | 1969–1987 | 432 | 211 | #10 |
| Vorskla Poltava | 1987–1988 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Aris Limassol | 1988–1990 | 0 | 0 | — |
 Soviet Union | — | 112 | 42 | — |
Soviet/Ukrainian Athletes