A phenomenon of Soviet football, who changed the level of the game not only in the Armenian and Azerbaijani SSRs but throughout the Union.
Eduard Markarov, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR, Honored Coach of Armenia, bronze medalist of the World Cup, USSR champion, two-time winner of the USSR Cup, member of the symbolic Grigory Fedotov Club.
Thanks to Markarov's talent, 1966 became the year of triumph for Baku's "Neftyanik," which took third place in the All-Union Championship. Eduard Markarov brought the first and last medal for Azerbaijani football in All-Union competitions.
Thanks to Markarov's talent, Yerevan's "Ararat" became the USSR champion in 1973, and before that, won the USSR Cup. Markarov scored two goals and the winning goal in the final match against "Zenit." On that day, not only did the "Hrazdan" stadium, filled with 70,000 spectators, roar, but the entire republic as well.
Eduard Markarov was the first Armenian from the USSR to participate in the World Cup. The championship took place in England in 1966, where the USSR team won bronze. I want to note that this was the best result for the USSR team in World Cups in the 20th century.
We want to add that he is truly a great legend of Soviet football. A man who left a mark in two Soviet republics and the Union as a whole. Thanks to him, "Ararat" and "Neftyanik" achieved results that Soviet people were proud of.
