Gorbachev’s perestroika changed Spanish football

The death of Mikhail Gorbachev it is the farewell to one of the most important world political figures of the second half of the 20th century. The leader who liquidated the USSR and gave a patina of democratic modernity to Russia, also achieved a breath of fresh air in the sports world. Perestroika had a direct impact on football. Until that time, Soviet players could only play on teams from the USSR. The country’s stars played for Dynamo kyiv, CSKA Moscow or Spartak. But with the opening of the borders, many great players from the former USSR found their way to the rest of the European leagues, especially the Spanish ones. Of the 23 Russian players at the 1994 World Cup, 12 played in the Spanish League, a paradise after so much repression. Like 90’s stars Karpin, Mostovoi, Lydiakhov either Salenko They shined on the fields of Spain, not to mention the goalkeeper Dasayev, who was one of the first to arrive to defend Sevilla’s goal. Signed by Espanyol Korneyevwhich later, baptized as the best ‘7’ in Europe, went to Barça in Cruyff, but only played 14 games. Those soccer players were people who were so frightened by the Soviet regime that when they arrived in Spain, they were stunned by the extreme freedom. The concentrations here are unguarded barracks. Coincidentally, after the first preseason at Real Sociedad, Toshack He gave his players two days off. Valery Karpin he didn’t understand, then, that for two days he could do whatever he wanted outside of the hotel