The 1986 Soviet Top League season was the 17th in Top League and 49th of its kind (between clubs). Dynamo Kyiv were the defending 11-times champions.
A total of sixteen teams participated in the league, which was two teams fewer than in the 1985 season and no teams were promoted from the First League due to the league reorganization. Also it was the only season when the Top League contained more Ukrainian clubs rather than Russian 5 to 4. The overdraw concept was preserved with no more than 10 draws being allowed (same as the previous season). Dynamo Kyiv, however, was excused from the rule because the Soviet national football team, consisting almost exclusively out of the first team of Dynamo Kyiv, participated at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. The reduction of the league was compensated by the introduction of a new competition, the Cup of Football Federation of USSR. For that purpose the league took a short break in September when the new competition kicked off and involved only the participants of the Soviet Top League. The new competition was brief, lasting for just over a month.
The season began on March 1 and lasted until November 22, 1986, however some additional postponed games were played until December 7. The season was won by Dynamo Kyiv once again for the 12th time on the last day of the season on December 7 when they faced off against their main opponent Dynamo Moscow in Kiev, pulling off a dramatic 2–1 win and thus passing their Moscow rivals in the final league standings.
The top five clubs of the league later entered European competitions, joined additionally by the losing cup finalist Dinamo Minsk, beaten by Dynamo Kyiv in the 1987 Final. The winner of the 1986 League Cup Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk did not qualify for any European tournaments.
Teams Promoted teams none
Location
League standings
Next year promotion CSKA Moscow () Guria Lanchkhuti ()
Results
Top scorers 21 goals Aleksandr Borodyuk (Dynamo Moscow)
17 goals Oleh Protasov (Dnipro) Sergey Rodionov (Spartak Moscow)
13 goals Mashalla Akhmedov (Neftchi) Georgi Kondratyev (Dinamo Minsk)
12 goals Alexei Mikhailichenko (Dynamo Kyiv) Ihor Petrov (Shakhtar) Yuri Savichev (Torpedo Moscow)
10 goals Ihor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv) Revaz Chelebadze (Dynamo Tbilisi) Arminas Narbekovas (Žalgiris) Yevstafi Pekhlevanidi (Kairat)
Medal squads (league appearances and goals listed in brackets) 1. FC Dynamo Kyiv Goalkeepers: Viktor Chanov (30), Mykhaylo Mykhaylov (3). Defenders: Anatoliy Demyanenko (29 / 2), Oleh Kuznetsov (27 / 2), Andriy Bal (26), Volodymyr Bezsonov (16 / 1), Vasyl Yevseyev (15), Sergei Baltacha (13), Vladimir Gorilyi (9), Vadym Karatayev (8 / 1), Mykhaylo Olefirenko (2), Ivan Palamar (1). Midfielders: Vasyl Rats (30 / 7), Pavlo Yakovenko (28 / 2), Vadym Yevtushenko (27 / 6), Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko (20 / 12), Oleksandr Zavarov (20 / 4), Ivan Yaremchuk (15 / 3). Forwards: Oleg Blokhin (23 / 2), Ihor Belanov (22 / 10), Oleksandr Shcherbakov (12 / 1).
Manager: Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Transferred out during the season: Mykhaylo Olefirenko (to FC Shakhtar Donetsk), Ivan Palamar (to FC Nyva Vinnytsia). 2. FC Dynamo Moscow Goalkeepers: Aleksei Prudnikov (30), Aleksandr Uvarov (1). Defenders: Aleksandr Novikov (27 / 1), Boris Pozdnyakov (27 / 1), Sergei Silkin (25), Igor Bulanov (24 / 3), Viktor Losev (23), Sergei Kozhanov (15), Aleksandr Golovnya (8), Vladimir Demidov (8), Vasili Zhupikov (6). Midfielders: Vasili Karatayev (30 / 4), Igor Dobrovolski (28 / 4), Viktor Vasilyev (21), Aleksandr Molodtsov (15 / 1), Andrey Kobelev (15), Yuri Pudyshev (6), Valeri Matyunin (2). Forwards: Aleksandr Borodyuk (28 / 21), Sergei Stukashov (25 / 7), Igor Kolyvanov (17 / 4).
Manager: Eduard Malofeyev.
Transferred out during the season: Vasili Zhupikov (to Sport Tallinn), Yuri Pudyshev (to FC Dynamo Stavropol), Valeri Matyunin (to FC Fakel Voronezh). 3. FC Spartak Moscow Goalkeepers: Rinat Dasayev (24), Stanislav Cherchesov (7). Defenders: Boris Kuznetsov (30), Vagiz Khidiyatullin (27 / 4), Aleksandr Bubnov (21), Yuri Susloparov (20), Aleksandr Shibayev (18), Almir Kayumov (15), Gennady Morozov (13), Valeri Popelnukha (5), Gennadi Bogachyov (4), Yuri Klyuchnikov (1). Midfielders: Yevgeni Kuznetsov (26 / 3), Fyodor Cherenkov (22 / 8), Sergei Novikov (17 / 3), Aleksei Yeryomenko (15 / 4), Renat Ataulin (15), Sergei Volgin (9 / 1), Andrei Mitin (8 / 1), Vladimir Kapustin (8), Igor Shalimov (5 / 1), Nikolai Latysh (5), Igor Ivanov (4). Forwards: Andrei Rudakov (24 / 9), Sergey Rodionov (23 / 17), Mikhail Rusyayev (11), Oleg Kuzhlev (9 / 1).
Manager: Konstantin Beskov.
Transferred out during the season: Sergei Volgin (to FC Kairat), Nikolai Latysh (to FC Zirka Kirovohrad), Igor Ivanov (to FC Pakhtakor Tashkent), Yuri Klyuchnikov (to FC Sokol Saratov).
Number of teams by union republic Rank Union republic Number of teams Club(s)1 5Chernomorets Odessa, Dinamo Kiev, Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, Metallist Kharkov, Shakhter Donetsk2 4Dinamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Torpedo Moscow, Zenit Leningrad3 2Dinamo Tbilisi, Torpedo Kutaisi4 1Ararat Yerevan Neftchi Baku Dinamo Minsk Kairat Alma-Ata Zhalgiris Vilnius
Attendances
Source:
No. Club Average Change Highest 1 Dinamo Tbilisi 37,153 -31,7% 74,300 2 Ararat 37,140 39,3% 67,600 3 Dynamo Kyiv 33,913 -5,6% 100,000 4 Shakhtar Donetsk 24,813 14,4% 37,500 5 Zenit 24,347 -2,2% 57,200 6 Torpedo Kutaisi 21,767 -18,7% 32,000 7 Dnipro 20,513 -19,6% 30,000 8 Spartak Moscow 19,967 -20,6% 45,000 9 Metalist Kharkiv 15,920 -17,6% 31,000 10 Chornomorets 14,480 -16,6% 39,000 11 Dynamo Moscow 13,527 48,2% 35,000 12 Dinamo Minsk 13,273 -45,7% 32,000 13 Neftçhi 12,767 12,1% 30,200 14 Kairat 9,900 -39,7% 18,000 15 Torpedo Moscow 8,273 43,2% 30,000 16 Žalgiris 6,773 -17,1% 12,000
References
External links 1986 Calendar for the Soviet Football competitions 1986 season. RSSSF