31 Facts About Eduard Streltsov

Eduard Streltsov was part of the squad that won the gold medal at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, and came seventh in the 1957 Ballon d'Or.

Eduard Streltsov was released after serving approximately half of his sentence, and in 1965 he resumed his career with Torpedo Moscow.

Eduard Streltsov was restored to the Soviet national team in 1966, and in 1967 and 1968 named Soviet Footballer of the Year.

Eduard Streltsov died in Moscow in 1990 from throat cancer, which his first wife alleges was a result of irradiated food served to him during incarceration.

Statues of Eduard Streltsov now stand outside the stadium bearing his name and the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow.

Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov was born in Perovo, an eastern district of Moscow, on 21 July 1937, the son of Anatoly Streltsov, a front-line soldier and intelligence officer, and Sofia Frolovna.

The factory recognised his talent from a young age: Eduard Streltsov became the Fraser Factory football team's youngest ever player when he was 13 years old.

Eduard Streltsov impressed the Torpedo coach, Vasily Provornov, and after befriending him, left Fraser to play for Torpedo.

Aged 16, Eduard Streltsov made his debut for Torpedo during the 1954 season, appeared in every league game and scored four goals.

Eduard Streltsov continued to score regularly for Torpedo, managing 12 league goals during the 1956 season, but appeared in two successive defeats for the Soviets before they travelled in November 1956 to the Olympic Games in Melbourne.

Eduard Streltsov's performance was later described by journalist Jonathan Wilson as "magnificent"; he scored an equaliser after 112 minutes and then set up Boris Tatushin of Spartak Moscow four minutes later to score the winning goal.

Eduard Streltsov was known for womanising, drinking heavily and leading an extravagant life outside of football, as well as for wearing his hair in the British "Teddy Boy" style.

Eduard Streltsov became secretly engaged to Alla Demenko before leaving for the Olympics, and the couple married on 25 February 1957, halfway through preparations for the Soviet season.

Journalist Kevin O'Flynn writes that since heavy drinking had taken place at the party, the evidence against Eduard Streltsov was "confused and contradictory", even from Lebedeva herself.

Eduard Streltsov confessed to the crime after being told this would allow him to keep his place in the Soviet team for the 1958 World Cup.

Eduard Streltsov was released on 4 February 1963, five years into his twelve-year sentence, and owing to the ban from professional play began to split his time between work at the ZiL factory and the study of automotive engineering at the attached technical college.

Eduard Streltsov started to play for the amateur factory team, which caused it to attract large crowds, both at home and away.

Eduard Streltsov was cleared to return to Torpedo before the 1965 season.

Eduard Streltsov matched his previous seasonal tally of 12 league goals during the 1966 Top League season.

Eduard Streltsov was voted Soviet Footballer of the Year at the end of the season, although he scored a relatively low six league goals during 1967, his lowest for a full season since his debut year of 1954.

Eduard Streltsov was dropped from the Soviet team for the first three national team matches of 1968.

Eduard Streltsov was left out of the tournament squad, and never played for the USSR again; after his final appearance, his international tally stood at 25 goals in 38 matches.

Eduard Streltsov retained his title of Soviet Footballer of the Year after scoring the highest seasonal total of his career, 21, but was moved back to midfield before the 1969 season and did not score in 23 league matches during his final two years.

Eduard Streltsov retired from football in 1970, at the age of 33, leaving his final league record for Torpedo over both spells standing at 99 goals from 222 games.

Eduard Streltsov returned to Torpedo in the capacity of youth team manager following his qualification; he spent a brief spell as manager of the first team before returning to the youth team in 1982.

Eduard Streltsov took part in matches contested by former players before dying in 1990 from throat cancer, which his first wife Alla later claimed had been brought about by irradiated food served to him in the camps.

Seven years later, Marina Lebedeva, the woman Eduard Streltsov had confessed to raping, was seen laying flowers at his grave in Moscow on the day after the anniversary of his death.

Since Eduard Streltsov did not play in the final, he did not receive a medal.

Eduard Streltsov was posthumously given a gold medal in 2006, after this policy was changed retroactively to allow all members of winning Olympic squads to receive medals.

Indeed, for his final two seasons, Eduard Streltsov played in an attacking midfield role rather than up front.

The campaign's leader, chess champion Anatoly Karpov, claimed in 2001 that the conviction had prevented Eduard Streltsov from becoming the world's best player.