Mikhail Semichastniy

Mikhail Semichastniy was born on December 5, 1910, in the Perlovskaya station area of ​​the Moscow province. Since childhood, he stood out for his mobility and activity. Before finally coming to football, the versatile young man tried various sports. In 1928, 17-year-old Misha won the Moscow championship among beginners in skiing in a 10-kilometer race. And in 1935, he won the national basketball championship as part of the Moscow team.

Then Semichastniy began to develop a winning character, which did not change him throughout many years of his football career. At the same time, Mikhail played handball and volleyball.

From the team of the Perlovskaya station of the Moscow province (in 1924-1925), whose alumnus he was, Mikhail Vasilyevich's sports path ran through several teams of the Northern Railway (in 1926-1927), until the talented footballer ended up in the first team of his career - CDKA. And three years later, Semichastniy moved to Dynamo.

Mikhail Vasilyevich went down in history as one of the best masters of the game in the air. Not being tall by nature, Semichastniy had a premonition of the episode and repeatedly hit the opponents' goal, winning an aerial duel. He was distinguished by excellent physical training, speed, sharpness and focus on the opponent's goal.

Semichastniy's playing career in Dynamo lasted 14 years - from 1936 to 1950 with a break for the Great Patriotic War. During this time, he played 232 matches and scored 60 goals, becoming a five-time national champion and winner of the USSR Cup.

Until 1943, Semichastniy played as a right winger. Later, Mikhail Yakushin retrained the experienced Semichastniy as a central defender and did not go wrong. It was in this role that he went on a triumphant tour of Great Britain with Dynamo.

In early November 1945, the Dynamo players, unknown to Europe, flew to England to discover the world of football. The local press predicted a crushing defeat for the visitors, anticipating the triumph of their favorite, the formidable forward Tommy Lawton, who scored 23 goals in 29 matches for the national team.

The 26-year-old forward, who was 182 centimeters tall, had to face the 35-year-old Semichastniy, who was also 10 centimeters shorter. After the match with Chelsea, the English journalist A. Mealy wrote: “All of Lawton’s brilliant qualities as a footballer were neutralized by Mikhail Semichastniy, who found an exhaustive answer to Lawton’s style of play. The English, who had praised Lawton for his heading for years, were amazed at the sight of an unknown Russian who was not inferior to him in his style of play. Semichastniy proved that he was at least equal to the famous English player.”

“He was forty when Semichastniy said goodbye to the football field in 1950. He said goodbye, one might say, in the prime of his talent. Only a year earlier there had been a memorable two-day final of the USSR Cup between Dynamo and Spartak. On the first day, Spartak equalized the score a minute before the whistle. On the second day, they opened the scoring already in the 23rd minute. The game time was inexorably moving towards the end, and Spartak was pressing. Here the young but already formidable Nikita Simonyan burst into the Dynamo penalty area. In front of him was the lonely Semichastniy. It seemed that another moment and everything would be over. But the defender boldly and prudently met the attacker, took the ball away and quickly rushed forward. One after another, the defenders were beaten, and now there was a duel with the goalkeeper. Having made a false swing with his right foot, supposedly to pass to a partner, Semichastniy made a sharp strike with his left, and the score became even," wrote sports journalist Vladimir Verkholashin.

The inspired Dynamo players scored more and won that Cup. Semichastniy himself did not hide that the secret of his athletic longevity was in his attitude to the regime: he never smoked or touched alcohol.

After finishing his career, Semichastniy did not leave football. He devoted many years to working with club teams and the masters team of Dynamo Moscow, headed the football department, worked as deputy chairman of the city council of the Society, head coach of the Central Council of Dynamo, and was a member of the presidium of the USSR Football Federation.

"Dynamo Constellation" is a unique project launched on the day of Alexey Khomich's 100th anniversary in March 2020. Based on the results of the fan vote, the final roster of 11 outstanding Dynamo players was formed. During 2020 and 2021, 11 stars included in the constellation were named after legendary Dynamo football players: Alexey Khomich, Lev Yashin, Mikhail Yakushin, Konstantin Beskov, Mikhail Semichastniy, Igor Chislenko, Sergei Solovyov, Valery Maslov, Viktor Tsarev, Igor Dobrovolsky and Alexander Novikov.