On Sunday marks the 85th anniversary of the birth of the celebrated midfielder of Moscow's "Dynamo" Valery Korolenkov.
Valeriy Ivanovich was born on March 17, 1939, in Moscow. He started playing football in the children's team of the Moscow District Railway, and then in the youth teams of FSHM. The talented player came to "Dynamo" in 1958, and by the next year, he had secured a place in the main squad of Mikhail Yakushin's team and helped it win the championship title.
Korolenkov was famous for taking free kicks and was the team's regular penalty taker. Before the injury he received in 1960, he was adept at finding space in the opponent's penalty area, capable of striking unexpectedly and powerfully at the goal. Subsequently, he moved back to the midfielder position, where his abilities for combinational play and excellent field vision became apparent.
Korolenkov spent a total of 10 seasons at "Dynamo", during which he played 195 matches and scored 36 goals. In 1963, he became the champion of the USSR for the second time with the team and was included in the list of the top 33 players of the country. He played 7 matches for the USSR national team, participating in the qualifying games for the 1960 Olympics and the 1964 European Championship.
After leaving the team in 1967, he ended his career at the Makhachkala "Dynamo". In the Russian period, he worked at his home club, organizing assistance for "Dynamo" veterans and veteran tournaments.