When, in August 1994, Igor Dobrovolski signed for the Spanish football giants of Atlético Madrid, all eyes were on the talented Markivka-born midfielder as everyone thought this new adventure at La Liga would become an excellent opportunity for him to relaunch his bumpy career at one of the best football leagues in the World. Unfortunately all of those who followed that train of thought were completely wrong.
Alongside with Aleksey Mikhaylichenko, Yuri Savichev and Aleksandr Borodyuk, Igor Dobrovolski was the finest gem of the Anatoly Byshovets’ team that won the gold medal at the 1988 Summer Olympics, which took place in Seoul. The young Dobrovolski finished the tournament with six goals scored, only one behind the top goalscorer, the erratic Brazilian sharpshooter Romário, and pundits considered him one of the most impressive players of the competition. The USSR’s flamboyant number 10 scored from the penalty spot on the final match against Brazil and his goal was an extraordinary contribution for his team’s victory on such difficult clash by 2-1 on extra-time.
Back in those days, Dobrovolski was in Dynamo Moscow’s ranks and he was probably the standard bearer of a promising generation of Soviet footballers that had everything within their reach to catapult their National Team to a completely different dimension. Nevertheless, having left the Soviet Union in the pursuit of the “democracy dream” was not the best thing to have happened to Dobrovolski’s career. Because of the restrictions imposed by the government on the players’ transfers to overseas teams, the majority of the top class Soviet footballers only left the country after they turned 28. Nevertheless, some were “lucky” and both Dobrovolski and Mikhaylichenko were fortunate enough to leave their homeland at a young age. By 1990, the 23 year old midfielder joined the former Italian giants of Genoa but his experience at Serie A was far from being a dream. Due to the restrictions on the registration of foreign footballers, Dobrovolski wasn’t granted a place at Genoa’s first team and, a few months later, in January 1991, the former Dynamo’s midfielder joined the Spanish side of Castellon on loan until the end of that season. Before of his arrival, the blanquinegros were a complete mess and continued that way, something that complicated Dobrovolski’s adaption to both Spanish football and the team. On the following season, after having failed once again to claim his space at Genoa, Igor went on loan to the Swiss side of Servette, where it is fair to say that he had high quality moments.
In 1993, after another inglorious overseas adventure, this time with the powerful European champions of Marseille, a frustrated Dobrovolski returned to the team where, a few years before, he had proven to be one most impressive footballers of the Old Continent, Dynamo Moscow. Once again, Igor proved his worth at the Russian sleeping giants and, just one season later, he decided to have another go at Spanish football. In August 1994, Dobrovolski was again living the dream and joined Atlético Madrid as part of the new ambitious project that Jesús Gil wanted to implement in the team. The Ukraine-born midfielder failed once again to adapt to this new reality and, although he displayed some moments of pure genius, he failed to find the necessary peace of mind in a team that, despite having high quality players such Diego Simeone, Vizcaino, Caminero, Kiko, Kosecki and “El Tren” Valencia in their ranks, was also condemned to mediocrity.
Everything seemed to be going wrong for Dobrovolski at Vicente Calderon and even Atleti supporters, although they acknowledged his unique skills, would often shout from the stands: “DOBLE DE WHISKY!!! QUEREMOS DOBLE DE WHISKY” (lit. “double shot of whisky”, a play on words with the player’s name), and the former Soviet star, who wasn’t fully familiarized with the Spanish language, used to raise his arms in appreciation, something that transformed him in some sort of “town’s idiot” among the football enthusiasts across that Iberian country.
Tired of his Spanish nightmarish adventure, Dobrovolski changed venues again in 1996 and joined the German side Fortuna Düsseldorf, where, at least, he found once again the joy of playing football. Dobrovolski remained with Flingeraner until 1999, when he decided to hang his boots, thus putting an end to what could have been a remarkable career but was instead a path overflowing with setbacks and illusions transformed in nightmares.
Currently, fully recovered from the heart attack that almost took his life not so long ago, Dobrovolski is enjoying his first managerial experience at Russian territory, after taking the helm of the FNL side FC Sakhalin early this year.
Follow Joel Amorim on Twitter: @Vostok1981
Author: Joel Amorim
From Porto, I started enjoying Soviet football at a very young age when I would watch Rinat Dasaev on TV, but it was probably Radchenko’s brace and Shmarov’s goal at the Santiago Bernabéu a quarter of a century ago that transformed me into an avid consumer of what was going on with the game throughout Eastern Europe. Punk rock fan and English teacher by day, football writer after the sun goes down.
Great piece again Joel. Didn’t Dobrovolski end-up owning a sausage factory whilst in Switzerland? Can’t believe he didn’t make more of his talent. Yet another Soviet tragedy. He did ok at Euro 92 under his old Olympic coach Anatoli Byshovets but, ultimately, that generation crumbled with along with their country. I still find it hard to believe that a national team consisting of such talented players failed again on the big stage. Shalimov, Michailichenko, Kolyvanov, Kulkov, Yuran, Tsveiba - all top class footballers. I remember watching them as a kid at Old Trafford in 1991 vs Argentina in a friendly. School kids were let into the stadium cheaply and the game finished 1-1. It was around this time that Utd signed Kanchelskis. Pretty much the last ‘Soviet’ team who had to hum along to Beethoven’s ode to joy at euro 92 as they didn’t have a national anthem (or a nation) anymore. Strange times….
Keep up the good work Joel and let me know if you need a lift to Russia next year for the WC as I’m planning to go in either a camper van or on my motorbike!