Slava Kalistratovich Metreveli (May 30, 1936, Sochi — January 7, 1998, Tbilisi) was a Soviet footballer, a forward. He played for Torpedo (Gorky) in 1955–1956, then for Moscow's Torpedo and Tbilisi's Dinamo. Honored Master of Sport of the USSR (1960) and 1960 European champion with the USSR national team.[1]
Club career
Metreveli's football career began in amateur teams on the Black Sea coast: in 1953 he played for the youth team Trud (Adler), and in 1954 for Spartak (Khosta). In 1955–1956 he played for Gorky's Torpedo, after which he was invited to Moscow's Torpedo, where he spent seven seasons (1956–1962). With the Moscow club he became USSR champion and USSR Cup winner in 1960. It was then that coach Viktor Maslov moved Metreveli from center forward to the wing.[1]
At Moscow's Torpedo, Metreveli played alongside Valentin Ivanov, Eduard Streltsov, Gennady Gusarov, and Valery Voronin. In 1963 he moved to Tbilisi's Dinamo, where he spent nine seasons (until 1971). With the Tbilisi club he won the USSR championship in 1964, took bronze in the 1967 and 1969 championships, and reached the 1970 USSR Cup final. For Dinamo (Tbilisi) he played 238 league games in official matches (52 goals), 18 Cup matches (8 goals), and 30 international matches (12 goals). In 1964 he additionally played 6 international matches for Moscow's Dinamo.[1]
With the USSR national team
Metreveli played for the USSR national team from 1958 to 1970, making 48 appearances and scoring 11 goals; for the Olympic team he played another 4 matches (1 goal). He took part in the World Cup finals tournaments of 1962 and 1966. In 1960 he became European champion with the national team. In 1968 he played for a FIFA World XI against the Brazilian national team.[1]
Metreveli's skill on the wing earned international recognition: according to contemporaries, Brazilian fans held his play in high regard. Three times — in 1964, 1965, and 1968 — he was named to the list of the 33 best footballers of the season in the USSR, each time as number one at his position.[1]
The Nizhny Novgorod period
In 1955–1956 Metreveli played for Gorky's Torpedo — at the start of his career, before moving to the Moscow club. This period became his starting point in big-time football.[1]
Assessments and legacy
Lev Filatov devoted a separate interview to Metreveli, titled "I Don't Like Silence," in his book "Playing, I Judge the Game" (Moscow, FiS, 1975). According to the footballer himself, the playing styles of Moscow's Torpedo and Tbilisi's Dinamo were similar: in their best years both clubs practiced open, combination football, which eased his transfer. Metreveli's name became a byword for skillful play on the wing.[1]
Sources
- dinamo-tbilisi.ru — Metreveli Slava Kalistratovich — "Dinamo" Tbilisi. Team History