31 European countries were divided into nine groups with three of four teams in each. Winners of eight groups qualified for the world contest at once while the best team of the ninth group had to feature in playoffs.
USSR performed in this group against Hungary and Greece and didn’t manage to get out of it.
Uncompromising Hungarians and Greeks
The start of qualifying round was a success for Nikita Simonian’s men. On April 24 USSR defeated Greece in Moscow – 2:0.
Five FC Dynamo Kyiv performers took the field in that match: Anatoliy Konkov, Volodymyr Troshkin, Leonid Buriak, Volodymyr Onyshchenko and Oleh Blokhin. Konkov opened the score and Blokhin got an assist to his name.
Six days later Soviet team lost against Hungary in Budapest – 2:1.
Four Dynamo players featured in that game. Only Onyshchenko stayed at the bench.
Narrow defeat against Greece in Thessaloniki (1:0) was really unexpected.
Konkov sent USSR up early in the game, but he was flagged offside.
In the final fixture of qualifying round Soviet players defeated Hungary in Tbilisi – 2:0. Five Kyivans took the field that day.
Still that wasn’t enough. Hungarians got out of the group and defeated Bolivia in playoffs (9:2 on aggregate).
It should be mentioned that only FC Dynamo Kyiv performers were USSR skippers in 1978 World Cup qualifiers – Oleh Blokhin (three times) and Anatoliy Konkov (once).
Twists of fate
After 1978 World Cup qualification Anatoliy Konkov won the Soviet Top League with FC Dynamo Kyiv two more times (1980, 1981) and the USSR Cup once (1978).
Since September 2 2012 he is the Football Federation of Ukraine president.
Konkov is the Order of the merit of the Third Class chevalier (2004).
After the end of his career Volodymyr Troshkin worked as head coach for SCA Kyiv and FC Avanhard Rivne and as Ukraine Olympic team assistant coach.
He also worked for the Football Federation of Ukraine (1st vice-president in 2008).
Troshkin is the Order of the merit of the Third Class chevalier (2004).
Leonid Buriak was one of Dynamo key players, but after the failure in the Soviet Top League in 1984 (10th place) he left the team and joined FC Torpedo Moscow. Since 1986 he performed for Metalist Kharkiv and won the USSR Cup in 1988 with this club.
Later Buriak worked in Finland and USA.
In 1993 he returned to Ukraine and took charge of FC Nyva Ternopil. From 1994 till 1988 Buriak was FC Chornomorets Odesa head coach. In 2005 he worked for FC Dynamo Kyiv and in 2012 – for FC Oleksandria.
Volodymyr Onyshchenko finished his career in 1978. In early 1990s he became FC Dynamo Bila Tserkva head coach. Later he forked for Dynamo-2 for two years and from 1997 till 1998 he was in charge of FC Metalurh Donetsk.
In February of 2013 Onyshchenko became Ukraine national team assistant coach.
Copyright © 2014 FC Dynamo Kyiv
