KIEV : Former Dynamo Kiev  and Soviet Union defender Andrei Bal has died during a veterans’ match, aged 56.

Andrey Mikhaylovich Bal , 56, served as Ukraine’s interim manager in October 2012, when he stepped up from his role as assistant to replace Oleh Blokhin. At club level he coached Israeli top flight side Maccabi Tel Aviv, Ukrainian sides Vorskla Poltava, Chernomorets Odessa and Dynamo Kiev.

However Bal’s finest career era was in playing for Dynamo under legendary coach Valeri Lobanovsky from 1981 to 1990 when he helped them win four Soviet league titles – in 1981, 1985, 1986 and 1990 – and four Soviet cups.

He was also a member of their European Cup-winners Cup-winning team in 1976 and played 20 times for the USSR, scoring one goal during a 2-1 defeat by Brazil at the 1982 World Cup finals.

A Dynamo statement said: “He was a wonderful person and outstanding football player. Dynamo Kiev and the whole football community in the country mourn an irreparable loss and express their condolences to family and friends.”

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