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{{short description|Soviet footballer (1937–1990)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2020}}
{{Infobox football biography
| fullname       = Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov
| image          = Eduard Streltsov c. 1955-58.jpg
| image_size     = 200
| alt            = A young man with a ruffled tuft of hair and a white shirt bearing the Cyrillic letters "CCCP".
| caption        = Streltsov, photographed in [[Soviet Union national football team|USSR]] colours, c. 1955–58
| birth_date     = {{birth date|1937|7|21|df=y}}
| birth_place    = [[Perovo District|Perovo]], Moscow, [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russian SFSR]], [[Soviet Union|USSR]]
| death_date     = {{death date and age|1990|7|22|1937|7|21|df=y}}
| death_place    = Moscow, Russian SFSR, USSR
| height         =
| position       = [[Forward (association football)|Forward]]<br />[[Midfielder#Attacking midfielder|Attacking midfielder]]
| youthyears1    = 1950–53
| youthclubs1    = Fraser
| years1         = 1953–1958 | clubs1 = [[FC Torpedo Moscow|Torpedo Moscow]] | caps1 = 89  | goals1 = 48
| years2         = 1965–1970 | clubs2 = Torpedo Moscow                       | caps2 = 133 | goals2 = 51
| totalcaps      = 222       | totalgoals     = 99
| nationalyears1 = 1955–1968 | nationalteam1  = [[Soviet Union national football team|Soviet Union]]
| nationalcaps1  = 38| nationalgoals1 = 25
}}
{{family name hatnote|Anatolyevich|Streltsov|lang=Eastern Slavic}}

'''Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov''' ({{lang-rus|Эдуа́рд Анато́льевич Стрельцо́в|p=ɨdʊˈart ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲitɕ strʲɪlʲˈtsof|a=Ru-Eduard Streltsov-yzavyalo.ogg}}; 21 July 1937 – 22 July 1990) was a Soviet [[Association football|footballer]] who played as a [[forward (association football)|forward]] for [[FC Torpedo Moscow|Torpedo Moscow]] and the [[Soviet Union national football team|Soviet national team]] during the 1950s and 1960s. A powerful and skilful attacking player, he scored the fourth-highest number of goals for the Soviet Union and has been called "the greatest outfield player Russia has ever produced".<ref name=Wilson/> He is sometimes dubbed "the Russian [[Pelé]]".<ref name=OFlynn/>

Born and raised in east Moscow, Streltsov joined Torpedo at the age of 16 in 1953 and made his international debut two years later. He was part of the squad that won the gold medal [[Association football at the 1956 Summer Olympics|at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics]], and came seventh in the [[1957 Ballon d'Or]]. The following year, his promising career was interrupted by allegations of [[sexual assault]] shortly before the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958 World Cup]]. Soviet authorities pledged he could still play if he admitted his guilt, after which he confessed, but was instead prosecuted and sentenced to twelve years of [[forced labor|forced labour]] under the [[Gulag]] system (abolished in 1960 and replaced by prisons). The conviction was highly controversial, with many pointing to conflicts between Streltsov and government officials.   

Streltsov was released after serving approximately half of his sentence, and in 1965 he resumed his career with Torpedo Moscow. In the first season of his comeback, the club won the [[Soviet Top League|Soviet championship]]; in 1968 Torpedo won the [[Soviet Cup]]. Streltsov was restored to the Soviet national team in 1966, and in 1967 and 1968 named [[Soviet Footballer of the Year]]. By the time of his retirement in 1970 he had pioneered innovations such as the back-heeled pass, which became known in Russia as "Streltsov's pass". He died in Moscow in 1990 from [[throat cancer]], which his first wife alleges was a result of irradiated food served to him during incarceration. Six years later, Torpedo renamed their home ground "[[Eduard Streltsov Stadium]]" in his honour. Statues of Streltsov now stand outside the stadium bearing his name and the [[Luzhniki Olympic Complex]] in Moscow.

==Early life==

Eduard Anatolyevich Streltsov was born in [[Perovo District|Perovo]], an eastern district of Moscow, on 21 July 1937, the son of Anatoly Streltsov, a front-line soldier and intelligence officer, and Sofia Frolovna. Anatoly did not return to the family following the Second World War, instead choosing to settle alone in [[Kiev]]; Sofia therefore raised her son on her own, working at the Fraser Cutting Instruments Factory to support Eduard and herself. As a result, Streltsov had a modest upbringing, the highlights of which were playing football and following his favoured team, [[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak Moscow]].<ref name=Rizhkov/>

The factory recognised his talent from a young age: Streltsov became the Fraser Factory football team's youngest ever player when he was 13 years old. Three years later in 1953, a [[exhibition game|friendly match]] was organised between Fraser and a youth team from [[FC Torpedo Moscow|Torpedo Moscow]]. Streltsov impressed the Torpedo coach, Vasily Provornov, and after befriending him, left Fraser to play for Torpedo.<ref name="Rizhkov">{{Harvnb |Рыжков (Rizhkov) |2008}}</ref>

==Career==

===Early career===
Aged 16, Streltsov made his debut for Torpedo during [[1954 Soviet Top League|the 1954 season]], appeared in every league game and scored four goals.<ref name=clubstats/> The team finished ninth in the league, a drop from third the previous year.<ref name="topleaguetables">{{cite web |title=USSR (Soviet Union) – Final Tables 1924–1992 |first=Almantas |last=Lauzadis |website=[[RSSSF]] |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/ussrhist.html |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> In his [[1955 Soviet Top League|second season]] Streltsov was the league's most prolific goalscorer, scoring 15 goals in 22 games as his side rose to fourth place.<ref name=clubstats/><ref name=topleaguetables/><ref name=ussrtopscorers/> Streltsov was selected for the [[USSR national football team|Soviet national team]] for the first time in 1955, halfway through the season; his debut came in a friendly match against [[Sweden men's national football team|Sweden]] in Stockholm on 26 June,<ref name="ussr5259">{{cite web |title=Soviet Union – International Results 1952–1959 – Details |first=Barrie |last=Courtney |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/ussr-intres5259.html |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> when he scored a [[hat-trick#Association football|hat-trick]] within the first 45 minutes as the Swedish team was defeated 6–0. On his second appearance, a friendly home game against [[India men's national football team|India]], he scored three goals again. A further game in Hungary and a goal against [[France national football team|France]] meant that by the start of 1956, Streltsov had scored seven goals for the Soviet Union in four matches. After scoring in a match against [[Denmark national football team|Denmark]] in April 1956, he missed three international matches before returning in September with a goal after three minutes in a 2–1 away victory over [[Germany national football team|West Germany]]. Streltsov continued to score regularly for Torpedo, managing 12 league goals during the [[1956 Soviet Top League|1956 season]], but appeared in two successive defeats for the Soviets before they travelled in November 1956 to the [[1956 Summer Olympics|Olympic Games]] in [[Melbourne]].<ref name=clubstats/> Streltsov scored three goals in a 16–2 victory over [[Australia men's national soccer team|Australia]] in an unofficial match on 15 November before scoring a late winning goal in the first tournament match against the [[United Team of Germany]] nine days later.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/27632 |title=Eduard Streltsov |work=Olympedia |access-date=1 December 2021}}</ref> The Soviets required a [[replay (sports)|replay]] to overcome [[Indonesia national football team|Indonesia]] in the quarter-finals and met [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] in the semi-final.<ref name=ussr5259/>

The match finished 0–0 after 90 minutes,<ref name=Wilson/><ref name=ussr5259/> and with defender [[Nikolai Tishchenko]] and Streltsov's fellow Torpedo forward [[Valentin Kozmich Ivanov|Valentin Ivanov]] both injured, the Soviet team had only nine fit players when Bulgaria scored early in [[extra time]]. Streltsov's performance was later described by journalist [[Jonathan Wilson (writer)|Jonathan Wilson]] as "magnificent"; he scored an equaliser after 112 minutes and then [[Assist (football)|set up]] [[Boris Tatushin]] of Spartak Moscow four minutes later to score the winning goal.<ref name=Wilson/> Streltsov missed the final against [[Yugoslavia national football team|Yugoslavia]] as the team manager, [[Gavriil Kachalin]], believed the two forward players should be club team-mates; as Ivanov was unfit, Streltsov was dropped as well. [[Nikita Simonyan]], who took his place, offered Streltsov his gold medal following a 1–0 victory over the Yugoslavs, an offer which the Torpedo player refused, saying "Nikita, I will win many other trophies".<ref name=Wilson/> Streltsov received two votes in the [[1956 Ballon d'Or]].<ref name="ballondor1956">{{cite web |title=European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1956 |first=José Luis |last=Pierrend |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/europa-poy56.html |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref>

Streltsov scored the first goal in a 2–0 win in a [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification|World Cup qualifying]] [[play off|play-off]] match in Poland which meant the Soviet Union qualified for the [[1958 FIFA World Cup|1958 World Cup]].<ref name=ussr5259/> At club level, he scored 12 goals in 15 league matches during the [[1957 Soviet Top League|1957 season]]. Torpedo, never league champions and traditionally overshadowed by local rivals such as [[PFC CSKA Moscow|CSKA]], [[FC Dynamo Moscow|Dynamo]] and Spartak, finished as runners-up of the [[Soviet Top League]].<ref name=topleaguetables/> At the end of that season, Streltsov came seventh in the [[1957 Ballon d'Or]], gaining 12 votes;<ref name="ballondor1957">{{cite web |title=European Footballer of the Year ("Ballon d'Or") 1957 |first=José Luis |last=Pierrend |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/europa-poy57.html |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> by the start of the World Cup year, 1958, his international record stood at 18 goals in 20 games. Streltsov scored five goals in the first eight league matches of the [[1958 Soviet Top League|1958 Top League season]], and appeared in a 1–1 friendly draw with [[England national football team|England]] in Moscow on 18 May 1958.<ref name=ussr5259/>

===Rape conviction===

====Accusation====
Streltsov was known for womanising, drinking heavily and leading an extravagant life outside of football, as well as for wearing his hair in the British "[[Teddy Boy]]" style.<ref name=Wilson/><ref name=OFlynn/> As a key player for his club and for the Soviet national side, these traits combined to create an impression in government circles that, in Wilson's words, "Streltsov was becoming rather too much of a celebrity".<ref name=Wilson/> The problem was brought to a head by an alleged relationship between the footballer and Svetlana Furtseva, the 16-year-old daughter of the first female [[Politburo]] member [[Ekaterina Furtseva]]. With the young Svetlana besotted by the 19-year-old Torpedo forward, her mother first met him at a [[Moscow Kremlin|Kremlin]] ball held early in 1957 to celebrate the Olympic victory of 1956. Furtseva suggested he might marry her daughter, to which Streltsov replied "I already have a fiancée and I will not marry her [Svetlana]." While drunk, he was later heard to remark either "I would never marry that monkey" or "I would rather be hanged than marry such a girl" (both quotes were reported), humiliating Furtseva, a minister close to Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]].<ref name=Wilson/><ref name=OFlynn/>

Streltsov became secretly engaged to Alla Demenko before leaving for the Olympics,<ref name=Nilin7879/> and the couple married on 25 February 1957,<ref name="Nilin7879">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |pp=78–79 }}</ref> halfway through preparations for the Soviet season. The Department of Soviet Football criticised both the player and his club over the timing of the ceremony.<ref name=Wilson/> The [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]] also seemed to distrust him, considering him a possible [[Eastern Bloc emigration and defection|defector]] after he attracted the interest of French and Swedish clubs during tours overseas with Torpedo. His file in the party archives included the comment: "[a]ccording to a verified source, Streltsov said to his friends in 1957 that he was always sorry to return to the USSR after trips abroad."<ref name=Wilson/> After he was sent off during a game in [[Odessa]] in April 1957, the official government sports newspaper ''[[Sovetsky Sport]]'' published an article about him titled "This is not a hero" as well as letters purportedly written by members of the proletariat, which described Streltsov as an "example of the evils of western imperialism".<ref name=Wilson/>

[[File:Nikita Khrusjtsjov.jpg|thumb|upright|Soviet Premier [[Nikita Khrushchev]] in 1961. According to [[Gavriil Kachalin]], who managed the national football team, Khrushchev was personally involved in the Streltsov rape case.<ref name=Wilson/>]]
A week after appearing against England in a warm-up match in Moscow for the 1958 World Cup, Streltsov was invited to a party by a Soviet military officer, Eduard Karakhanov, to be held on 25 May.<ref name=Wilson/> Streltsov and the rest of the Soviet squad were on a pre-World Cup training camp at Tarasovka, just outside Moscow, but the team had been given the day as holiday. At the end of such days, the players had to report to the authorities at [[Dynamo Stadium (Moscow)|Dynamo Stadium]] at 4:30&nbsp;pm,<ref name=Nilin91/> but Streltsov and two team-mates, Spartak players [[Mikhail Ogonkov]] and [[Boris Tatushin]], ignored this rule and went to the party anyway.<ref name="Nilin91">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |p=91 }}</ref> Held at Karakhanov's [[dacha]], it was also attended by a 20-year-old woman named Marina Lebedeva, whom Streltsov had never met. The following morning, Streltsov, Ogonkov and Tatushin were all arrested and charged with raping her.<ref name=Wilson/><ref name="OFlynn">{{Harvnb |O'Flynn |2001}}</ref>

Journalist Kevin O'Flynn writes that since heavy drinking had taken place at the party, the evidence against Streltsov was "confused and contradictory", even from Lebedeva herself.<ref name=OFlynn/> But the Soviet team coach, [[Gavriil Kachalin]], claimed shortly before Streltsov's death that influence from high up in the Communist Party dictated that the player could not be helped; Kachalin said that police told him of Khrushchev's personal involvement, fuelled by a grudge held by Furtseva.<ref name=Wilson/> According to Soviet Union team-mate Nikita Simonyan, speaking in 2006, Streltsov wrote home to his mother "saying he was taking the blame for someone else".<ref name=Wilson/> Streltsov and Lebedeva did sleep together, Simonyan said, and he did not believe their meeting had been set up, but he was unsure about whether or not Streltsov had raped her. Simonyan proposed that consensual sex could have been twisted into a rape accusation by "the system", which he said bore ill will towards the Torpedo forward.<ref name=Wilson/> However, in the same interview Simonyan revealed incriminating photographs of both Lebedeva and Streltsov from the time of the trial, including one in which the Torpedo player's face "was streaked from nose to cheekbone with three parallel scratches".<ref name=Wilson/> "[T]here is the possibility that the photographs were doctored or the injuries inflicted at a later date", Wilson comments, "but Soviet justice rarely required such damning evidence."<ref name=Wilson/> Streltsov's wife of just over a year, Alla, filed for divorce soon after the accusations were made.<ref name="Nilin99">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |p=99 }}</ref> Apart from Streltsov himself, the only members of the team present at his trial were Ogonkov and Tatushin, who appeared as witnesses.<ref name=Nilin99/>

====Conviction; the Gulag====

Streltsov confessed to the crime after being told this would allow him to keep his place in the Soviet team for the 1958 World Cup.<ref name=Wilson/> This did not happen, however; far from remaining in the national side, Streltsov was sentenced to twelve years in the [[forced labor|forced]] [[labor camps|labour camps]] of the [[Gulag]], and barred from ever returning to professional football of any kind.<ref name=Nilinch50/> Plans for a march by 100,000 workers at Moscow's [[ZiL]] car factory, the base of the Torpedo club, to show support during the trial, were abandoned when Streltsov was sentenced before the march could be arranged.<ref name=Wilson/><ref name=OFlynn/><ref name=Nilin251/> Ogonkov and Tatushin, meanwhile, were banned from playing any kind of organised football for three years,<ref name="ogonkov">{{cite journal |title=Хyдожник на поле и в жизни |first=Геннадий (Larchikov, Gennadiy) |last=Ларчиков |journal=Советский спорт (Sovetskiy Sport) |issue=109 |language=ru |year=2002}}</ref> and barred from representing the USSR for life.<ref name="Nilin93">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |p=93 }}</ref> In the camp where he was incarcerated, Streltsov was initially victimised by a young criminal who inflicted so much physical harm on him that he spent four months in the prison hospital, suffering from injuries caused by blows from either an "iron bar or a shoe heel".<ref name=OFlynn/> Camp authorities later started to include Streltsov in football matches to calm down the inmates in times of trouble; one prisoner, Ivan Lukyanov, later said: "[w]e loved Streltsov, we believed he would return to football. And not only us."<ref name=OFlynn/>

Meanwhile, the Soviet team travelled to Sweden for the World Cup without Streltsov, Ogonkov or Tatushin. The world's press claimed that two of the competing teams were severely weakened: England by the [[Munich air disaster]], and the Soviets by the loss of Streltsov.<ref name="Kuper39">{{Harvnb |Kuper |1998 |p=39}}</ref> The Soviets reached the quarter-finals, losing 2–0 to hosts Sweden, a team defeated 6–0 by the Soviet Union during Streltsov's 1955 debut.<ref name=OFlynn/><ref name=ussr5259/> Without Streltsov, Torpedo dropped from their second-place finish in 1957 to seventh [[1958 Soviet Top League|in 1958]], though the team also reached the Soviet Cup final before losing to Spartak. Streltsov's place as the club's leading scorer was taken by the 21-year-old forward [[Gennadi Gusarov]], who had turned professional with Torpedo during 1957. The team rose to fifth in 1959 before winning [[Double (association football)|the Double]] of Top League and Cup [[1960 Soviet Top League|during the following year]], with Gusarov leading the league in goals with 20. Torpedo then finished as runners-up in both competitions [[1961 Soviet Top League|in 1961]], with Gusarov scoring 22. Two mid-table finishes followed as Gusarov was sold to city rivals Dynamo between the 1962 and 1963 seasons, but Torpedo once again came second [[1964 Soviet Top League|in 1964]], losing a championship play-off against [[FC Dinamo Tbilisi|Dinamo Tbilisi]] after the two clubs finished equal on points.<ref name=topleaguetables/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rusteam.permian.ru/players/gusarov.html |title=	Геннадий Гусаров (Gennadiy Gusarov) |language=ru |first=Александр (Kashintsev, Alexander) |last=Кашинцев |work=Сборная России по футболу |access-date=6 February 2011 }}</ref>

===Release and return to football===

====Amateur play====
[[File:Leonid Brežněv (Bundesarchiv).jpg|thumb|upright|[[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|First Secretary]] [[Leonid Brezhnev]] ''(pictured in 1967)'' helped Streltsov to return to professional football.|alt=A black and white photograph of a man in a black suit bearing medals on the left breast, applauding as he looks to his right.]]
Streltsov was released on 4 February 1963,<ref name="Nilin134">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |p=134 }}</ref> five years into his twelve-year sentence, and owing to the ban from professional play began to split his time between work at the ZiL factory and the study of automotive engineering at the attached technical college.<ref name="Nilintimeline">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |loc=Основные даты жизни Эдуарда Стрельцова}}</ref> After failing to patch up his differences with Alla, he married Raisa Mikhailovna in September 1963. He started to play for the amateur factory team, which caused it to attract large crowds, both at home and away. When the ZiL side travelled to [[Nizhny Novgorod|Gorky]] for an away match late in the 1964 season, the team's coach received orders from above not to play Streltsov, something which spectators noticed immediately when the match started; during the first half, they began to riot and threatened to burn down the stadium, chanting Streltsov's name. Worried that the angry crowd might go through with this, the Gorky factory chief ordered the ZiL coach to send Streltsov out for the second half. On stepping onto the field, the former Gulag prisoner received a standing ovation.<ref name="Nilinch42">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |loc=«Втуз бы я обязательно закончил...», p. 42}}</ref>

With Streltsov in the team, ZiL topped the factory league after winning all 11 matches. Although he was not allowed to play for Torpedo, Streltsov attended matches at his old club throughout the season.<ref name=Nilinch42/> In October 1964, Khrushchev was replaced as the Communist Party's [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|First Secretary]] by [[Leonid Brezhnev]], who shortly after taking office received a letter signed by tens of thousands of people, including [[Hero of Socialist Labour|heroes of Socialist Labour]] and national and regional [[Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union|Supreme Soviet]] members, requesting the reversal of Streltsov's professional ban. Some party members were wary of a potential comeback, fearing that Streltsov's inclusion in a Torpedo squad that regularly travelled to Western Europe could lead to an international incident, but Brezhnev repealed the ban, arguing that as a free man Streltsov should be able to use his trained profession. He was cleared to return to Torpedo before the 1965 season.<ref name=OFlynn/><ref name="Nilinch50">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |loc=«Втуз бы я обязательно закончил...», pp. 44–50}}</ref>

====Return to professionalism====
Streltsov was enthusiastically welcomed back by supporters.<ref name=White/> Although he had lost some of his strength and agility, his footballing intelligence was still intact; his presence helped Torpedo to win the [[1965 Soviet Top League|1965 Soviet championship]], with Streltsov scoring 12 goals from 26 league matches.<ref name=Wilson/><ref name=OFlynn/><ref name=clubstats/><ref name=topleaguetables/> At the end of the season, he came second in the voting for the [[Soviet Footballer of the Year]] behind Torpedo team-mate [[Valery Voronin]].<ref name=poy/> It was the second time that Torpedo had won the league; the club had won its first title [[1960 Soviet Top League|five years earlier]], during Streltsov's imprisonment.<ref name=topleaguetables/> Streltsov made his debut in continental club competition on 28 September 1966, playing in a 1–0 defeat away to [[F.C. Internazionale Milano|Inter Milan]] in the [[European Cup]].<ref name=europeanstats/> He was recalled to the Soviet national team on 16 October 1966 in a 2–0 home defeat against [[Turkey national football team|Turkey]],<ref name="ussr6069">{{cite web |title=Soviet Union – International Results 1960–1969 – Details |first=Barrie |last=Courtney |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/ussr-intres6069.html |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> and scored the first international goal of his comeback a week later in a 2–2 draw with [[East Germany national football team|East Germany]]. An appearance in a 1–0 away defeat against [[Italy national football team|Italy]] followed two weeks later.<ref name=ussr6069/> Torpedo reached the final of the [[Soviet Cup]] in 1966, but lost 2–0 to Dynamo.<ref name=topleaguetables/> Streltsov matched his previous seasonal tally of 12 league goals during the 1966 Top League season.<ref name=clubstats/>

Streltsov successfully re-established himself in the Soviet team over the following year, as he appeared in eight consecutive USSR matches, starting with a 2–0 friendly victory over [[Scotland national football team|Scotland]] in Glasgow in May 1967. He scored two goals during this run in the national side: one each in a 4–2 win against [[France national football team|France]] in Paris on 3 June 1967 and a 4–3 European Championship qualifying home victory over [[Austria national football team|Austria]] eight days later. After losing his place for the [[UEFA Euro 1968|1968 European Championship]] [[UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying|qualifying]] match against Finland on 30 August 1967, Streltsov missed three Soviet Union matches. He regained his place for an away friendly match against [[Bulgaria national football team|Bulgaria]] on 8 October, scoring a goal as the Soviets fought back from 1–0 to record a 2–1 win. He retained his place for the rest of the calendar year, and scored a hat-trick away against [[Chile national football team|Chile]] on 17 December.<ref name=ussr6069/> He was voted Soviet Footballer of the Year at the end of the season,<ref name=Wilson/><ref name="poy">{{cite web |title=Soviet Union – Player of the Year Awards |first=Rasim |last=Movsumov |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/ussrpoy.html |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> although he scored a relatively low six league goals during 1967, his lowest for a full season since his debut year of 1954.<ref name=clubstats/>

Streltsov was dropped from the Soviet team for the first three national team matches of 1968. After featuring in a home friendly win over [[Belgium national football team|Belgium]] in April, he made his final appearance for the USSR in the 2–0 1968 European Championship quarter-final first leg loss to [[Hungary national football team|Hungary]] on 4 May 1968. The Soviets beat Hungary 3–0 in Moscow a week later, without Streltsov, to qualify for the final tournament on aggregate. Streltsov was left out of the tournament squad, and never played for the USSR again; after his final appearance, his international tally stood at 25 goals in 38 matches.<ref name=ussr6069/> Torpedo won the Soviet Cup during the 1968 season, overcoming [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic|Uzbek]] side [[FC Pakhtakor Tashkent|Pakhtakor Tashkent]] 1–0 in the final.<ref name=topleaguetables/> Streltsov retained his title of Soviet Footballer of the Year after scoring the highest seasonal total of his career, 21 (in the league), but was moved back to [[midfielder|midfield]] before the 1969 season and did not score in 23 league matches during his final two years. He retired from football in 1970, at the age of 33,<ref name=Rizhkov/> leaving his final league record for Torpedo over both spells standing at 99 goals from 222 games.<ref name=clubstats/>

==Post-retirement career==
Following a footballing career [[List of one-club men in association football|spent exclusively with Torpedo]], Streltsov, a supporter of [[FC Spartak Moscow|Spartak Moscow]], repeatedly complained about his failure to play for his favourite team.<ref name=Rizhkov/> After his retirement, Torpedo continued to pay his salary to fund his study of football coaching at the Institute of Physical Culture.<ref name="Nilin226">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |p=226 }}</ref> Streltsov returned to Torpedo in the capacity of youth team manager following his qualification; he also spent a brief spell as manager of the first team before returning to the youth team in 1982.<ref name=Rizhkov/><ref name="Nilin251">{{Harvnb |Нилин (Nilin) |2002 |p=251 }}</ref> He also took part in matches contested by former players before dying in 1990 from [[esophageal cancer|throat cancer]],<ref name=Rizhkov/> which his first wife Alla later claimed had been brought about by [[radiation|irradiated]] food served to him in the camps.<ref name="radiation">{{cite web |title=Эдуард Анатольевич Стрельцов |first=Елена (Shpiz, Elena) |last=Шпиз |publisher=Истории Людей (Istroii Lyudey) |url=http://www.peoples.ru/sport/football/strelcov/ |access-date=6 February 2011}}</ref> Seven years later, Marina Lebedeva, the woman Streltsov had confessed to raping, was seen laying flowers at his grave in Moscow on the day after the anniversary of his death.<ref name=Wilson/>

Olympic policy in 1956 was to award gold medals only to members of the winning football squad who had played in the final match. Since Streltsov did not play in the final, he did not receive a medal. He was posthumously given a gold medal in 2006, after this policy was changed retroactively to allow all members of winning Olympic squads to receive medals.<ref name=Wilson/>

==Style of play and legacy==
Many critics consider Streltsov to be one of the finest footballers ever from Russia or the Soviet Union: British journalist and author Jonathan Wilson describes him as "the greatest outfield player Russia has ever produced&nbsp;... a tall, powerful forward, possessed of a fine first touch and extraordinary footballing intelligence",<ref name=Wilson/> while Russian author Aleksandr Nilin writes that "the boy came to us from the land of wonder".<ref name=OFlynn/> Streltsov's skilful, innovative style of play helped him to stand out in Soviet football, and his pioneering of the back-heeled pass resulted in it becoming known in Russia as "Streltsov's pass".<ref name="White">{{cite news |title=As Quinn sheds fat, Jones sees fit to play the fool |first=Jim |last=White |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/columnists/jimwhite/2335256/As-Quinn-sheds-fat-Jones-sees-fit-to-play-the-fool.html |date=13 April 2006 |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> During his early career, this technical ability combined with considerable speed and physical presence to create a formidable all-round forward player. In his later years, with his physical attributes reduced, he emphasised his skill and on-field intelligence to become more of a playmaker, playing further back and setting up attacking moves for team-mates rather than leading them himself. Indeed, for his final two seasons, Streltsov played in an attacking midfield role rather than up front. Despite the eight-year gap between his two spells as a member of the Soviet national team, Streltsov, nicknamed "The Russian [[Pelé]]",<ref name=OFlynn/> was the fourth highest international goalscorer in the country's history.<ref name=ussrcaps/>

[[File:Torpedo-stadium.jpg|thumb|[[Eduard Streltsov Stadium]] in 2007|alt=The back of a concrete stadium stand]]
Torpedo Moscow's ground, [[Eduard Streltsov Stadium|Torpedo Stadium]], was redubbed the "Eduard Streltsov Stadium" in 1996.<ref name="Wilson2">{{cite news |title=Torpedo's traumas suggest the Russian renaissance may be short-lived |first=Jonathan |last=Wilson |author-link=Jonathan Wilson (writer) |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2008/dec/23/torpedo-moscow-jonathan-wilson |date=23 December 2008 |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref> A year later, the [[Russian Football Union]] introduced the Strelyets prizes as the most prestigious individual honours in Russian football, awarded annually to the best manager in the Russian league and the best players in each position until discontinued in 2003.<ref name=zenit>{{cite web |script-title=ru:Индивидуальные и командные призы |publisher=[[FC Zenit St. Petersburg|ФК «Зeнит» Санкт-Петербург (FC Zenit St. Petersburg)]] |url=http://www.fc-zenit.ru/info/page.phtml?id=470114 |language=ru |access-date=6 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109144237/http://www.fc-zenit.ru/info/page.phtml?id=470114 |archive-date=9 January 2010
}}</ref> A statue of Streltsov was constructed within Moscow's [[Luzhniki Olympic Complex]] in 1998,<ref name="luzhniki statue">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Памятник Стрельцову |work=visualrian.ru |date=10 May 1998 |publisher=РИА Новости (RIA Novosti) |url=http://visualrian.ru/images/item/13356 |language=ru |access-date=7 November 2009}}</ref> and another was erected by Torpedo outside the stadium bearing his name during the following year.<ref name="rashupkina">{{cite news |script-title=ru:Стрельцов вместо девушки с веслом |first=Ольга (Rashupkina, Ol'ga) |last=Ращупкина |work=Независимая газета |url=http://www.ng.ru/events/1999-11-04/2_streltsov.html |date=11 April 1999 |language=ru |access-date=7 November 2009}}</ref>

The Streltsov Committee, formed in 2001, was founded to attempt to have Streltsov's conviction of rape posthumously overturned. The campaign's leader, [[chess]] champion [[Anatoly Karpov]], claimed in 2001 that the conviction had prevented Streltsov from becoming the world's best player.<ref name=OFlynn/> The [[Central Bank of Russia|Central Bank of the Russian Federation]] paid tribute to Streltsov in 2010, when it minted a commemorative two-[[Russian ruble|ruble]] coin bearing his likeness. The coin was one of three minted as part of the "Outstanding Sportsmen of Russia" series; the other two pieces bore the faces of footballers [[Lev Yashin]] and [[Konstantin Beskov]], respectively.<ref name="coins">{{cite web|title=Commemorative Coins |publisher=[[Central Bank of Russia|The Central Bank of the Russian Federation]] |url=http://www.cbr.ru/eng/bank-notes_coins/memorable_coins/current_year_coins/print.asp?file=091228_eng.htm |date=28 December 2009 |access-date=14 March 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100109154811/http://www.cbr.ru/eng/bank-notes_coins/memorable_coins/current_year_coins/print.asp?file=091228_eng.htm |archive-date= 9 January 2010
}}</ref>

==Honours and achievements==

[[File:RR5110-0102R 2 рубля серебро 2009 Выдающиеся спортсмены Стрельцов реверс.png|thumb|A commemorative two-[[Russian ruble|ruble]] coin bearing Streltsov's likeness was issued in 2010.|alt=A silver coin with Strelstov's head and neck illustrated in relief upon it, accompanied by the outlines of a football pitch and a football and his name in Russian.]]
[[File:RU139-15.jpg|thumb|Streltsov on a 2016 Russian stamp from the series "Football Legends"]]

===Torpedo Moscow===
*[[Soviet Top League]]: [[1965 Soviet Top League|1965]]<ref name=topleaguetables/>
*[[Soviet Cup]]: 1968<ref name=topleaguetables/>

;Runner-up
*Soviet Top League: [[1957 Soviet Top League|1957]]<ref name=topleaguetables/>
*Soviet Cup: 1966<ref name=topleaguetables/>

===International===
* 1955–68: 38 caps, 25 goals<ref name="ussrcaps">{{cite web |title=Soviet Union/CIS – Record International Players |first=Roberto |last=Mamrud |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |url=https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/ussr-recintlp.html |access-date=6 November 2009}}</ref>
* [[Summer Olympic Games|Summer Olympics]] gold medal: [[1956 Summer Olympics|1956]]<ref name=Wilson/>

===Individual===
* [[The best 33 football players of the Soviet Union]] (7): No. 1 (1955-1957, 1965, 1967, 1968), No. 2 (1966)
*[[Soviet Footballer of the Year]]: 1967,<ref name=poy/> 1968;<ref name=poy/> Second Place: 1965
*[[Soviet Top League]] top goalscorer: 1955 (15 goals from 22 matches)<ref name="ussrtopscorers">{{cite web |title=Soviet Union/CIS – Record International Players |first=Michael |last=Cherny |publisher=Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation |url=https://www.rsssf.org/tablesu/ussrtops.html |access-date=7 November 2009}}</ref>
*[[Ballon d'Or]]: 13th place ([[1956 Ballon d'Or|1956]]),<ref name=ballondor1956/> 7th place ([[1957 Ballon d'Or|1957]])<ref name="Wilson">{{Harvnb
|Wilson
|2006}}</ref><ref name=ballondor1957/>

==Career statistics==
:''Statistics for domestic cup competitions unknown at this time save 1968 Soviet Cup.''<ref name="clubstats">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Эдуард Стрельцов |first=Валерий (Tsibul'ko, Valeriy) |last=Цыбулько |publisher=Журнал «Футбол» (Zhurnal Futbol) |url=http://mag.football.ua/7/v03/01.htm |language=ru |access-date=7 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090302215422/http://mag.football.ua/7/v03/01.htm |archive-date=2 March 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="europeanstats">{{cite web |script-title=ru:Стрельцов, Эдуард Анатольевич |first=Евгений (Puglo, Yevgeniy) |last=Пугло |title=Klisf.info - klisf Resources and Information |publisher=Клуб любителей истории и статистики футбола (KLISF) |url=http://www.klisf.info/inter/ek/gamer500.htm |language=ru |access-date=29 January 2011 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130112013234/http://www.klisf.info/inter/ek/gamer500.htm|archive-date=12 January 2013
}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Streltsov, Eduard A. |first=Андрей (Moroz, Andrey) |last=Мороз |url=http://www.klisf.info/numeric/index.app?cmd=ln&id=591535383946161 |publisher=Клуб любителей истории и статистики футбола (KLISF) |access-date=11 February 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110721215959/http://www.klisf.info/numeric/index.app?cmd=ln&id=591535383946161 |archive-date=21 July 2011 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! colspan=3 | Club performance
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | Cup
! colspan=2 | League Cup
! colspan=2 | Continental
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
! Season
! Club
! League
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
|-
! colspan=3 |Soviet Union
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Soviet Cup]]
! colspan=2 | [[USSR Federation Cup|Federation Cup]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[1954 Soviet Top League|1954]]||rowspan="5"|[[FC Torpedo Moscow|Torpedo Moscow]]||rowspan="5"|[[Soviet Top League]]||22||4||–||–||–||–||–||–||22||4
|-
|[[1955 Soviet Top League|1955]]||22||15||–||–||–||–||–||–||22||15
|-
|[[1956 Soviet Top League|1956]]||22||12||–||–||–||–||–||–||22||12
|-
|[[1957 Soviet Top League|1957]]||15||12||–||–||–||–||–||–||15||12
|-
|[[1958 Soviet Top League|1958]]<ref name="prison">In the [[Gulag]] from 1958 to 1963; returned to professional football in 1965</ref>||8||5||–||–||–||–||–||–||8||5
|-
|[[1965 Soviet Top League|1965]]||rowspan="6"|Torpedo Moscow||rowspan="6"|Soviet Top League||26||12||–||–||–||–||–||–||26||12
|-
|[[1966 Soviet Top League|1966]]||31||12||–||–||–||–||2||0||33||12
|-
|[[1967 Soviet Top League|1967]]||20||6||–||–||–||–||4||3||24||9
|-
|[[1968 Soviet Top League|1968]]||33||21||6||3||–||–||3||0||42||24
|-
|[[1969 Soviet Top League|1969]]||11||0||–||–||–||–||–||–||11||0
|-
|[[1970 Soviet Top League|1970]]||12||0||–||–||–||–||–||–||12||0
|-
!rowspan=1| Country !!colspan=2| Soviet Union
!222||99||6||3||–||–||9||3||237||105
|-
!colspan=3|Total
!222||99||6||3||–||–||9||3||237||105
|}

<ref name=ussr5259/><ref name=ussr6069/>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! colspan=3 | [[Soviet Union national football team|Soviet Union national team]]
|-
!Year!!Apps!!Goals
|-
|-
|1955||4||7
|-
|1956||8||4
|-
|1957||8||7
|-
|1958<ref name="prison"/>||1||0
|-
|1959<ref name="prison"/>||0||0
|-
|1960<ref name="prison"/>||0||0
|-
|1961<ref name="prison"/>||0||0
|-
|1962<ref name="prison"/>||0||0
|-
|1963<ref name="prison"/>||0||0
|-
|1964<ref name="prison"/>||0||0
|-
|1965||0||0
|-
|1966||3||1
|-
|1967||12||6
|-
|1968||2||0
|-
!Total||38||25
|}

===International goals===
:''Scores and results list the Soviet Union's goal tally first.''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rusteam.permian.ru/players/streltsov.html |title=Эдуард Стрельцов (Eduard Streltsov) |language=ru |first=Александр (Kashintsev, Alexander) |last=Кашинцев |work=Сборная России по футболу |access-date=29 January 2011 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="text-align: left;" align=center
! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition
|-
| 1.
| rowspan=3 | 26 June 1955 || rowspan=3 | [[Råsunda Stadium]], Stockholm || rowspan=3 | {{fb|SWE}} || '''1'''–0 || rowspan=3 | 6–0 || rowspan=3 |[[Exhibition game|Friendly]]
|-
| 2. || '''2'''–0
|-
| 3. || '''4'''–0
|-
| 4.
| rowspan=3 | 16 September 1955 || rowspan=3 | [[VTB Arena|Dynamo Stadium]], Moscow || rowspan=3 | {{fb|IND}} || '''2'''–0 || rowspan=3 | 11–1 || rowspan=3 | Friendly
|-
| 5. || '''4'''–0
|-
| 6. || '''7'''–0
|-
| 7. || 23 October 1955 || Dynamo Stadium, Moscow || {{fb|FRA}} || '''1'''–1 || 2–2 || Friendly
|-
| 8. || 23 May 1956 || Dynamo Stadium, Moscow || {{fb|DEN}} || '''3'''–0 || 5–1 || Friendly
|-
| 9. || 15 September 1956 || [[Niedersachsenstadion]], [[Hanover]] || {{fb|FRG}} || '''1'''–0 || 2–1 || Friendly
|-
| 10. || 24 November 1956 || [[Olympic Park Stadium (Melbourne)|Olympic Park Stadium]], [[Melbourne]] || {{flagicon|GER|EUA}} [[United Team of Germany]] || '''2'''–0 || 2–1 || [[Association football at the 1956 Summer Olympics|1956 Summer Olympics]]
|-
| 11. || 5 December 1956 || Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne || {{fb|BUL|1946}} || '''1'''–1 || 2–1 || 1956 Summer Olympics
|-
| 12. || 1 June 1957 || [[Luzhniki Stadium|Central Lenin Stadium]], Moscow || {{fb|ROU|1948}} || '''1'''–1 || 1–1 || Friendly
|-
| 13.
| rowspan=2 | 21 July 1957 || rowspan=2 | [[Vasil Levski National Stadium]], [[Sofia]] || rowspan=2 | {{flagicon|BUL|1946}} Bulgaria || '''1'''–0 || rowspan=2 | 4–0 || rowspan=2 | Friendly
|-
| 14. || '''3'''–0
|-
| 15.
| rowspan=2 | 15 August 1957 || rowspan=2 | [[Helsinki Olympic Stadium]], Helsinki || rowspan=2 | {{fb|FIN}} || '''6'''–0 || rowspan=2 | 10–0 || rowspan=2 | [[1958 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA – Group 6)|1958 World Cup qualifier]]
|-
| 16. || '''8'''–0
|-
| 17. || 22 September 1957 || [[Népstadion]], [[Budapest]] || {{fb|HUN|1867}} || '''2'''–1 || 2–1 || Friendly
|-
| 18. || 24 November 1957 || [[Zentralstadion]], Leipzig || {{fb|POL}} || '''1'''–0 || 2–1 || 1958 World Cup qualifier
|-
| 19. || 23 October 1966 || Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow || {{fb|GDR}} || '''1'''–0 || 2–2 || Friendly
|-
| 20. || 3 June 1967 || [[Parc des Princes]], Paris || {{flagu|France}} || '''4'''–2 || 4–2 || Friendly
|-
| 21. || 11 June 1967 || Central Lenin Stadium, Moscow || {{fb|AUT}} || '''4'''–3 || 4–3 || [[UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying|Euro 1968 qualifier]]
|-
| 22. || 8 October 1967 || Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia || {{flagicon|BUL|1946}} Bulgaria || '''1'''–1 || 2–1 || Friendly
|-
| 23.
| rowspan=3 | 17 December 1967 || rowspan=3 | [[Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos|Estadio Nacional de Chile]], Santiago || rowspan=3 | {{fb|CHI}} || '''2'''–0 || rowspan=3 | 4–1 || rowspan=3 | Friendly
|-
| 24. || '''3'''–0
|-
| 25. || '''4'''–0
|}

==References==
;Notes
{{Reflist|30em}}

;Newspaper and journal articles
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite news |title=Loyal fans fight to clear name of Russia's Pelé |first=Kevin |last=O'Flynn |work=The Observer |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/aug/26/theobserver |date=26 August 2001 |access-date=6 November 2009 }}
*{{cite news |title=Эдуард Стрельцов: критическая высота полета |first=Алексей (Rizhkov, Aleksey) |last=Рыжков |work=Новая (Novaya) |url=http://novaya.com.ua/?/articles/2008/05/28/145008-2 |language=ru |date=28 May 2008 |access-date=6 November 2009 |ref={{harvid|Рыжков (Rizhkov)|2008}}}}
*{{cite news |title=Was Streltsov really the glorious martyr Russian football demands? |first=Jonathan |last=Wilson |author-link=Jonathan Wilson (writer) |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2006/dec/14/sport.comment |date=14 December 2006 |access-date=3 August 2008}}
{{refend}}

;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
*{{cite book |first=Simon |last=Kuper |author-link= Simon Kuper |title=Football Against The Enemy |isbn=0-7538-0523-5 |year=1998 |location=London |publisher=Phoenix
}}
*{{cite book |title=Стрельцов: Человек без локтей |publisher=Молодая гвардия (Molodaya Gvardiya) |first=Александр (Nilin, Aleksandr) |last=Нилин |location=Москва (Moscow) |year=2002 |language=ru |isbn=5-235-02438-9 |ref={{harvid|Нилин (Nilin)|2002}}}}
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Portal|Biography|Association football|Soviet Union|Russia}}
*[http://www.peoples.ru/sport/football/strelcov/ Eduard Streltsov memorial (includes profile photograph)] {{in lang|ru}}
*[http://rusteam.permian.ru/players/streltsov.html Russiateam profile (includes numerous photographs)] {{in lang|ru}}
*{{FAG|74906051}}
{{Soviet Union football squad 1956 Summer Olympics}}
{{Soviet Footballer of the Year}}
{{Soviet Top League Top Scorers}}

{{featured article}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Streltsov, Eduard}}
[[Category:1937 births]]
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[[Category:Association football controversies]]
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[[Category:Soviet Top League players]]
[[Category:FC Torpedo Moscow players]]
[[Category:Footballers at the 1956 Summer Olympics]]
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[[Category:Olympic footballers for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Olympic gold medalists for the Soviet Union]]
[[Category:Olympic medalists in football]]
[[Category:Russian people convicted of rape]]
[[Category:Politics and sports]]
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[[Category:Footballers from Moscow]]
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[[Category:Deaths from cancer in the Soviet Union]]
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