Viktor Onopko is an excellent coach and a wonderful footballer. He was the captain of Spartak, the national team. The three-time champion of the country was awarded the Cup of Russia, is the owner of the Commonwealth Champions Cup and the Legends Cup.
Among the talents of Viktor Savelyevich Onopko are playing on the grass and the ability to lead. Not a single trifle could escape his attention.
Childhood and youth
The outstanding athlete was born on October 14 in Lugansk in 1969. His father worked in an engineering plant. Mom worked in the factory canteen.
In a large family, Viktor's older brother Sergei and his sister Daria were already growing up. The head of the family idolized football.
He told his sons about outstanding athletes of the past, explained the subtleties of skill. The father was glad that the children were carried away by his favorite sport.
At the age of nine, Vitya enrolled in the Zarya sports school. World famous footballers came out of its walls. From there, the promising young athlete was invited to join Shakhtar Donetsk.
It was only there that Onopko realized that he wanted to forever connect his fate with this particular sport.
During his military service, the novice footballer moved to Dynamo. Due to the injury, he had to skip the entire sports season.
Viktor returned to Shakhtar for a short time. Dynamo coach Valeriy Lobanovskiy tried to keep the promising defender, but according to the promise given to his native team, Viktor had to return.
The Pitmen's roster in the perestroika years turned out to be strong and talented. The team would be able to adequately perform at the national championship. However, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the spot began to have hard times.
Difficulties came to Onopko, but Oleg Romantsev invited him to the capital "Spartak".
The beginning of a sports career
The Ukrainian dreamed of the European Championship decided to move to Moscow.
However, Romantsev's idea did not find understanding: the playing skills of Lobanovsky's pupils were too strikingly different from those adopted by the "red-whites". But the Spartak mentor was not wrong.
Tall and strong guy fit perfectly into the team. In the first season, Onopko was recognized as the best domestic player. Soon Victor received the captain's armband.
Victor played four seasons in the Spartak squad. For a long time he recalled the friendly atmosphere in her. After the victory of Muscovites in 1995 in six Champions League games.
The young footballer began to receive offers from foreign clubs. Atletico and Chelsea were eager to see him. As a result, Onopko chose the Spanish Real Oviedo.
Very quickly, the talented athlete became a leader and captain there. Viktor scored few goals, but as a central defender he coped with his tasks perfectly. Don Balon magazine has twice named him the best defensive player.
For two years Onopko's salary was not paid. The debt exceeded one million and a half euros, but the athlete continued to play. For the first time in his career, a defender scored an own goal.
Games at home and abroad
In 2002 the player was loaned to Rayo Vallecano Fernando Vasquez. The club hoped to stay in the sports elite, but it failed. After being transferred to the third division due to financial problems, Victor terminated his contract with Oviedo.
Onopko returned to Russia. He was immediately invited to Spartak-Alania. This transfer was recognized as the loudest in 2003. The Vladikavkaz club provided the athlete with a T-shirt with the lucky number seventy-seven.
Victor lived up to his hopes and helped the team stay in the Premier League. The last of the clubs for which Onopko played was the Moscow Region "Saturn" from Ramenskoye.
2006 was the final year in the football player's sports career. The talented player was in demand among the coaches of the national teams
He became a mentor in three games for the Olympic team of the Union, played in the CIS national team and appeared on the field with the captain's armband as part of the Russian national team more than a hundred times. Nobody could surpass this indicator for a long time.
Onopko scored nine goals for the national team. In 1992, at the European Championship, the CIS team played in a draw with the Germans. At that time, the latter were European champions.
The loss to a rather weak Scottish team turned out to be all the more offensive. In a strange championship, Victor outplayed Ruud Gullit.
Family life
The athlete has been happily married for a long time. His chosen one bears the title of Master of Sports in rhythmic gymnastics. The family of the famous football player and player lives in Spain, in Oviedo.
Natalia is the daughter of a famous referee, former football player, Viktor Zvyagintsev. She is engaged in coaching. The family has two children: daughter Eugene and son Vitaly.
Since childhood, Zhenya has been engaged in rhythmic gymnastics. In 2010 she played for the Spanish national team at the Olympic Games. Son Valery is fond of swimming.
After completing his playing career, the athlete became Viktor Savelyevich, having transferred to the service in the football union of Russia. He studied at the coaching school, in 2009 Onopko became one of the mentors of CSKA.
Until now, the athlete works in the renowned army club. At the same time, Onopko was awarded the Legends Cup. Before the 2018 World Cup, the mentor made bets on Smolov, Dzagoev and Golovin.
He considered the latter the most promising in the game. The coach was right. The talent of Onopko during his playing time also included the ability to create a friendly atmosphere in the team.
He wrote down the dates of birth of the players, prepared in advance for the holidays. In the sports career of the three-time champion of Russia, the football player has both domestic and foreign clubs.
