Theokritos
Global Moderator
- Apr 6, 2010
- 12,542
- 4,941
As Jim Genac points out in his superb book Path to the Summit (Part I), Mikhail Davidovich Tovarovsky is "perhaps one of the most uncredited and unrecognized figures" in the history of Soviet Sports. The following article strives to provide a more detailed look at the man whom Anatoli Tarasov called his mentor.
Mikhail Tovarovsky was born on October 25, 1903, in the village of Orlovets near Gorodishche (today Ukraine) in the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire. He was born into a Jewish family and his religious first name was Moisey. Little is known about his early life. The names of his parents were David and Leya and he had at least three sisters: Hana (born in 1900), Yevdokia (1906) and Berta (1911). At some point in his childhood, his family left their native village behind and moved to Kiev. It is here that Mikhail Tovarovsky pops up as a member of a local soccer club in 1918.
Times were turbulent. After the 1917 October Revolution, the Russian Empire descended into civil war. Ukraine turned into a battleground and Kiev exchanged hands several times before the Communist Red Army finally got a firm grip of the city in January 1919. At the same time, anti-Jewish riots were sweeping across the country. In May 1919, the Jewish community in Tovarovsky's birthplace Orlovets was attacked by the local non-Jewish population and the Jews were forced to leave the village. The Kiev area also saw its share of antisemitic violence. It is not known whether the Tovarovsky family was directly affected.
In Kiev, Mikhail Tovarovsky worked as an accountant with the USSR State Bank. On top of it, he acquired a degree from the Medical Institute from where he graduated in 1925. In his spare time he played soccer. For the majority of his athletic career, he lined up for the railway club Zheldor Kiev (later known as Lokomotiv Kiev), a squad that dominated the semi-annual Kiev city championship (1922-1927). His qualities as a player are described by sport journalist Igor Dobronravov:
After his playing days, Tovarovsky studied at the Central Institute of Physical Culture in Moscow. Upon graduation (1933), he returned to Ukraine where he became one of the pioneers of soccer coaching – a profession that was still in its infancy in the Soviet Union. In 1935 he was named head coach of Dinamo Kiev. He guided the club throught the first two seasons of the newly created Soviet national soccer league and managed to establish them as one of the leading clubs.
Mikhail Davidovich Tovarovsky
Simultaneously, Tovarovskay was working on his doctoral thesis. Having finally earned the Russian doctoral degree "Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences", he moved to Moscow and became a lecturer at the Institute of Physical Culture (1937). Says Igor Dobronravov:
Tovarovsky taught soccer and hockey. When it came to the latter sport, he was not only interested in the variety "hockey with the ball" (bandy) that was popular in Russia at the time, but also in the Canadian variety "hockey with the disc", a sport he appreciated for requiring quick thinking and fighting spirit. He held lectures on the foreign game at the Institute of Physical Culture. Among his early pupils was a young Anatoli Tarasov who came to view him as his mentor even though the young man inititially didn't share his interest in Canadian hockey. Tovarovsky encouraged Tarasov to "find his own coaching voice" and become player-coach with a soccer team from Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad) outside of Moscow alongside the studies.
Tovarovsky's character is described as follows.
Anatoli Tarasov:
Vyacheslav Koloskov:
Anatoli Tarasov:
In February and March 1938, Tovarovsky guided the Dinamo Moscow bandy team in experimental training sessions of Canadian hockey. Among the players were Arkadi Chernyshov (who would go on to become head coach of the Soviet national team) and Pavel Korotkov (who would become the first coach of the Red Army hockey team prior to Tarasov).
Dinamo Moscow training Canadian hockey in early 1938, the dark figure in the back is Tovarovsky.
Source: Krasny Sport 48/1938
Tovarovsky's affiliation with Dinamo Moscow continued as he took over coaching responsibilities with the soccer squad – the reigning champions of the USSR. His background as a graduate from a Medical Institute showed, as team captain Mikhail Yakushin would later remember:
Unfortunately for Tovarovsky, he took over an aging team that had failed prepare a timely rejuvenation. At the end of the 1938 season, the club finished fifth in the Soviet league – a major disappointment. Mikhail Yakushin explains:
Dinamo supporters were furious and Tovarovsky was the main target of their anger. He was released from his duties. However, the decline of Dinamo Moscow continued and a revolving door of coaches failed to reverse the trend – until Boris Arkadyev took over in 1940.
Life away from sports wasn't entirely calm either. In 1938, Tovarovsky's sister Hana was arrested in the "Great Purge" under Stalin, and in June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Mikhail Tovarovsky applied to join the People's Volunteer Militia, but was rejected, presumably due to health reasons [8]. As Hitler's army marched on and closed in on Moscow, many Soviet citizens fled to the Central Asian parts of the USSR. Among them were Tovarovsky's mother Leya and his sister Berta, who – as Jews – had to expect the worst from the Germans. Mikhail Tovarovsky, however, stayed – as did his other sister Yevdokia who joined the partisans fighting the Germans in the back of the frontline. After last being seen on December 7, 1941, she was declared missing, presumably killed by the Germans.
Refugee registration card of Berta Davidovna Tovarovskaya, housed in Samarkand (Uzbek SSR)
Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
After World War II, regular work at the Institute of Physical Culture resumed. Mikhail Tovarovsky held lectures, oversaw academic papers (mostly on soccer, fewer on hockey) and authored books on the tactic and technique of soccer. A respected figure, he became head of the soccer and hockey department at the institute (1962).
Tovarovsky's connection with Anatoli Tarasov paid off for the latter: In 1967, Tovarovsky prompted a student named Vyacheslav Koloskov (later to become vice-president of the soccer world federation FIFA) to work with Tarasov on a scientific study that ended up as a doctoral thesis titled "On the conditions for maintaining high game performance over a long competitive period by the example of hockey". [9]
A keen follower of the international soccer scene until the end of his life, the highly-influential Tovarovsky passed away on January 4, 1969.
[1] Igor Dobronravov, quoted after: Товаровский Михаил Давидович тренер от 1938 - до 1939
[2] same
[3] quoted after Alexander Gorbunov, Anatoli Tarasov, 2015
[4] Vyacheslav Koloskov, V igre i vne igry ("In and Out of the Game"), 2008
[5] Anatoli Tarasov, Khokkey. Rodonachalniki i novichki, 2015
[6] Mikhail Yakushin, Vechnaya tayna futbola ("The Eternal Secret of Football"), 1988
[7] same
[8] related to the author by Russian researcher Stanislav Gridasov
[9] same as [4]
Posted on Behind the Boards (SIHR Blog)
Mikhail Tovarovsky was born on October 25, 1903, in the village of Orlovets near Gorodishche (today Ukraine) in the Kiev Governorate of the Russian Empire. He was born into a Jewish family and his religious first name was Moisey. Little is known about his early life. The names of his parents were David and Leya and he had at least three sisters: Hana (born in 1900), Yevdokia (1906) and Berta (1911). At some point in his childhood, his family left their native village behind and moved to Kiev. It is here that Mikhail Tovarovsky pops up as a member of a local soccer club in 1918.
Times were turbulent. After the 1917 October Revolution, the Russian Empire descended into civil war. Ukraine turned into a battleground and Kiev exchanged hands several times before the Communist Red Army finally got a firm grip of the city in January 1919. At the same time, anti-Jewish riots were sweeping across the country. In May 1919, the Jewish community in Tovarovsky's birthplace Orlovets was attacked by the local non-Jewish population and the Jews were forced to leave the village. The Kiev area also saw its share of antisemitic violence. It is not known whether the Tovarovsky family was directly affected.
In Kiev, Mikhail Tovarovsky worked as an accountant with the USSR State Bank. On top of it, he acquired a degree from the Medical Institute from where he graduated in 1925. In his spare time he played soccer. For the majority of his athletic career, he lined up for the railway club Zheldor Kiev (later known as Lokomotiv Kiev), a squad that dominated the semi-annual Kiev city championship (1922-1927). His qualities as a player are described by sport journalist Igor Dobronravov:
He distinguished himself with his remarkable technique, his strive for a multi-move passing game, his good understanding of the game and his focus on the goal. [1]
After his playing days, Tovarovsky studied at the Central Institute of Physical Culture in Moscow. Upon graduation (1933), he returned to Ukraine where he became one of the pioneers of soccer coaching – a profession that was still in its infancy in the Soviet Union. In 1935 he was named head coach of Dinamo Kiev. He guided the club throught the first two seasons of the newly created Soviet national soccer league and managed to establish them as one of the leading clubs.
Mikhail Davidovich Tovarovsky
Simultaneously, Tovarovskay was working on his doctoral thesis. Having finally earned the Russian doctoral degree "Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences", he moved to Moscow and became a lecturer at the Institute of Physical Culture (1937). Says Igor Dobronravov:
He was a deeply knowledgeable expert, widely educated, fluent in several foreign languages. Subsequently, he became a prominent theorist of Russian football, the author of numerous scientific and methodological manuals and works on the technique and tactics of football. He was also a good practitioner, knew football from the inside and had a good understanding of the psychology of the sportsmen. [2]
Tovarovsky taught soccer and hockey. When it came to the latter sport, he was not only interested in the variety "hockey with the ball" (bandy) that was popular in Russia at the time, but also in the Canadian variety "hockey with the disc", a sport he appreciated for requiring quick thinking and fighting spirit. He held lectures on the foreign game at the Institute of Physical Culture. Among his early pupils was a young Anatoli Tarasov who came to view him as his mentor even though the young man inititially didn't share his interest in Canadian hockey. Tovarovsky encouraged Tarasov to "find his own coaching voice" and become player-coach with a soccer team from Zagorsk (Sergiev Posad) outside of Moscow alongside the studies.
Tovarovsky's character is described as follows.
Anatoli Tarasov:
By virtue of an innate intelligence, he couldn't raise his voice, let alone bang his fists on the table when it was required. But Mikhail Davidovich was a brilliant educator. I consider him my teacher. How many professors do you know who, in response to a student's question, would say: "I don't know, I need to think about it, come back tomorrow." Tovarovsky did not hesitate to say so. He was always learning from others. [3]
Vyacheslav Koloskov:
We appreciated Mikhail Davidovich not only as a teacher, but also for his excellent human qualities. Only in appearance he seemed to be a cold fish, he rarely smiled, he kept his distance from his subordinates, but we knew that he was aware of the problems of every student and was always ready to help any of us. [4]
Anatoli Tarasov:
Perhaps the main and invaluable quality of Tovarovsky was his sincere compassion for us, the young people. [5]
In February and March 1938, Tovarovsky guided the Dinamo Moscow bandy team in experimental training sessions of Canadian hockey. Among the players were Arkadi Chernyshov (who would go on to become head coach of the Soviet national team) and Pavel Korotkov (who would become the first coach of the Red Army hockey team prior to Tarasov).
Dinamo Moscow training Canadian hockey in early 1938, the dark figure in the back is Tovarovsky.
Source: Krasny Sport 48/1938
Tovarovsky's affiliation with Dinamo Moscow continued as he took over coaching responsibilities with the soccer squad – the reigning champions of the USSR. His background as a graduate from a Medical Institute showed, as team captain Mikhail Yakushin would later remember:
Tovarovsky started his work in the team by having an individual conversation with each of us about how to properly prepare for training and games. He was interested in the issues of everyday life, hygiene, nutrition and compliance with the sports regime. We had smokers among the players at that time. When the season began, they stopped smoking for a while or sharply limited the daily rate of cigarettes. Of course, there was no sense in a temporary abstinence, and Tovarovsky explained this scientifically. [6]
Unfortunately for Tovarovsky, he took over an aging team that had failed prepare a timely rejuvenation. At the end of the 1938 season, the club finished fifth in the Soviet league – a major disappointment. Mikhail Yakushin explains:
Our new coach was unlucky: he came to the team at the moment when it began to slowly fall apart. And although the training was conducted competently, in an organized manner, it didn't bring the result expected from the club (and only the first place was expected). [7]
Dinamo supporters were furious and Tovarovsky was the main target of their anger. He was released from his duties. However, the decline of Dinamo Moscow continued and a revolving door of coaches failed to reverse the trend – until Boris Arkadyev took over in 1940.
Life away from sports wasn't entirely calm either. In 1938, Tovarovsky's sister Hana was arrested in the "Great Purge" under Stalin, and in June 1941 Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Mikhail Tovarovsky applied to join the People's Volunteer Militia, but was rejected, presumably due to health reasons [8]. As Hitler's army marched on and closed in on Moscow, many Soviet citizens fled to the Central Asian parts of the USSR. Among them were Tovarovsky's mother Leya and his sister Berta, who – as Jews – had to expect the worst from the Germans. Mikhail Tovarovsky, however, stayed – as did his other sister Yevdokia who joined the partisans fighting the Germans in the back of the frontline. After last being seen on December 7, 1941, she was declared missing, presumably killed by the Germans.
Refugee registration card of Berta Davidovna Tovarovskaya, housed in Samarkand (Uzbek SSR)
Source: United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
After World War II, regular work at the Institute of Physical Culture resumed. Mikhail Tovarovsky held lectures, oversaw academic papers (mostly on soccer, fewer on hockey) and authored books on the tactic and technique of soccer. A respected figure, he became head of the soccer and hockey department at the institute (1962).
Tovarovsky's connection with Anatoli Tarasov paid off for the latter: In 1967, Tovarovsky prompted a student named Vyacheslav Koloskov (later to become vice-president of the soccer world federation FIFA) to work with Tarasov on a scientific study that ended up as a doctoral thesis titled "On the conditions for maintaining high game performance over a long competitive period by the example of hockey". [9]
A keen follower of the international soccer scene until the end of his life, the highly-influential Tovarovsky passed away on January 4, 1969.
[1] Igor Dobronravov, quoted after: Товаровский Михаил Давидович тренер от 1938 - до 1939
[2] same
[3] quoted after Alexander Gorbunov, Anatoli Tarasov, 2015
[4] Vyacheslav Koloskov, V igre i vne igry ("In and Out of the Game"), 2008
[5] Anatoli Tarasov, Khokkey. Rodonachalniki i novichki, 2015
[6] Mikhail Yakushin, Vechnaya tayna futbola ("The Eternal Secret of Football"), 1988
[7] same
[8] related to the author by Russian researcher Stanislav Gridasov
[9] same as [4]
Posted on Behind the Boards (SIHR Blog)
