Victor Maslov

Who was Victor Maslov?

Victor Aleksandrovich Maslov was a Soviet Russian footballer and coach. He was especially notable during his coaching career. He won numerous USSR Championships with clubs Torpedo Moscow, Dynamo Kyiv, and one with FC Ararat Yerevan.

He is often seen as being one of the most innovative and influential football managers of all-time. Notable for inventing the 4-4-2 formation, being the first to experiment with players' nutrition and perhaps most importantly, for his invention of pressing, which, in the words of Jonathan Wilson "may be seen as the birth of modern football". This is also because Wilson also credits Maslov as one of the key progenitors of the pressing game. This was a key development as before Maslov teams tended allow their opponents more time on the ball whereas Maslov's instigation of pressing denied players this time and space and led to the game based more on speed and fitness that can be seen across the top European and South American leagues today.