Stalin and his Soccer Soldiers
Robert Edelman unravels the intriguing tale of the politics behind the rise-and-fall of a crack Red Army football team during the Cold War.
On November 21st, 1945, the Dynamo Moscow soccer team took the field at North London's fog-enshrouded White Hart Lane. In the third game of their goodwill tour of the United Kingdom, Dynamo, the Soviet champion, was to play and eventually defeat a war-depleted Arsenal side. Already the Soviet team had caused a sensation, drawing with Chelsea 3-3 while filling Stamford Bridge beyond its capacity. A few days later, they had overwhelmed a young Cardiff City team 10-1.
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