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Lev GundarevSoviet football player
Date of Birth: 01.01.1921
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
- Lev Gundarev: A Controversial Footballer in Wartime Kiev
- World War II and the "Match of Death"
- Post-War Years and Sentencing
Lev Gundarev: A Controversial Footballer in Wartime Kiev
Early Life and CareerLev Gundarev began his football career in 1936 with the youth team of Lokomotiv Kiev. He joined Lokomotiv's reserve team in 1939 and made his senior debut in 1940. In the same year, he moved to Dynamo Kiev.
World War II and the "Match of Death"
With the outbreak of World War II, Gundarev was conscripted into the Red Army. He fought in the defense of Kiev but was captured and sent back to the city. In 1942, Gundarev was arrested by the police and given the choice between being sent to Germany or serving in the police. He opted for the latter.
During this time, Gundarev played for Rukh, a team founded by former Lokomotiv player Georgy Shvetsov to support the German occupation. Gundarev also played for Start, which faced Dynamo Kyiv in the infamous "Match of Death" on August 9, 1942.
Post-War Years and Sentencing
After the liberation of Kiev in 1943, Gundarev surrendered to the NKVD. He was sentenced to 10 years in the Gulag by a military tribunal in 1944. In 1953, he was released and worked at Dynamo Karaganda until the 1970s. He later returned to Kiev, where he passed away in 1994.
