Stepanov Vadim Nikolaevich - a famous Soviet football player who played as a defender. It is considered one of the first universal players. Master of Sports of the Soviet Union.
Biography
The future footballer was born in April 1936 on the fifth day in the small Soviet town of Biysk, which is located in the Altai Territory. From early childhood, he felt a craving for sports and engaged in all kinds of sections. But over time, a talented guy discovered football for himself, from that moment his whole life turned upside down. Now he simply could not imagine life without a leather ball.
Career
Stepanov began to take his first steps in his football career in his hometown. In the Biysk football team of the same name, he made his debut at the age of sixteen. After three productive years, the athlete moved to another Siberian city - Irkutsk, where he began to play for the local semi-professional club "Energy".
In 1957 he was drafted into the army. Vadim was lucky, the military command discerned the talents of a promising footballer, and instead of regular service, he got a place in the army club "SKVO" from the city of Chita. Stepanov was a universal footballer, but preferred to play on defense. The leadership of the army club decided on an experiment, and he was transferred to the position of striker. It paid off. Stepanov regularly scored goals important for the team.
Two years later, Vadim returned to Irkutsk, where he joined the semi-professional team Mashinostroitel, but did not stay there for a long time. Having played just one season and scoring five goals, Stepanov decided to move a little away from football. No one really knows what a talented football player has been doing for four years.
In 1960, a landmark event occurred in the fate of Stepanov. Football club "Kairat" from the Kazakh SSR to a group of class "A" (the same as the major league today). Before the start of the season, the head coach of the team decided to take some new players for reinforcement, and Vadim Stepanov was on his list.
The universal footballer again took the position of a defender on the field and quickly got accustomed, became the real leader of the team. For seven years he was an indispensable player, regularly went out on the field and even received a captain's armband. For 246 matches, he scored 32 goals, which is quite a high indicator for the defender. Unfortunately for football fans and Stepanov himself, a dizzying career had negative consequences. He began to regularly violate sports, addicted to alcohol. For systematic absenteeism of training, he was expelled from the team and for some time was left without work. In 1968, he settled down in the Kazakhstan club "ADK", but there he lasted only one year.
