Ukraine bids farewell to Lobanovsky

People queued for hours to pay their last tributes

Tens of thousands of people have gathered in Ukraine's capital Kiev to attend the state funeral of Dynamo Kiev football coach Valery Lobanovsky who died on Monday at the age of 63.

Many fans say Lobanovsky is Eastern Europe's greatest coach

President Leonid Kuchma led the mourners, who had come from all over the country and other former Soviet republics to pay their respects at the Dynamo stadium where the coffin was placed on a dais.

They were joined by Ukraine's footballers - past and present - as well as members of the newly-elected parliament, who interrupted their session to attend the funeral.

"Valery Lobanovsky was one of the main builders of independent Ukraine. He made Ukrainian football known in the entire world," President Kuchma said.

Lobanovsky will go down in history as the most successful coach in Ukraine and the former Soviet Union for the past three decades.

He was posthumously awarded the country's highest honour - the Hero of Ukraine.

The Dynamo stadium has been renamed the Lobanovsky stadium, and a monument to the coach will be unveiled in Kiev.

Lobanovsky, who had a history of poor health, died after suffering a stroke and undergoing a brain surgery.

He will be buried in Kiev's most prestigious cemetery.

Success story

Lobanovsky guided Dynamo Kiev to two European Cup Winners' Cup victories in 1975 and 1986, as well as five league titles between 1974 and 1981.

Lobanovsky's legacy

Led Dynamo Kiev to 5 league titles and 2 Cup Winners' Cups between 1974-1986

Guided Soviet Union to runners-up spot in 1988 European Championships

Returned to Kiev for 3rd spell and took them to 5 consecutive league titles 1997-2001

Became Ukraine coach in 1999, took Dynamo to the Champions' League semi-finals

He also led the Soviet side to the final of the 1988 European championships, where they lost 2-0 to the Netherlands.

Lobanovsky moved abroad shortly after the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy, but returned to Kiev in November 1996 to begin his third coaching spell with Dynamo.

His return paid immediate dividends for the Kiev side as they won five consecutive league titles, from 1997 to 2001.

In 1999, he became national team coach and also guided his Kiev side to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Dynamo legend

Lobanovsky's persistent health problems over the last two years appeared to have weakened his grip on the national team and the club.

Dynamo stadium has been renamed the Lobanovsky statium

Earlier this year, he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot and he was also found to have an irregular heartbeat that forced him to miss a number of matches.

While Lobanovsky's place at Dynamo appeared safe until he died, he lost his Ukraine post following the 5-2 defeat to Germany in the World Cup qualifier play-off last November.

Nevertheless, he was still held in the highest esteem at Dynamo.