The 1988 season was the 51st completed season of the USSR Football Championship: Top League. Spartak Moscow, the defending 11-times champions, placed fourth this season.
Teams Promoted teams FC Chernomorets Odessa – champion (returning after a season) FC Lokomotiv Moscow – 2nd place (returning after seven seasons)
Location
Final standings
Promotion Pamir Dushanbe () Rotor Volgograd ()
Results
Top scorers 16 goals Aleksandr Borodyuk (Dynamo Moscow) Yevhen Shakhov (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk)
15 goals Mikhail Rusyayev (Lokomotiv Moscow)
12 goals Sergei Rodionov (Spartak Moscow)
11 goals Oleh Protasov (Dynamo Kyiv)
10 goals Mashalla Akhmedov (Neftchi) Ihor Petrov (Shakhtar Donetsk)
9 goals Sergei Dmitriyev (Zenit) Vladimir Grechnev (Torpedo Moscow) Gija Guruli (Dinamo Tbilisi) Volodymyr Lyutyi (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk) Arminas Narbekovas (Žalgiris) Andrei Rudakov (Torpedo Moscow)
Clean sheets
14 matches Valeri Sarychev (Torpedo Moscow)
12 matches Valeriy Horodov (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk)
11 matches Stanislav Cherchesov (Lokomotiv Moscow) Aleksandr Podshivalov (Ararat Yerevan) Viktor Chanov (Dynamo Kyiv)
10 matches Rinat Dasayev (Spartak Moscow)
9 matches Otar Gabelia (Dinamo Tbilisi) Andrei Satsunkevich (Dinamo Minsk)
7 matches Mikhail Biryukov (Zenit Leningrad)
Medal squads (league appearances and goals listed in brackets) 1. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Goalkeepers: Valeriy Horodov (25), Serhiy Krakovskyi (4), Igor Tyuterev (1). Defenders: Sergei Bashkirov (29 / 1), Ivan Vyshnevskyi (28), Oleksandr Sorokalet (27 / 1), Oleksiy Cherednyk (24 / 3), Serhiy Puchkov (22), Volodymyr Gerashchenko (7), Peter Neustädter (4), Serhiy Bezhenar (3), Oleksandr Chervonyi (1 / 1), Petro Buts (1), Oleh Fediukov (1). Midfielders: Volodymyr Bahmut (28 / 2), Mykola Kudrytsky (27 / 3), Anton Shokh (22 / 1), Vadym Yevtushenko (20), Vadym Tyshchenko (6), Viktor Rafalchuk (2), Yevhen Pokhlebayev (1). Forwards: Eduard Son (29 / 8), Yevhen Shakhov (28 / 16), Volodymyr Lyutyi (21 / 9), Igor Shkvyrin (10 / 2), Andriy Sydelnykov (8 / 1), Oleh Taran (4), Vasyl Storchak (2), Oleh Koshelyuk (1 / 1), Konstantin Yeryomenko (1), Yuriy Leonov (1), Valentyn Moskvyn (1).
Manager: Yevhen Kucherevskyi.
Transferred out during the season: Vadym Yevtushenko (to FC Dynamo Kyiv reserves), Peter Neustädter (to SC Tavriya Simferopol), Vasyl Storchak (to FC SKA Karpaty Lviv). 2. FC Dynamo Kyiv Goalkeepers: Viktor Chanov (25), Aleksandr Zhidkov (5). Defenders: Anatoliy Demyanenko (30 / 1), Oleh Kuznetsov (26 / 1), Andriy Bal (23), Serhiy Shmatovalenko (21), Volodymyr Bezsonov (19), Ihor Korniyets (13), Sergei Baltacha (12), Vladimir Gorilyi (11 / 1). Midfielders: Vasyl Rats (30 / 2), Hennadiy Lytovchenko (29 / 7), Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko (23 / 6), Oleksandr Zavarov (18 / 4), Ivan Yaremchuk (11), Andrei Kanchelskis (7 / 1), Pavlo Yakovenko (6 / 1), Serhiy Pohodin (3), Mykhaylo Stelmakh (1). Forwards: Oleh Protasov (29 / 11), Ihor Belanov (27 / 8).
Manager: Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Transferred out during the season: Oleksandr Zavarov (to Juventus). 3. FC Torpedo Moscow Goalkeepers: Valeri Sarychev (26), Aleksei Prudnikov (5). Defenders: Aleksandr Polukarov (29), Valentin Kovach (26 / 1), Sergei Prigoda (15), Sergei Bodak (3), Maksim Cheltsov (3), Dmitri Chugunov (2). Midfielders: Sergey Agashkov (30), Vladimir Grechnyov (29 / 9), Oleg Shirinbekov (29 / 2), Gennadi Grishin (27 / 1), Nikolai Savichev (25 / 6), Sergei Zhukov (19), Aleksei Yeryomenko (9 / 1), Sergei Shustikov (1). Forwards: Vadim Rogovskoy (29), Nikolai Pisarev (19 / 1), Andrei Rudakov (18 / 9), Yuri Savichev (17 / 6), Aleksandr Gitselov (13 / 2), Vladimir Kobzev (8 / 1), Yuri Tishkov (1).
Manager: Valentin Ivanov.
Transferred out during the season: Aleksei Yeryomenko (to FC Dynamo Moscow), Vladimir Kobzev (to FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don).
Number of teams by union republic Rank Union republic Number of teams Club(s)1 5Dinamo Moscow, Lokomotiv Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Torpedo Moscow, Zenit Leningrad Chernomorets Odessa, Dinamo Kiev, Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, Metallist Kharkov, Shakhter Donetsk3 1Ararat Yerevan Neftchi Baku Dinamo Minsk Dinamo Tbilisi Kairat Alma-Ata Zhalgiris Vilnius
Attendances
Source:
No. Club Average Change Highest 1 Dynamo Kyiv 54,680 -5,9% 100,000 2 Dinamo Tbilisi 34,780 21,2% 66,200 3 Zenit 32,167 50,8% 61,000 4 Spartak Moscow 28,260 -23,0% 50,400 5 Shakhtar Donetsk 26,100 -13,4% 40,000 6 Ararat 22,440 -48,0% 39,500 7 Kairat 20,753 -24,3% 28,000 8 Chornomorets 19,927 -22,1% 38,500 9 Dnipro 16,933 -30,5% 30,000 10 Dinamo Minsk 14,607 -36,2% 50,000 11 Metalist Kharkiv 14,313 -37,0% 33,500 12 Neftçhi 13,067 -64,6% 26,000 13 Dynamo Moscow 11,600 -29,7% 29,000 14 Žalgiris 11,167 -3,2% 18,000 15 Lokomotiv Moscow 6,333 84,7% 16,500 16 Torpedo Moscow 6,167 -34,1% 15,900
See also 1988 Soviet First League 1988 Soviet Second League
References
External links 1988 season at RSSSF