In the 1987 season, the Soviet Top Leaguethe top tier of football in the Soviet Union was won by Spartak Moscow interrupting the two year championship run of the Kyiv's team. Dynamo Kyiv, the defending 12-times champions, placed sixth and failed to qualify for the European competitions, while their rivals Dynamo Moscow placed only 10th.
This season CSKA Moscow were relegated on additional criteria when they tied on points with Zenit Leningrad at the final standing.
Teams Promoted teams FC CSKA Moscow – champion (returning after two seasons) FC Guria Lanchkhuti – 2nd place (debut)
Location
Final standings
Promotion Lokomotiv Moscow () Chornomorets Odessa ()
Results
Top scorers 18 goals Oleh Protasov (Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk)
16 goals Arminas Narbekovas (Žalgiris)
12 goals Fyodor Cherenkov (Spartak Moscow) Sergei Rodionov (Spartak Moscow)
10 goals Georgi Kondratyev (Dinamo Minsk) Yuri Savichev (Torpedo Moscow)
9 goals Alexei Mikhailichenko (Dynamo Kyiv) Yevstafi Pekhlevanidi (Kairat) Ramaz Shengelia (Dynamo Tbilisi)
8 goals Ihor Belanov (Dynamo Kyiv)
Clean sheets
15 matches Andrei Satsunkevich (Dinamo Minsk)
14 matches Rinat Dasayev (Spartak Moscow)
10 matches Viktor Chanov (Dynamo Kyiv)
6 matches Vyacheslav Chanov (CSKA Moscow)
4 matches Dmitri Kharine (Dynamo Moscow)
3 matches Aleksandr Zhidkov (Neftchi Baku) Jurkus Vatslovas (Zalgiris Vilnius) Serhiy Zolotnytskyi (Shakhtar Donetsk)
Medal squads (league appearances and goals listed in brackets) 1. FC Spartak Moscow Goalkeepers: Rinat Dasayev (29), Stanislav Cherchesov (2). Defenders: Vagiz Khidiyatullin (29 / 3), Aleksandr Bubnov (28 / 1), Yuri Susloparov (23), Boris Kuznetsov (19), Almir Kayumov (18), Aleksandr Bokiy (15), Yuri Surov (8). Midfielders: Fyodor Cherenkov (27 / 12), Viktor Pasulko (26 / 7), Aleksandr Mostovoi (18 / 6), Yevgeni Kuznetsov (17), Aleksei Yeryomenko (11 / 1), Sergei Novikov (9), Babken Melikian (8 / 1), Andrei Mitin (8), Vladimir Kapustin (3). Forwards: Sergey Rodionov (26 / 12), Valeri Shmarov (26 / 5), Mikheil Meskhi (16 / 1), Oleg Kuzhlev (3), Andrei Rudakov (2), Mikhail Rusyayev (2), Viktor Kolyadko (1).
Manager: Konstantin Beskov.
Transferred out during the season: Aleksei Yeryomenko (to FC Rostselmash Rostov-on-Don), Babken Melikian (to FC Kotayk Abovian), Andrei Rudakov (to FC Torpedo Moscow), Mikhail Rusyayev (to FC Lokomotiv Moscow), Viktor Kolyadko (to FC Terek Grozny). 2. FC Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk Goalkeepers: Valeriy Horodov (28), Serhiy Krakovskyi (2). Defenders: Sergei Bashkirov (30), Ivan Vyshnevskyi (29 / 1), Oleksiy Cherednyk (29), Serhiy Puchkov (20), Oleksandr Sorokalet (17), Volodymyr Gerashchenko (2), Oleksandr Lysenko (2), Oleh Fediukov (1). Midfielders: Hennadiy Lytovchenko (28 / 6), Vadym Tyshchenko (26 / 3), Anton Shokh (25 / 3), Mykola Kudrytsky (15), Volodymyr Bahmut (10). Forwards: Oleh Protasov (30 / 18), Oleh Taran (29 / 6), Yevhen Shakhov (28 / 3), Volodymyr Lyutyi (27 / 1), Vasyl Storchak (9 / 1).
Manager: Yevhen Kucherevskyi.
Transferred out during the season: none. 3. FK Žalgiris Vilnius Goalkeepers: Vaclovas Jurkus (18), Almantas Kalinauskas (13). Defenders: Vyacheslav Sukristov (29 / 6), Sigitas Jakubauskas (29 / 2), Romas Mažeikis (29), Arvydas Janonis (29), Igoris Pankratjevas (27 / 3), Vladimiras Buzmakovas (23), Robertas Tautkus (9), Arūnas Žėkas (2). Midfielders: Vidmantas Rasiukas (30 / 1), Valdas Ivanauskas (25 / 7), Algimantas Mackevičius (20 / 2), Virginijus Baltušnikas (4), Viktoras Bridaitis (4), Stasys Tamulevičius (2). Forwards: Arminas Narbekovas (30 / 16), Stasys Baranauskas (28 / 5), Kęstutis Ruzgys (23 / 1), Gintaras Kviliūnas (5), Gediminas Sugzda (2), Robertas Fridrikas (1).
Manager: Benjaminas Zelkevičius.
Transferred out during the season: none.
Number of teams by union republic Rank Union republic Number of teams Club(s)1 5CSKA Moscow, Dinamo Moscow, Spartak Moscow, Torpedo Moscow, Zenit Leningrad2 4Dinamo Kiev, Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, Metallist Kharkov, Shakhter Donetsk3 2Dinamo Tbilisi, Guria Lanchkhuti4 1Ararat Yerevan Neftchi Baku Dinamo Minsk Kairat Alma-Ata Zhalgiris Vilnius
Attendances
Source:
No. Club Average Change Highest 1 Dynamo Kyiv 58,113 71,4% 98,000 2 Ararat 43,127 16,1% 62,300 3 Neftçhi 36,860 188,7% 37,600 4 Spartak Moscow 36,700 83,8% 95,000 5 Shakhtar Donetsk 30,153 21,5% 40,000 6 Dinamo Tbilisi 28,700 -22,8% 42,700 7 Kairat 27,407 176,8% 30,000 8 Dnipro 24,367 18,8% 32,000 9 Dinamo Minsk 22,907 72,6% 50,500 10 Metalist Kharkiv 22,727 42,8% 35,000 11 Zenit 21,333 -12,4% 50,000 12 Guria 20,633 95,1% 23,200 13 Dynamo Moscow 16,507 22,0% 50,000 14 PFC CSKA 14,320 166,6% 47,000 15 Žalgiris 11,540 70,4% 16,000 16 Torpedo Moscow 9,353 13,1% 38,000
References
Soviet Union - List of final tables (RSSSF)