The 1985 Soviet Top League was the 16th season of the Soviet Top League, the highest tier football league in the Soviet Union. It also was 48th season of the top tier club competition. Zenit Leningrad were the defending champions.
Teams
Promoted teams FC Fakel Voronezh – champion (returning for the first time since 1961 after twenty 24 seasons, known as Trud Voronezh) FC Torpedo Kutaisi – 2nd place (returning after a season)
Location
Final table
Post-season promotion/relegation tournament For the following season the League was reduced to 16 members. The teams that finished 15th and 16th played a mini-tournament in format of home-away double round-robin with the two best out of the Soviet First League (Daugava Riga and CSKA Moscow). Out of this tournament the two best teams (Chernomorets Odessa and Nefchi Baku) continued on in the Soviet Top League. The tournament was conducted in winter-like conditions from 27 November to 15 December.
For the 1986 season there was no promotion out of the Soviet First League.
Results
Top scorers 35 goals Oleh Protasov (Dnipro)
14 goals Vladimir Klementyev (Zenit) Sergey Rodionov (Spartak Moscow)
13 goals Fyodor Cherenkov (Spartak Moscow) Oleh Taran (Dnipro)
12 goals Oleg Blokhin (Dynamo Kyiv) Viktor Grachyov (Shakhtar) Sigitas Jakubauskas (Žalgiris)
11 goals Georgi Kondratyev (Dinamo Minsk) Sergei Volgin (Kairat)
Medal squads (league appearances and goals listed in brackets) 1. FC Dynamo Kyiv Goalkeepers: Mykhaylo Mykhaylov (34), Viktor Chanov (1). Defenders: Anatoliy Demyanenko (34 / 8), Oleh Kuznetsov (29 / 1), Sergei Baltacha (26 / 1), Volodymyr Bezsonov (25), Vasyl Yevseyev (19), Ivan Palamar (2), Mykhaylo Olefirenko (1), Vadym Karatayev (1). Midfielders: Vasyl Rats (34 / 6), Ivan Yaremchuk (33 / 3), Oleksandr Zavarov (31 / 9), Andriy Bal (31 / 1), Pavlo Yakovenko (29), Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko (20 / 2). Forwards: Ihor Belanov (31 / 10), Oleg Blokhin (29 / 12), Vadym Yevtushenko (22 / 10), Oleksandr Hushchyn (2), Viktor Khlus (2).
Manager: Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Transferred out during the season: Viktor Khlus (to FC Chornomorets Odesa). 2. FC Spartak Moscow Goalkeepers: Rinat Dasayev (34), Stanislav Cherchesov (2). Defenders: Aleksandr Bubnov (34), Boris Kuznetsov (34), Gennady Morozov (31 / 1), Vladimir Sochnov (24 / 2), Almir Kayumov (14), Aleksandr Shibayev (4). Midfielders: Fyodor Cherenkov (33 / 13), Yevgeni Kuznetsov (33 / 7), Sergei Novikov (31 / 7), Yuri Gavrilov (26 / 6), Sergey Shavlo (25 / 6), Yevgeni Sidorov (24 / 4), Guram Adzhoyev (7 / 1). Forwards: Sergey Rodionov (29 / 14), Andrei Rudakov (23 / 8), Vladimir Kapustin (13 / 1), Mikhail Rusyayev (5 / 2), Oleg Kuzhlev (5).
Manager: Konstantin Beskov.
Transferred out during the season: none. 3. FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk Goalkeepers: Serhiy Krakovskyi (32), Valeriy Horodov (6). Defenders: Serhiy Puchkov (32 / 1), Oleksandr Lysenko (31 / 2), Ivan Vyshnevskyi (31), Sergei Bashkirov (29 / 1), Oleksandr Sorokalet (11), Sergey Kulinich (3), Anatoliy Nazarenko (3), Volodymyr Gerashchenko (2), Petro Kutuzov (2), Ihor Deli (1). Midfielders: Hennadiy Lytovchenko (34 / 7), Vyktor Kuznetsov (33 / 3), Oleksiy Cherednyk (28 / 1), Andriy Dilay (27), Volodymyr Bahmut (20 / 1), Borys Shurshin (12 / 2), Mykola Kudrytsky (9), Serhiy Khudozhylov (2), Mykola Fedorenko (1). Forwards: Oleh Protasov (33 / 35), Oleh Taran (27 / 13), Volodymyr Lyutyi (22 / 4), Volodymyr Mozolyuk (1), Andriy Sydelnykov (1).
Manager: Volodymyr Yemets.
Transferred out during the season: Serhiy Khudozhylov, Mykola Fedorenko (both to FC Kolos Nikopol).
Number of teams by union republic Rank Union republic Number of teams Club(s)1 6Dinamo Moscow, Fakel Voronezh, SKA Rostov-na-Donu, Spartak Moscow, Torpedo Moscow, Zenit Leningrad2 5Chernomorets Odessa, Dinamo Kiev, Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, Metallist Kharkov, Shakhter Donetsk3 2Dinamo Tbilisi, Torpedo Kutaisi4 1Ararat Yerevan Neftchi Baku Dinamo Minsk Kairat Alma-Ata Zhalgiris Vilnius
Attendances
References
External links 1985 season