SKA Lviv was a Soviet multi-sports club that existed in Lviv, Ukrainian SSR. The club was created as part of the sport section of the Carpathian Military District in 1949 and existed until 1989. It was primarily known for its football "team of masters" (Soviet term for a professional team).

Until the appearance of Karpaty Lviv, the trade union team of masters, and Karpaty's promotion to the Soviet championship Class A in 1971, SKA Lviv was the Lviv city's main football team in 1950s and 1960s. In the 1980s, both Karpaty and SKA were merged into SKA Karpaty as part of the army sports club. In 1989, SKA Karpaty was dissolved, and the main army team moved to Drohobych, Lviv Oblast (see FC Halychyna Drohobych), reorganizing into SFC Drohobych. Simultaneously, FC Karpaty Lviv was reinstated as well.

Name change 1949 – 1956 ODO Lviv 1957 – 1957 OSK Lviv 1957 – 1959 SKVO Lviv 1960 – 1971 SKA Lviv 1972 – 1976 SK Lutsk (reorganization; merged with FC Torpedo Lutsk) 1973 – 1976 SKA Lviv (at amateur competitions) 1977 – 1981 SKA Lviv (reinstated as professional team) 1982 – 1989 SKA Karpaty Lviv (merged with FC Karpaty Lviv)

History

ODO Lviv During its history, the club went through several transformations and mergers. It was founded in 1949 as ODO Lviv (in Russian, ODO means the Oblast Dome [Club] of Officers) and began its legacy in the Second Group of the Soviet football competitions (Soviet First League). ODO Lviv was part of the Fitness-Sports Union of Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Sports Committee of the Armed Forces of USSR. In western Ukraine, all organizations of the central government were centers of Russian culture, especially the Soviet Army. The army-men team played along with their city rivals Spartak Lviv, which placed second. The performance of the ODO Lviv was under par, and the club was relegated next year to the amateur level as the Second Group was liquidated in 1950. Spartak Lviv was transferred under the jurisdiction of FSC Dynamo, which was not able to prepare the team for the next season. Spartak Lviv was successfully dissolved.

This way, ODO Lviv became the best club in the city. For the next several years, the club participated in the republican championship among the Fitness and Sports clubs (KFK competitions). In 1950, ODO Lviv placed second after Spartak Uzhhorod, which became the champion of Ukrainian SSR. Next season, the club won its zonal tournament against several other Lviv teams such as Kharchovyk (Tobacco factory), Iskra, Dynamo, and eventually became vice-champion by beating ODO Kiev. In 1952, SKA Lviv placed only 4th in its zone, higher than its city rival Kharchovyk Vynnyky.

First League successes With another reorganization of the championship, ODO Lviv returned to the Soviet First League under the leadership of Aleksey Grinin. Among notable players that time were Yozhef Betsa, Myroslav Dumansky, Ernest Kesler, and others. In 1956, ODO Lviv played the future Dynamo Kyiv captain, Vasyl Turyanchyk. Renamed in 1957, SKVO Lviv won the Class B tournament and advanced to the 1/8 finals of the Soviet Cup, where they faced Spartak Moscow. On June 6, 1957, both teams met at the SKA Stadium. Most of the Spartak players a year ago won the Olympic gold in Melbourne and managed to pull a win in the second half 1:2.

In 1960, the name changed to SKA (Sport Club of the Army) for all Army clubs except Moscow's one, which became CSKA (the Central Sport Club of the Army).

In 1965, SKA became the champions of Ukraine. Here is the winning squad:

Goalkeepers: Boris Malyamin (34, -?), Vasyl Kachorets (22, -?). Defenders: Taras Shulyatytskyi (36, 13), Petro Danylchuk (36, 3), Volodymyr Kaplychnyi (36, 2), Viktor Suchkov (25, 2), Andriy Karimov (26). Midfielders: Yaroslav Dmytrasevych (31), Arpad Shandor (29, 3), Imre Lendyel (28, 3), Maryan Plakhetko (19). Forwards: Stepan Varga (34, 16), Bohdan Hreshchak (33, 6), Leonardas Zhukauskas (33, 15), Volodymyr Kolodiy (32, 13), Tomash Pfaifer (28, 10), Mykhailo Melnyk (5), Yuriy Basalyk (?). Senior coach: Sergei Shaposhnikov. Coach: Ernest Kesler.

In 1972, SKA Lviv was renamed once again. It was also relocated to Lutsk in neighboring Volyn Oblast, playing as SC Lutsk in place of the dissolved Torpedo Lutsk representing the Carpathian Military District. The reformed team was mostly composed of players who, in the previous season, played for SKA Lviv and was led by the SKA Lviv head coach Mykhailo Rybak. They were joined by a few players from Torpedo Lutsk, Horyn Rivne, and other players.

During the period when the first team of the Carpathian Military District played in Lutsk, they were also fielding another squad in the KFK competition (amateur level) as SKA Lviv, based in Lviv.

In 1977, Torpedo Lutsk was revived, and SC Lutsk returned to Lviv under its regular name of SKA Lviv.

In 1982, the SKA Lviv from the Soviet Second League was united with the other club from Lviv, Karpaty Lviv, which participated in the Soviet First League. The new team has taken the place of FC Karpaty Lviv and was renamed into SKA Karpaty Lviv. In 1989, Karpaty were revived and entered competitions of the Soviet Second League. In 1990, the SKA Karpaty was relegated and moved to Drohobych playing as SFC Drohobych in the Soviet Second League. Soon, after a few months, the club was renamed again in Halychyna Drohobych. The last renaming led to a scandal after which the Carpathian Military District refused to be associated with the team.

League and Cup history

SKA Lviv Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA PDomestic CupEuropeNotes19492nd173476213790201/256 finalsUkrainian SSR Relegated19503rd2no participationUkrainian SSR Finals1951219524Ukrainian SSR Zone 41953Death of Joseph Stalin19542nd7227692432201/8 finalsZone 31955730136114740321/64 finalsZone 11956534169949254119572342167513248Zone 2195813018754526431/8 finalsZone 3551138133Finals19596281459482733Zone 4196063217694629401/32 finalsUkrainian SSR Zone 1196143417894230421/64 finalsUkrainian SSR Zone 1Playoff2110213vs Metalurh Zaporizhia196242410683725261/256 finalsUkrainian SSR Zone 1110550186157–17 places tournament19633rd23826758235591/512 finalsUkrainian SSR Zone 1Playoff2011011vs Azovstal Zhdanov196423014974721371/4 finalsUkrainian SSR Zone 1610208121641–6 places tournament196513020647420461/256 finalsUkrainian SSR Zone 2110721249161–6 places tournament19662nd334151094429401/64 finals2nd subgroup1967338171474227481/128 finals19687401614104042461/64 finals1st subgroup196913421411174047391/128 finals3rd subgroup19703rd14421215153041391/128 finals1st Zone19712350101723335537 see SC Lutsk (1972–1976)19773rdVtoraya Liga10441616126143482nd Zone197894416141452434619793462511106733611980344241286432605th Zone merged w/Karpaty1981944161513494747 see SKA Karpaty Lviv (1982–1989)

SC Lutsk Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA PDomestic CupEuropeNotes19723rdVtoraya Liga2246817213052331st Zone197319441111222550301st Zone (−3)19749381412123331406th Zone1975332131274626386th Zone650052120League Semifinals19769381116113434386th Zone

SKA Karpaty Lviv Season Div. Pos. Pl. W D L GS GA PDomestic CupEuropeNotes19822ndPervaya Liga1042161016443742Group stage198311421512154346421/32 finals1984342209136344491/16 finals19852208752518231/64 finalsWest34221138664454Group A19864462210146952541/64 finals19875421712136246461/4 finals1988742188165139441/32 finals1989224257303737171/8 finals Relegated1990 converted to SFC Drohobych1/64 finalsDissolved

See also FC Karpaty Lviv SKA-Orbita Lviv FC Lviv (1992) FC Halychyna Drohobych

References

External links Soviet Archives Team history and records Short historical overview of SKA Karpaty Lviv Short historical overview of SKA Lviv