Soviet Union national bandy team

The Soviet Union national bandy team represented the Soviet Union in bandy. It was controlled by the Federation of bandy and field hockey USSR. Even if bandy was a popular sport domestically in the 1920s and 1930s, the Soviet Union did not compete in any internationals back then. Agreements were made to play friendlies against Sweden in the late 1940s, but the plans did not come to realization.[1] However, after having seen Finland, Norway and Sweden playing bandy at the Winter Olympics in Oslo in 1952, the Soviet Union invited these three countries to a four nation bandy tournament in 1954. This was the first time a Soviet national bandy team met other national bandy teams. The four countries used somewhat different rules prior to this tournament, but the rules were adjusted to be the same for the future.[2]

Soviet Union
Shirt badge/Association crest
AssociationFederation of bandy and field hockey USSR
Team colors   
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Home colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Team colours
Away colours
First international
Soviet Union Soviet Union 2 – 1 Finland Finland
Moscow, 24 February 1954
Biggest win
Soviet Union Soviet Union 21 – 1 United States United States
Skövde, 1 February 1987
Biggest defeat
Sweden Sweden 9 – 3 Soviet Union Soviet Union
Helsinki, 20 February 1983
Final international
Soviet Union Soviet Union 4 – 3 Sweden Sweden
Helsinki, 23 March 1991
Bandy World Championship
Appearances17 (first in 1957)
Best result1. (1957, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1979, 1985, 1989, 1991)
Medal record
World Championship
Gold medal – first place1957 Finland
Gold medal – first place1961 Norway
Gold medal – first place1963 Sweden
Gold medal – first place1965 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place1967 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place1969 Sweden
Gold medal – first place1971 Sweden
Gold medal – first place1973 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place1975 Finland
Gold medal – first place1977 Norway
Gold medal – first place1979 Sweden
Gold medal – first place1985 Norway
Gold medal – first place1989 Soviet Union
Gold medal – first place1991 Finland
Silver medal – second place1981 Soviet Union
Silver medal – second place1983 Finland
Bronze medal – third place1987 Sweden

The Soviet team dominated the Bandy World Championships from its start in 1957[3] until the Soviet Union was dissolved in 1991, winning the first eleven championships (biennial tournaments from 1961) and winning all but three championships that they competed in.[4] Its place in the championship was then taken over by Russia.

The Soviet Union also won the Rossiya Tournament eight times in ten appearances. In 1992 this tournament had changed names to Russian Government Cup and replacing the Soviet national bandy team, a bandy team representing the Commonwealth of Independent States made a one-time appearance there, also playing against the new Russia national bandy team.[5]


References
  1. Eric Sköld (ed.): Boken om bandy, Uppsala: Bygd och Folk Förlag (1948), p. 183 (in Swedish)
  2. Claes-G Bengtsson (23 November 2007). "Sargens entré förändrade bandyn" (in Swedish). Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. Picture of the champions in 1957
  4. "Bandysidan.nu - Evenemang".
  5. "Хоккей С Мячом• От Ульяновска-72 До Архангельска-96• Ульяновск• Архангельск• Хабаровск• Кемерово• Сыктывкар• Сыктывкар• Кемерово• Иркутск, Шелехов• Абакан, Черногорск• Новосибирск• Красноярск, Сосновоборск• Москва, Красногорск• Архангельск, Северодвинск• Общие Итоги".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.