Anatoliy Banishevskiy

Anatoliy Banishevskiy
Personal information
Full name	Anatoliy Andreyevich Banishevskiy
Date of birth	23 February 1946
Place of birth	Baku, USSR
Date of death	10 December 1997 (aged 51)
Place of death	Baku, Azerbaijan
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Neftyanik Baku
Senior career*
Years	Team
1963–1978	Neftyanik Baku
International career
1965–1972	USSR
Managerial career
1981–1983	Neftchi Baku
1984–1987	Automobilist Mingachevir
1987–1988	Burkina Faso (youth)
1988	Kapaz
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Anatoliy Andreyevich Banishevskiy (Azerbaijani: Anatoli Andreyeviç Banişevski; Russian: Анатолий Андреевич Банишевский; 23 February 1946 in Baku – 10 December 1997 in Baku) was a Soviet footballer of Russian descent from Azerbaijan. Throughout most of his playing and coaching career, Banishevskiy committed to his native club, Neftchi Baku.

He played for the USSR national football team, winning 51 caps and scoring 19 goals. Banishevskiy played for the Soviet side in the 1966 FIFA World Cup.^[1] His club team was PFC Neftchi, and he scored 136 goals in Soviet Top League competition.^[1] The striker was unofficially named Azerbaijan's Player of the Year three times—in 1966, 1967, and 1978.^[2]

In November 2003, as part of the celebration of UEFA's Jubilee, he was selected as the Golden Player for Azerbaijan by the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan as the country's most outstanding player over the past 50 years.

Playing career

Early years

Banishevskiy started playing football at the age of 16 and played all of his career for PFC Neftchi Baku, transforming into one of the best Azerbaijani players.^[3]

Neftchi Baku

International career

Banishevskiy made his international debut for USSR on 4 July 1965 against Brazil during friendly match.^[4] His international career ended with the final of the lost final of the 1972 European Championship against West Germany.^[5]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, Banishevskiy briefly coached Neftchi Baku, FK Gäncä and Automobilist Mingachevir. He has also worked as youth coach of Burkina Faso during 1987-1988 period.^[3]

Later life and death

Banishevskiy was diagnosed with diabetic coma in 1991, having surviving first attack in 1987.^[4] He suffered cerebral atrophy as result of second attack, which also caused him memory loss.^[4]

Following his wife's behaviour, he also lost the ownership of his house, which led him to live life in alcoholism on streets of Baku.^[4]^[6] However, he was rescued from this situation by his old lover Saida, who treated him for his last years and married him.

On 10 December 1997, Banishevskiy died after third diabetic coma attacks, having also suffered pancreatitis.^[7]

Personal life

His grandson Ali Babayev Banishevskiy began to play in the youth team of Neftchi in 2011 when he was 15. Now Ali plays professional football in Azerbaijan's First Division for Shusha FK.^[8]