1981 in Soviet football

Football in the Soviet Union
Season	1981
Men's football
Top League	Dinamo Kiev
First League	Metallist Kharkov
Second League	Daugava Riga (Finals 1); Dinamo Kirov (Finals 2); Rotor Volgograd (Finals 3)
Soviet Cup	SKA Rostov-na-Donu

Last updated October 28, 2023

The 1981 Soviet football championship was the 50th seasons of competitive football in the Soviet Union. Dinamo Kiev won the Top League championship becoming the Soviet domestic champions for the tenth time.

Honours

Competition		Winner	Runner-up
Top League		Dinamo Kiev (10)	Spartak Moscow
First League		Metallist Kharkov (1)	Torpedo Kutaisi
Second League	Finals 1	Daugava Riga	Kotayk Abovian
	Finals 2	Dynamo Kirov	Krivbass Krivoi Rog
	Finals 3	Rotor Volgograd	Dinamo Barnaul
Soviet Cup		SKA Rostov-na-Donu (1)	Spartak Moscow

Notes = Number in parentheses is the times that club has won that honour. * indicates new record for competition

Soviet Union football championship

Top League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Dynamo Kyiv (C)	34	22	9	3	58	26	+32	53	Qualification for European Cup first round
2	Spartak Moscow	34	19	8	7	70	40	+30	46	Qualification for UEFA Cup first round
3	Dinamo Tbilisi	34	16	10	8	62	35	+27	42
4	Dynamo Moscow	34	15	10	9	41	29	+12	40
5	Torpedo Moscow	34	14	14	6	41	29	+12	38^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Qualification for Cup Winners' Cup first round
6	CSKA Moscow	34	14	9	11	39	33	+6	37
7	Shakhtar Donetsk	34	12	10	12	51	39	+12	34
8	Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk	34	12	8	14	42	53	−11	32
9	Dinamo Minsk	34	11	13	10	44	39	+5	32^{[lower-alpha 2]}
10	Neftchi Baku	34	11	12	11	34	49	−15	32^{[lower-alpha 3]}
11	Chornomorets Odessa	34	11	9	14	36	44	−8	31
12	Kairat Alma-Ata	34	10	12	12	42	46	−4	30^{[lower-alpha 3]}
13	Kuban Krasnodar	34	11	7	16	42	54	−12	29
14	Ararat Yerevan	34	10	9	15	44	50	−6	29
15	Zenit Leningrad	34	9	10	15	33	43	−10	28
16	SKA Rostov-on-Don (R)	34	8	10	16	39	58	−19	26	Relegation to First League
17	Tavria Simferopol (R)	34	8	7	19	27	54	−27	23	Relegation to First League
18	Pakhtakor Tashkent ^{[lower-alpha 4]}	34	7	5	22	34	58	−24	19

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:

↑ 4 points deducted (10 draw limit)
↑ 3 points deducted (10 draw limit)
1 2 2 points deducted (10 draw limit)
↑ Pakhtakor Tashkent avoided relegation as it received a three year guarantee of no relegation after the 1979 airplane crash.

First League

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion or relegation
1	Metalist Kharkiv (C, P)	46	25	12	9	68	33	+35	62	Promotion to Top League
2	Torpedo Kutaisi (P)	46	26	4	16	57	46	+11	56	Promotion to Top League
3	Lokomotiv Moscow	46	21	15	10	65	41	+24	54^{[lower-alpha 1]}
4	Shinnik Yaroslavl	46	21	10	15	68	58	+10	52
5	Kolos Nikopol	46	20	11	15	68	53	+15	51
6	Žalgiris Vilnius	46	17	15	14	48	39	+9	46^{[lower-alpha 1]}
7	Iskra Smolensk	46	17	12	17	48	45	+3	46
8	Nistru Kishinev	46	17	12	17	54	51	+3	46
9	Pamir Dushanbe	46	17	11	18	52	54	−2	45
10	Fakel Voronezh	46	17	10	19	45	44	+1	44
11	Karpaty Lvov	46	17	10	19	57	60	−3	44
12	Spartak Kostroma	46	16	16	14	49	50	−1	44^{[lower-alpha 1]}
13	Metallurg Zaporozhia	46	16	14	16	57	51	+6	44^{[lower-alpha 1]}
14	Guria Lanchkhuti	46	16	13	17	50	56	−6	44^{[lower-alpha 1]}
15	Zarya Voroshilovgrad	46	16	13	17	44	53	−9	44^{[lower-alpha 1]}
16	SKA Odessa	46	16	13	17	62	54	+8	44^{[lower-alpha 1]}
17	SKA Kiev	46	16	10	20	59	71	−12	42
18	Buston Dzhizak	46	16	9	21	47	63	−16	41
19	SKA Khabarovsk	46	16	8	22	50	58	−8	40
20	Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk ^{[lower-alpha 2]}(R)	46	14	13	19	44	56	−12	40^{[lower-alpha 1]}	Relegation to Second League
21	Spartak Ordjonikidze (R)	46	14	12	20	36	49	−13	40
22	Kuzbass Kemerovo (R)	46	14	12	20	47	51	−4	40
23	Dinamo Stavropol (R)	46	13	14	19	45	60	−15	38^{[lower-alpha 1]}
24	Traktor Pavlodar (R)	46	12	15	19	41	65	−24	36^{[lower-alpha 1]}

Source: rsssf.com
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 There was a draw limit for the draws earned, 12. Only twelve draws earn a point, in contrast, over the limit draws earn no points.
↑ Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk was called Spartak.

Second League (finals)

[Oct 26 – Nov 12]

Finals 1

Pos	Rep	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	LVA	Daugava Riga	4	3	0	1	11	5	+6	6	Promoted

2	ARM	Kotaik Abovyan	4	2	0	2	7	9	−2	4
3	UZB	Neftyanik Fergana	4	1	0	3	3	7	−4	2

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Finals 2

Pos	Rep	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	RUS	Dinamo Kirov	4	3	0	1	9	4	+5	6	Promoted

2	UKR	Krivbass Krivoi Rog	4	3	0	1	10	6	+4	6
3	KAZ	Aktyubinets Aktyubinsk	4	0	0	4	3	12	−9	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

Finals 3

Pos	Rep	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Promotion
1	RUS	Rotor Volgograd	4	3	0	1	7	4	+3	6	Promoted

2	RUS	Dinamo Barnaul	4	1	1	2	5	7	−2	3
3	RUS	Textilshchik Ivanovo	4	1	1	2	4	5	−1	3

Source: rsssf.com

Top goalscorers

Top League

Ramaz Shengelia (Dinamo Tbilisi) – 23 goals

First League

Ravil Sharipov (Metallurg Zaporozhye) – 26 goals

References

External links

1981 Soviet football championship. RSSSF

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[table_hth_TOR0.21466728030456-1] 4 points deducted (10 draw limit)

[table_hth_DMI0.21466728030456-2] 3 points deducted (10 draw limit)

[table_hth_NEF0.21466728030456-3] 1 2 2 points deducted (10 draw limit)

[table_note_PAK0.21466728030456-4] Pakhtakor Tashkent avoided relegation as it received a three year guarantee of no relegation after the 1979 airplane crash.

[table_hth_LIMIT0.97582426386691-5] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 There was a draw limit for the draws earned, 12. Only twelve draws earn a point, in contrast, over the limit draws earn no points.

[table_note_PIF0.97582426386691-6] Prykarpattia Ivano-Frankivsk was called Spartak.

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