For more than a century of history, Argentina national football team has been worn by people from Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland , France and other countries. Surprisingly, there was one native of the USSR among them. How the Kiev boy Vladimir Tarnavsky ended up in South America and built a career there — in the material Sport.
The future goalkeeper was born in 1939. Soon the Tarnavsky family emigrated to Argentina, where they took refuge from the horrors of World War II. They settled in one of the suburbs of Buenos Aires, which received many immigrants.
Young Vladimir quickly found a common language with local children. For convenience, they called him Walter or «El Ruso». The kids played football all the time. Towering above the rest, Tarnavsky was entrusted with a place at the gate.
At the age of 12, «El Ruso» got into the local «Porvenir». The club played then in the third division of the championship of Argentina. Tarnavsky helped the team take gold and win a promotion in the class.In the second division, the goalkeeper became the main one and attracted the attention of Newell's Old Boys. He moved there in 1957. As part of the “lepers”, a native of the Soviet Union has earned a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the Argentine championship. In 1959, the goalkeeper was called up for a friendly match with the Chilean team, in which Vladimir played the second half. By the time the 20-year-old debutant came out, Albiceleste were leading 2-0.
After 10 minutes, the Chileans won back one goal, and after a couple more they scored the second. It didn't seem to get any worse. However, in the 70th minute, the opponent scored again after Tarnavsky's mistake.
The goalkeeper's torment did not end there. At the end of the meeting, one of the opponents stepped on Vladimir's hand. Doctors diagnosed a fracture. The match ended with a sensational victory for the Chileans, who defeated the Argentines for the first time in the 50-year history of confrontation. Tarnavsky was not called up to the national team again.
In 1960, the defending champion of Argentina «San Lorenzo» signed Tarnavsky. A native of Kyiv immediately staked out the place of the main goalkeeper and took silver medals with the team.In addition, San Lorenzo was close to winning the South American Champions Cup (now the Copa Libertadores). The team lost in the semi-finals to future trophy holder Uruguayan Peñarol. The magazine «El Grafico» placed a photo of the goalkeeper on the cover with the inscription: «Vladimir Tarnavsky: knows how to protect the goal.»
Unfortunately, higher career achievements were not achieved. Tarnavsky defended the San Lorenzo gate for another two years, and in 1963 he moved to the more modest Estudiantes.
Having not really played for the new team due to injuries, a year later Vladimir left in the United States, where professional football was just beginning. The goaltender moved to the Philadelphia Ukrainians. The club consisted of ethnic Ukrainians. In the very first season, a native of Kyiv helped the team win the US Open Cup. In 1971, Tarnavsky ended his career. Eight years later, the goalkeeper, as part of the national team of former Argentine football stars, traveled on a tour of the country. He later settled in the United States, where he still lives.
