Oleg Romantsev - Spartak Moscow

Spartak Moscow

In 1976, after a friendly match between Avtomobilist and Spartak Moscow, Romantsev was invited to join Spartak. After making two appearances for the new club, he returned to Krasnoyarsk, citing unprofessional atmosphere at Spartak. The Moscow club was relegated from the Top League that year.

Konstantin Beskov, whose task was to return Spartak to the top flight in 1977, wanted to have Romantsev in his team. Romantsev, however, declined the offer to rejoin them. Beskov then called him to the national team, and, while Romantsev was in Moscow, persuaded him to play for Spartak.

Oleg Romantsev played 165 matches and scored 6 goals for Spartak in the Soviet League. He also played 6 matches in the European Champion Clubs' Cup and 10 matches in the UEFA Cup. Romantsev was the captain of Spartak from 1979 until the end of his player's career in 1983. He won the Soviet championship in 1979 and became the runner-up in 1980, 1981, and 1983.

Romantsev made 9 appearances for the USSR national football team. He also played 6 matches and scored 1 goal for the bronze-winning USSR team at the 1980 Summer Olympics.