Vasily Zhitarev

Born into a Moskva (Moscow) merchant family, Vasily Zhitarev became an orphan at the age of nine and grew up with his grandmother. Later, he took over his father’s share in the family business and was granted a license for a transport establishment on the river Yauza.

Zhitarev started his football career with KFS as a fast and technical left halfback and left winger. In 1910 he transferred to ZKS but returned to KFS in 1919. Succeeding KFS, former players founded the club Dynamo in 1923. With his clubs he won four Moscow championships (1914, 1916, 1919, 1921). Representing Moscow, he was the winner of the Second All-Russian Sports Olympiad in Riga in 1914, semi-finalist in the 1913 Russian Empire Championship, and champion of the Russian Federation in 1920. In 1914, the Moscow team also took part in the Baltic Games in Malmö, eventually placing third. For Dynamo, Zhitarev was a player-coach and captain for another two seasons until 1925. He also scored Dynamo’s first goal in an official match in June 1923.

Vasily Zhitarev played his first two games for the national team at the 1912 Olympic Games. Within the next two years he won another six caps for a total of eight. He scored four goals for Russia. Until into the 1950s he was the record holder for goal scoring and for caps.

After finishing his active career, he served as director of Dynamo’s first stadium from 1925-26. He then worked, until 1956, as a director and employee of many Moscow stadiums and sports facilities. In 1955, he was awarded a badge for Excellence in Physical Education.