Rafael Safarov

Soviet association football player (1947-2019)

Rafael Surenovich Safarov (Russian: Рафаэль Суренович Сафаров; 8 November 1947 – 26 May 2019) was a Russian football player and coach. He played as a defender.

Rafael Safarov
Safarov (left) and Ali Gadzhibekov in 2010
Personal information
Full name Rafael Surenovich Safarov
Date of birth (1947-11-08)8 November 1947
Place of birth Tbilisi, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union
Date of death 26 May 2019(2019-05-26) (aged 71)
Place of death Moscow, Russia
Height 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1964 Dinamo Tbilisi 0 (0)
1965 Lokomotivi Tbilisi 3 (3)
1966–1967 Ararat Yerevan 13 (0)
1967 Dinamo Batumi 13 (2)
1970 Lokomotivi Tbilisi 13 (0)
1971 Ararat Yerevan 1 (0)
1972 Shakhtar Horlivka
1972–1973 Lori
1974–1976 Dynamo Makhachkala 45 (4)
Teams managed
1982 Dynamo Makhachkala (assistant)
1987–1994 RSDYuShOR-2 Makhachkala
1995 Anzhi Makhachkala
1996–2016 RSDYuShOR-2 Makhachkala
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Safarov was born in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR. He played for many clubs during the 1960s and 1970s, including Dinamo Tbilisi, Dinamo Batumi, Lokomotivi Tbilisi, Ararat Yerevan and Dynamo Makhachkala. He later became a football coach and managed Anzhi Makhachkala in 1995.

Safarov died of an illness on 26 May 2019 in Moscow. He was 71.[1]

References change

  1. "Скончался Рафаэль Сафаров" (in Russian). FC Anzhi Makhachkala. 27 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2019.