Lobanovskiy Forever may celebrate the legend of Dynamo Kiev football coach Valeri Vasilievich Lobanovskiy, but it also develops into a lament for a bygone era when football could fill stadiums, inspire nations and bridge the divide between classes and countries. It will be primarily of interest to fans and historians of the beautiful game, but there could be sufficient nostalgic interest in the copious black and white archive footage and the politics of the former Soviet Union to widen a potential audience. The film’s brightest commercial prospects will lie in the countries where Lobanovskiy’s name resonates down the decades.
