Football fans referred to Eduard Streltsov either as a ‘Russian Pele’ or a ‘Shalyapin on the football field.’ He joined Torpedo Moscow when he was only 16, and made his international debut at 17, and at 19, he won the gold at the Melbourne Olympics. Streltsov was set to star at the World Cup in Sweden, had he not been arrested on the eve of his departure on rape charges.

Despite multiple the contradictions in the investigation, the football player was handed a 12-year prison sentence. He left his prison colony after serving five years. Initially he was banned from football, but in a matter of two years he was permitted to return to Torpedo where he won the national title the same year. He could have played at the UK World Cup where the Soviet team won the bronze, but the coaching staff decided against it. The real reason behind this decision remains unknown to this day.