Slava Metreveli was one of the most popular football players in the Soviet Union. There is a legend that Konstantin Beskov, who managed Torpedo Moscow at the time, literally stole Slava Metreveli, who played as outside right forward, from Torpedo Gorky (now Nizhny Novgorod).

In 1956, several Torpedo Moscow players were selected to the national team for the Melbourne Olympics. There was a rule at the time whereby when several players from a single club were selected to the national team, the club did not play in the regular championship. In order to fill the void for his team, Beskov decided to play a friendly match against Torpedo Gorky.

The Moscow team lost 0-1, and it was Metreveli who scored the only goal with only a few minutes left before the end of the match. Beskov was so impressed with Metreveli’s performance that he asked the 19-year old to accompany him to the train station. He invited the player to his compartment and closed the door, waiting for the train to leave.

It remains unknown whether this legend is true, although it is a fact that when Slava Metreveli moved to Moscow he stayed with Beskov, the chief coach of his team, for two weeks.