"For more than half of the 20th century," "Eastern Europe was gripped in the iron fist of Communism." "Imprisonment without trial, torture and political assassinations became commonplace, as brutal dictators used every means necessary to maintain their stranglehold on power." "Under totalitarian rule, the state reached into every corner of life." "In the Communist heartland of the Soviet Union, and its satellites across Eastern Europe, all aspects of culture became politicised, including the continent's most popular pastime - football." "But right from the start, Communist hardliners considered football bourgeois and anti-revolutionary, and many wanted to see it abolished." "But it would prove much harder than they ever imagined to gain full control of The People's Game." "In the years after Lenin led the Communists to victory in the Russian Revolution, his Bolshevik Party took control of all aspects of culture." "Yet despite their reservations about the bourgeois nature of football, even hard-core Communists were wary about denying the people their chance to enjoy the beautiful game." "Instead of opposing football, in the mid-1920s, the Communist leaders sought to control it." "After the Revolution, Moscow had four main clubs, each of which was the footballing arm of a powerful Soviet institution, funded and run by an organ of the state." "CDKA Moscow belonged to the fearsome Red Army." "ZIL, the city's giant car plant, controlled Torpedo Moscow." "Locomotive was owned by the Rail Ministry." "And most notoriously of all, Dynamo Moscow was the creation of the dreaded secret police." "The patronage of Dynamo Moscow by the secret police was most evident when the KGB was run by one of Stalin's most brutal henchmen, Lavrenti Beria." "Beria was one of the most vicious and powerful men in the Soviet Union." "He personally ordered the execution of many thousands he considered to be enemies of the people." "As head of the KGB, Beria was also the honorary President of Dynamo Moscow." "He'd been a keen amateur footballer and passionate supporter and he was determined to use every means at his disposal to ensure Dynamo's supremacy." "But soon, Beria faced someone who was prepared to resist his attempt to control Russian football." "Alexander Kosarev was the Secretary of the Young Communist League." "An aspiring member of the Politburo, Kosarev recognised the importance of football's popular appeal." "Everybody needed a patron." "You needed to be in with someone with political influence to get through in a terribly totalitarian society." "And Kosarev was very close to... one of the Soviet Union's leading players who was also the captain of the Soviet football team called, Nikolai Starostin." "Nikolai Starostin was the eldest of four brothers." "A natural athlete, Starostin was captain of the Soviet Union at both football and ice hockey." "Together with Kosarev, Starostin wanted to create a team to challenge the supremacy of Dynamo, a club for the people, that would cater for white-collar workers and civilians." "Starostin suggested a name inspired by Spartacus, the slave who rebelled against the power of Rome." "Spartak Moscow was born." "Starostin and his three brothers Alexander, Andrei and Pyotr were the core of a side that proved it could match the best." "They also established the club's reputation for defiant independence." "To support Spartak became a small act of resistance against Beria, Stalin and Soviet tyranny." "As a young man, Jim Riordan joined the British Communist Party, and in the 1960s, he went to study in Russia." "A tough-tackling centre half, Riordan was spotted by scouts and eventually played two games for Spartak." "There's no doubt that a lot of the Spartak supporters were actually genuine oppositionists, who didn't dare perhaps show their opposition in other areas of life." "The football stadium was really the only location where you could be yourself, where you could shout, smile, laugh, cry, where you could call the opposition - and that often meant the government, party, police chief - all the names under the sun." "To Beria, any act of defiance was intolerable." "Spartak's flagrant refusal to bow to Dynamo was a direct challenge to Beria's control of Soviet Sport." "Beria would neither forgive nor forget Kosarev's affront to Dynamo's supremacy." "Beria's anger might have been sharpened even further by memories of a humiliation some years earlier, when, as an amateur player, Beria first encountered Nikolai Starostin on the football pitch." "Starostin remembers playing him in Georgia and describes him as a very crude and dirty left half who left some rather nasty bruises on Starostin." "In 1936, they met again with even more at stake." "Dynamo were scheduled to play a match against Spartak in front of none other than Stalin himself." "Although he modestly described himself as "the great friend of all athletes"," "Stalin had little interest in football." "A green carpet was specially laid in Red Square." "But at the last minute, the KGB pulled out, afraid there would be a bloodbath if the ball hit the hallowed walls of the Kremlin, or worse still, Stalin himself!" "Instead, Spartak and the Starostins played an exhibition game among themselves for 43 minutes, a quarter of an hour longer than scheduled because, surprisingly, Stalin seemed to enjoy it." "Starostin later claimed that Spartak had made more of an impact in those 43 minutes than Dynamo had made in the previous 13 years." "Stalin had given Spartak his tacit seal of approval." "But Beria was furious." "And it was another thing that made more enemies for Spartak." "Of course such figures as Beria could not..." "..allow somebody, er..." "to beat him all the time." "Beria's revenge was swift and decisive." "In 1938, Kosarev was arrested on trumped-up charges, branded by Beria as an enemy of the people, and summarily executed." "Despite the dangers, the Starostins' Spartak team refused to surrender." "In 1939 Spartak was on the verge of an unprecedented League and Cup double when they faced Beria's Dynamo side in the semifinals." "It was Dynamo versus Spartak." "Beria versus Starostin." "Spartak won - a victory in a time of brutal purges and unspeakable hardship." "But Beria wouldn't let his beloved Dynamo be denied so easily." "Incensed by the result, he ordered the game to be replayed a whole month later." "But Spartak and the Starostins failed to take the hint, and won again, 1-nil" "To antagonise Beria even further, Spartak went on to win the cup." "It was unfortunate because Lavrenti Beria was the honorary president of Dynamo." "But went to every home game and was absolutely incensed when Spartak took over the crown from Dynamo." "Starostin, he looked up to the dignitaries' box and saw Beria in absolute fury, kicking chairs all over the place, before he stormed out." "For the Starostins, the victory partially avenged Beria's arrest and execution of their patron, Kosarev the previous year." "Even though they'd made an enemy of one of the Soviet Union's most powerful and ruthless men, the Starostins were seemingly untouchable." "The power of football was such that it was beyond the grasp of Joseph Stalin and his henchman, Lavrenti Beria." "You could arrest any poet you liked, you could arrest any artist, musician, any composer, but you couldn't... you couldn't with impunity arrest a footballer, and that was the power of football." "But Beria was simply biding his time." "Eventually, the perfect opportunity did come." "In March 1942, when the people of the Soviet Union were distracted by Nazi Germany's invasion, and the entry of their country into the Second World War, Beria made his move." "In the middle of the night, Starostin was woken in classic KGB style, with a torch shining in his eyes and two pistols pointing at his head." "It's part of the megalomania of Beria." "There's no doubt that in many ways he was unhinged." "He was a sadistic paedophile for example." "And I guess Beria thought it...safe in terms that the population may have other things on their minds, to arrest the Starostin brothers for the affront of beating Dynamo in 1939." "That's certainly is what Nikolai Starostin said to me." "Football is so important - that's really the point - that it needs that sort of total revenge." "All four brothers were arrested and faced a litany of charges, from the obligatory one of making anti-Soviet statements, to the more unusual accusation of playing football in a bourgeois way." "Most alarmingly, these hugely popular players were branded with Beria's favourite label, enemies of the people." "He fulfilled his...target just to take them out of Spartak." "He thought that without them, Spartak would be ruined." "They were not terrorists, they were not politicians." "They were just football players." "OK, very popular, very powerful, but football players." "They were heroes." "The Starostins escaped the death penalty that Beria would usually serve upon his victims, but still they were sentenced to ten years in a Siberian gulag." "In the Russian state archives, researchers have uncovered a letter sent from Starostin's mother to Stalin, pleading clemency for her sons." "Beria had intercepted the plea for mercy." "There would be no reprieve." "But for Nikolai, at least, the time spent in the Gulag was far from typical of the experience of most inmates living in the harshest prison regime in the world." "Football helped him to survive in these gulag camps, because even criminals... respected him." "He never failed to be amazed how the camp commandants regarded him as a hero, as somebody to please as much as they could." "These were beasts, these were sadistic monsters with other prisoners." "But with him, they just were in awe." "Without Nikolai Starostin and his brothers, Spartak were a weakened force in Soviet football, clearing the way for the Red Army club, CDKA Moscow to challenge Beria's Dynamo." "But CDKA's days were also numbered." "Many of their players starred in the Soviet team that played their Eastern Bloc allies, Yugoslavia in the 1952 Helsinki Olympics." "Under their dictator, Marshal Josef Tito, Yugoslavia had loosened its ties with the Soviet Union, so the match became a battle between Yugoslav nationalism and Soviet pride." "For the players and the politicians, there was more at stake than just the result." "When the Soviets lost 3-1, Stalin immediately ordered CDKA to be dismantled." "Overnight, the side that had become the biggest rival to Beria's Dynamo had disappeared." "The demise of CDKA entrenched Beria's Dynamo as the dominant force in Soviet football." "But in 1952, he faced a new challenge, one that would bring Beria face-to-face with an old adversary." "Stalin's son Vasily, a general in the Soviet Air Force, wanted his team to be strong enough to rival Dynamo." "In a bizarre power struggle with Beria, he tried to secure Nikolai's early release from the Gulag." "But Beria was reluctant to yield to Vasily's demands." "Vasily was the only one whom Beria couldn't touch." "And Beria didn't like Vasily because he was the youngest general in the Soviet Army." "He liked to drink vodka, he liked women." "He was the son of Stalin, so even the generals who reported to Beria - they tried to behave very carefully." "Vasily made the first move, by extracting Nikolai from the Gulag and moving him into his home in Moscow." "But Beria would not be denied." "One night, when Vasily was drunk, Nikolai left the sanctuary of his villa to visit his family, only to be rearrested by Beria's men." "He was in the centre of the fight of the two... most powerful people of Stalin's era." "Vasily managed to extract Starostin from Beria's clutches a second time, but Nikolai, realising that the situation had become dangerous, pleaded with Vasily to let him finish his sentence." "His wish was granted and Nikolai was sent to a gulag in a remote corner of Kazakhstan." "In the following year, Vasily's father died." "Beria's bid to succeed him failed, and when Nikita Khrushchev became leader, Beria's fate was sealed." "Charged with being a capitalist spy, Beria was found guilty." "He was condemned as an enemy of the people, the very same accusation he'd directed at thousands of innocent people throughout his long, brutal career." "Beria was executed, allegedly on his knees as he begged for clemency." "After his death, the charges against the Starostin brothers were declared illegal and they were finally allowed back to Moscow." "Their footballing days were over, but Nikolai took a leading role at Spartak, eventually becoming its president." "He initiated a glorious new era, once again at the expense of the old enemy, Dynamo." "Starostin told me many times that his life was saved time and time again by football itself." "He should been arrested when his patron Kosarev was arrested and executed." "He should have been arrested when Spartak did the golden double in 1939." "And he puts it down to his popularity in football, and the place of Spartak, and the role football played in Soviet society." "The dangerous relationship between football and politics wasn't confined to the Soviet Union." "Throughout the Eastern Bloc, club sides were representing powerful state institutions, and national sides were supposedly playing for the glory of Communism." "In 1952, Hungary became the Olympic Football champions, having disposed of the Soviet Union's conquerors, Yugoslavia, 3-1 in the final." "The Olympic title carried immense prestige, and its value wasn't lost on the man who was proud to call himself" "Stalin's best Hungarian Disciple, the country's Communist leader, Matyas Rakosi." "Hungary's goalkeeper, Gyula Grosics, can still remember the political dimensions involved in playing for the team." "By the end of 1952, the Hungarian team had gone 30 matches undefeated." "They had earned a reputation for being one of the most exciting teams in the world." "But they were about to face their greatest challenge." "In more than 90 years of international matches," "England had never been beaten at Wembley by foreign opposition." "In November 1953, Hungary were invited to play a full-strength England to decide who was the best team in the world." "Gyorgy Szepesi was the Hungarian commentator for what was being described as "the match of the century"." "But the English complacency was about to receive a rude awakening." "'That's an exhibition of ball control, just look at that." "'Well, if we see a great deal of that," "'I think we're going to have a lot of trouble 'holding these unbeaten Hungarians.'" "The star striker, Hidegkuti scored within the first 45 seconds." "Throughout, the Hungarians were imperious." "'It's a goal!" "'" "By the end, Hungary had 35 shots to England's five." "A lovely goal..." "The myth of English footballing superiority had been cruelly exposed." "Communist Hungary had given capitalist England a football lesson." "'It's all over, England 3, Hungary 6.'" "And throughout, their leader, Rakosi, was watching." "The Hungarian coach, Gustav Sebes was not only a high-ranking politician himself, he was undoubtedly a tactical genius, who had developed a dynamic, artistic style of play that simply bewitched the rigid, formulaic, traditional English approach." "Sebes's was the world's first example of total football, the fluid interchange of positions on the pitch..." "'There is number 5, but he's not the centre half...'" "..and, in subsequent years, would be adopted across the world, most notably in Brazil." "But Hungary also boasted some truly great players and one in particular, Ferenc Puskas, who even today is considered one of the greatest footballers ever." "The victory over England had shifted the epicentre of World Football eastwards, and the success would be seized upon by the country's new liberalising Prime Minister, Imre Nagy." "Nagy's reformist "New Course" sought to reinstate some of the freedoms lost under Soviet rule." "Hungary would get another chance to display their footballing prowess when England, keen to avenge their humiliation at Wembley, hastily arranged a rematch in Budapest." "But England kept the same antiquated formation and were duly thrashed 7-1." "A score that remains to this day England's worst ever defeat." "It was now undeniable." "Hungary were at the top of a new hierarchy of world football." "Hungary's Aranycsapat or "Golden Team", were now overwhelming favourites to lift the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland." "The players were left in little doubt what their Communist leaders expected of them." "In the early stages, everything went as planned." "In the group stages, they trounced West Germany, 8-3." "Then followed two tough encounters with Brazil and Uruguay." "The Hungarians prevailed, but their games against the South Americans left them bruised and exhausted." "It was a relief then, that in the final, they would meet West Germany, the same side they'd comprehensively demolished 8-3 earlier in the tournament." "The scene was set, so it seemed, for the magnificent Magyars' greatest triumph." "Though clearly struggling from an earlier injury," "Puskas had declared himself fit for the final and was instrumental in Hungary racing into an early lead." "But as the first half wore on, Germany edged back into the game." "Hungary's hard earlier matches began to take their toll." "Though struggling with fatigue, Hungary used their superior technique to dominate much of the second half." "Shot after shot rained down on the German goal, but in vain." "With just six minutes to go, West Germany took the lead." "But within minutes, Puskas seemed to have scored a last-gasp equaliser." "But his goal was controversially disallowed by the English referee, Bill Ling." "In West Germany, the victory became known as the Miracle of Berne, and to many, it helped the country rehabilitate itself as a sporting nation." "For the great "Golden Team", all that they could do was to stand in the rain and listen while the national anthem of West Germany, not Hungary, was played in the stadium." "But the repercussions of the defeat would stretch far beyond the football field." "The success of the team was supposed to vindicate the regime." "It would hide the oppression and distract the people." "Instead it had backfired spectacularly." "The Communist leader, Rakosi was furious." "On its way back to Budapest, the players' train was intercepted, by the Hungarian state security police." "The team was ordered off the train and told to attend a dinner that night, where Rakosi and the rest of Hungary's political hierarchy would be present." "Grosics's fears would be proved right." "Unfairly blamed for two of the German goals, Grosics bore the wrath of the Communist hierarchy." "On returning to Hungary he was detained without reason and placed under house arrest." "The proceedings were eventually stopped due to a complete lack of evidence." "Even so, Rakosi himself decreed that Grosics should be exiled to the football backwater of Tatabanya." "But the consequences of the defeat would affect every Hungarian." "It exposed the underlying dissatisfactions of life under Communism, emotions that had been temporarily obscured by the blinding success of Hungary's football team." "On October 23rd 1956, thousands of Hungarians took to the streets in a full-scale revolution against their Soviet occupiers." "The West looked on as the Soviet Union invaded and quickly re-established Communist control, killing up to 50,000 Hungarians as they crushed the uprising." "As Soviet tanks rolled into Budapest, Hungary's Golden Team broke up for fear of reprisals." "And Hungarian football has never scaled the same heights since." "In their six years at the pinnacle of world football, Hungary lost only one game, but it was the one that mattered most." "The invasion by the Soviet Union was condemned around the world." "Its legacy tarnished the achievements of a country that, just a few weeks later, would top the medals table at the 1956 Olympic in Melbourne, including winning the prestigious football tournament." "But there was soon to be a harsh reminder that football in the Soviet Union was always more than just a game." "Soviet football had produced another national superstar, as famous as Nikolai Starostin had been in his youth." "Eduard Streltsov was the George Best of his day." "He was a pin-up and a drinker, but his skill was without equal." "On his debut for the USSR in 1955, the 17-year-old Streltsov scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 thrashing of Sweden." "To this day in Russia, the back-heel pass is still known as The Streltsov." "The Soviets had amassed a superb team, led by one of the world's greatest ever goalkeepers, Lev Yashin." "With Streltsov, they were capable of beating anybody." "The stage was set for Streltsov to become one of the stars at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden." "But just a few days before the team was due to leave for the World Cup," "Streltsov was arrested on suspicion of the rape of a young woman at a party in Moscow." "To this day, many people believe the charge was a malicious Communist setup in revenge for Streltsov insulting the daughter of the Culture Minister," "Ekaterina Furtseva, at the party." "Furtseva was the only female member of the Politburo and, consequently, the most powerful woman in the Soviet Union." "There were other reasons why Streltsov had created enemies in the highest echelons of Soviet power." "He was due to represent the elite of Soviet sport at the World Cup, to be a clean-cut ambassador for Communist ideology." "But there was a problem." "Streltsov's Teddy Boy haircut symbolised his rebellious streak and his love of the high life." "Streltsov had become a symbol for a new type of relationship between Communism and football." "Eduard Maximovsky has set up a public committee working on the posthumous acquittal of Streltsov." "A lawyer and football fan, Maximovsky has spent ten years trawling through the court files of the Streltsov case." "Undoubtedly, Streltsov also offended the powers that be by refusing to join either the Army club, now reformed as CSKA, or the KGB club, Dynamo." "Whatever the reasons behind his arrest, Streltsov eventually confessed to the rape, but only after his KGB interrogators told him he could go to the World Cup if he admitted his crime." "But this was a ruse and the young and naive Streltsov fell for it." "As soon as he signed the confession, the KGB reneged on their promise." "Instead, now that he was seen to be admitting his guilt, the Soviet Premier, Nikita Khrushchev himself, decreed that Streltsov should be sent to serve hard labour in the Gulag." "Without Streltsov, the Soviets performed badly at the World Cup." "They lost to Sweden 2-0, the team they had easily beaten 6-0 with Streltsov in the side." "Many Russians believe the World Cup would have been the perfect theatre in which Streltsov would have shone." "Instead, it was another teenager that would set the football world alight." "'..into Pele, and he scores in the very last minute!" "'" "Among Streltsov's staunchest supporters is the former World Chess Champion, Anatoly Karpov." "He's also an active member of the committee to clear Streltsov's name." "People in Russia believed he could become even more famous than Pele because he had great talent and he was he was the greatest Russian football player," "And, of course, people..." "people regret it, and still regret that Streltsov couldn't show his best football abilities because of that case." "At that time the legal system depended strongly on the political leaders and in many cases political leaders." "In many cases, political leaders could force the legal system to make one decision or another." "After his release in 1963, Streltsov did make a comeback." "He was still only 26, but he was noticeably slower and weaker." "Even so, fans flocked to see him play for his old club, Torpedo Moscow." "He was instrumental in their winning the League title in 1965." "I went to see him a few times." "He'd lost a lot of speed, of course, but his talent was still there." "Really, one of the greatest players I've ever seen." "Viktor Shustikov was a friend and team-mate of Streltsov." "They played together in the Torpedo stadium that now bears Streltsov's name." "Today, Streltsov's son Igor, still lives in the flat he once shared with his father, near the Torpedo stadium." "But Streltsov's international career was over." "Even after his release, he wasn't allowed to travel abroad." "Streltsov would never get the opportunity to demonstrate his talent on the world stage." "Streltsov would be remembered forever as a genius of football." "I think with the Streltsov case, they ruined the history of the Soviet Union national team." "Despite the disastrous impact on his life and career," "Streltsov would never speak of his lost time in the Gulag." "But there was a reason Streltsov did not tell anybody of the injustice of his conviction." "To have done so would have endangered himself and his family." "Streltsov died of cancer in 1990, aged just 53." "Many believe his illness was caused by his time mining in the Gulag." "For the first time, Igor Streltsov has revealed details of the only time his father ever spoke of the "crime" that took place some 32 years earlier." "In the 1960s, tensions between the Eastern Bloc and the West escalated as the Cold War reached new heights." "The Berlin Wall became the physical symbol of the ideological fracture separating the nations of Europe." "Helmut Klopfleisch was 13 when the wall was erected in 1961." "He was a fan of Hertha Berlin Football Club." "But the wall physically divided the team and its stadium from its supporters now suddenly in Communist East Berlin." "Erich Mielke was not a man to be crossed." "As head of the Stasi, the feared East German secret police," "Mielke had gained a reputation for ruthlessness, with thousands of dissidents imprisoned and tortured." "Together with his leader Erich Honecker, he was responsible for the most totalitarian state in Europe's history." "A staggering five million people, a third of the population, had a file kept on them by the Stasi." "A further one in six was employed by the Stasi in some capacity, either as a full-time member, or as an occasional spy to keep watch on other East Germans." "As in the Soviet Union, East German football was manipulated to represent the state." "The name "Dynamo" had became synonymous with the secret police and Dynamo Berlin was no exception." "In a terrible echo of Beria's brutal regime in Russia," "Dynamo Berlin's club President was also the Secret Police Chief, Erich Mielke." "Dynamo Berlin formed the nucleus of what had become a very good East German national team." "When the World Cup was held in West Germany in 1974," "East was drawn to play West Germany in the group stages." "The match soon came to be seen as a direct clash of political ideologies." "Jurgen Croy was the East German goalkeeper." "He remembers the mood surrounding the match." "It was too good an opportunity for propaganda for Mielke and Honecker to pass by." "1,500 Communist Party members and Stasi employees were specially selected to walk into West Germany as representatives of East German football fans." "'A great chance." "A goal!" "'They have cracked open the West German defence...'" "The single goal was enough to ensure the victory for East Germany." "It was a massive propaganda boost for Honecker's regime." "'And if there has been any political gain at all from this game of football, it's certainly gone East.'" "But for some fans in the East, the result was the opposite of what they were looking for." "Although East Germany went out of the competition in the second round and West Germany went on to win the World Cup, the Communist East scored a significant ideological victory." "But it came at price." "Many Easterners grew cynical of the constant propaganda and it opened their eyes to the way the regime was trying to manipulate the minds of its citizens." "Jorg Berger was due to be the coach of the 1974 East German World Cup team, but he, like the vast majority of East Germans, was under the ever-watchful eye of the Stasi." "Identified as a possible defector, Berger's life was now potentially at risk." "He was put under constant surveillance, and was prevented from leaving the country." "But after two years, Berger was allowed to travel to a football tournament in Communist Yugoslavia." "Jorg Berger's narrow escape encouraged other dissidents to attempt to flee." "Those who were successful came to the West with harrowing stories of life under Communism." "As a consequence, East Germany became ever more conscious of its international image." "The East Berliner, Helmut Klopfleisch owed his freedom to an unlikely, and unsuspecting ally, the captain of the West German football team." "Eventually, when glasnost arrived in the Soviet Union, the pressure on the former satellite countries started to mount." "There is one sign that the Soviets can make that would be unmistakable." "Mr Gorbachev, tear down this wall!" "CHEERING" "In the winter of 1989, a series of demonstrations against the East German government swept away the regime of Erich Honecker." "It was the first step in a process that would bring down the Berlin Wall." "On November 9th 1989, families were reunited as thousands of East Berliners, granted their freedom, walked and ran to the West." "Parts of the Berlin Wall are now maintained as symbols to remind today's Germans of their divided past." "But these fragments no longer separate East German fans from their favourite teams." "SOUND EFFECT:" "LOUD CHEERING" "Under Communism, football became an instrument of propaganda, and a tool of state control." "But football defied the attempts to corrupt and manipulate it." "For some, the cost of this resistance was high." "Yet despite the ugliness of totalitarian rule, talented individuals and remarkable teams, produced some of the most memorable moments in the history of the beautiful game." "Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd - 2006" "E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk"