Early history: 1927–1941 The club was established on the base of the first squad of Kyiv's branch of the
all-Union Dynamo sports society and its
republican branch in the
Ukrainian SSR, originally headquartered
Kharkiv. The all-Union Dynamo sports society was a sports department of the Soviet state security
KGB, originally
Cheka-
OGPU. During the Soviet period Dynamo's players same as players of all Dynamos in the
Soviet Union were officially Soviet uniform servicemembers earning rank, salary, and pension when playing on the team of masters. On 13 May 1927, the statute of the Kyivan Proletarian Sport Society (PST) Dynamo was officially registered by the special commission in affairs of public organizations and unions of the Kyiv district. The All-Union sport society of
Dynamo in Moscow was formed earlier in 1923 on the initiative of the
Felix Dzerzhinsky. A year later the
first Ukrainian branch cell of the Dynamo sports society was formed in
Kharkiv. Under the banner of Kyivan Dynamo gathered the representatives of the local GPU (
State Political Directorate), the Soviet secret police, the best footballers of which defended the honors of the Trade Union club "Sovtorgsluzhashchie", a
portmanteau for Soviet retail servicemen. It was a common practice of the early Soviet sports societies that were formed based on already existing "pre-revolutionary" (1917
Bolshevik Revolution) sports societies in 1920s. The leadership of Dynamo did not dare to reorganize the well-established club and the main title contender in the middle of a playing season. Therefore, the first mention of the football club Dynamo could only be found on 5 April 1928 in the Russian-language newspaper (at that time)
Vecherniy Kiev ("
Evening Kyiv"). It was then when by the initiative of
Semyon Zapadny, chief of the Kyiv GPU, the football team was created. His deputy, Sergei Barminsky, started to form the team not only out of regular
chekists (members of the Soviet secret police), but also footballers of other clubs in the city among which is mentioned a team "Sovtorgsluzhaschie". All the footballers were either part of the consolidated city team or the city champions. The newly created team played its first official match on 1 July 1928 against a local consolidated city team while visiting
Bila Tserkva. On 15 July, the Bila Tserkva newspaper
Radyanska Nyva ("Soviet Fields") put it in such words: The next match played by Dynamo was on 17 July 1928 hosting another Dynamo from the port city of
Odesa. In 1936, the first
Soviet Championship was played, and Dynamo Kyiv was one of the pioneers of the newly formed league. Under the leadership of head coach
Mikhail Tovarovsky, the club finished second in the
1936 Soviet Top League, losing in the final to
Spartak Moscow. In the final match took part following players
Oleg Makarov (goalkeeper), Arkadiy Larionov,
Vitaliy Golubyev,
Tiberiy Popovich, Oleksandr Koltsov,
Mykhaylo Mykhalyna, Volodymyr Bohdanovych,
Viktor Terentiev (substitute with
Pavlo Vinkovatov),
Andrei Zazroyev (captain),
Mykhaylo Koman,
Viktor Fomin and
Oleg Oshenkov as a head coach. Goals in the final were scored by Terentiev and Koman. On 29 July 1959, an international friendly match between the football teams "Dynamo" (Kyiv, Ukraine) and "
Dynamo" (Bacău, Romania) took place in Kyiv, which ended with a score of 3:0. At the end of the 1950s, the Dynamo revamped its squad. The club left
Yevhen Lemeshko, Leonid Ostroushko,
Ernest Yust, Mykola Romanov, Yuriy Shevchenko,
Vitaliy Sobolev. The club's ranks were refilled with Serhiy Bohachyk,
Ishtvan Sekech,
Valeriy Lobanovskyi, Yevhen Snitko, Andriy Havashi,
Vasyl Turyanchyk,
Yozhef Sabo, while a well-known former CDKA player (the "Team of Lieutenants"),
Vyacheslav Solovyov became the head coach. The 1960 season brought the Kyivans the "silver". In the
1961 season, Dynamo won the
Soviet Union championship for the first time. The team from the capital of the Ukrainian SSR finished ahead of
Torpedo Moscow (title holders) by 4 points. Dynamo Kyiv played 30 matches in the national championship (16 participants). Only three of those matches Dynamo lost, and nine ended in a draw. The fact that they scored as many as 54 goals in 30 games testifies to the strength of the Dynamo's offensive line, where played such players like
Oleh Bazylevych,
Viktor Kanevskyi,
Valeriy Lobanovskyi,
Viktor Serebryanikov. And about the strength of the defensive line - the fact that the experienced goalkeeper
Oleg Makarov never had to take the ball out of the net in 12 matches. It was the first time in the history of the
Soviet Union championships, when the national title of the country's champion was gained by a non-Moscow club. The first Dynamo gold medals received: • Goalkeepers:
Oleg Makarov (29, 26),
Leonid Klyuev (4, 2). • Defenders:
Nikolay Koltsov (28),
Anatoliy Suchkov (25),
Volodymyr Shcheholkov (22),
Vitaliy Shcherbakov (12),
Vasyl Turyanchyk (9, 1),
Vladimir Yerokhin (2). • Midfielders:
Yozhef Sabo (27, 3),
Yuriy Voynov (21, 3),
Volodymyr Anufriyenko (15),
Vladimir Sorokin (3),
Valeriy Verigin (3),
Viktor Pestrykov (1). • Forwards:
Viktor Serebryanikov (29, 4),
Valeriy Lobanovskyi (28, 10),
Viktor Kanevskyi (26, 18),
Oleh Bazylevych (26, 10),
Andriy Biba (17, 5),
Valentyn Troyanovskyi (15, 2),
Mykola Kashtanov (11, 1),
Igor Zaytsev (8, 1). • Senior coach:
Vyacheslav Solovyov. Team manager:
Viktor Terentiev. Coach:
Mykhaylo Koman.
The first "three-peat" and first European appearances: 1962–1973 Starting from the early 1960s, Dynamo became one of the leading teams in Soviet football. Thanks to the support of
Volodymyr Shcherbytsky, the players were provided favourable conditions to achieve highest results. However, the start of the tournament was successful as Dynamo defeated
Coleraine from Northern Ireland with a score of 6:1 and 4:0. After that, Dynamo beat the Norwegian
Rosenborg twice more - 4:1 and 2:0. But in the quarterfinals they were eliminated by
Celtic (0:3 and 1:1), with whom they had to play in mid-January. Therefore, the playing form of the Kyiv team was far from optimal, and in addition, they played their home game not in Kyiv but in
Tbilisi. The following year, 1966, was one of the best in the history of Dynamo Kyiv. The team won the
1966 Soviet Class A Group 1 (top tier), ahead of Rostov SKA by 9 points, won the
1965–66 Soviet Cup (beating Torpedo 2:0 in the final), five Dynamo players (
Sabo,
Serebryanikov,
Ostrovski,
Porkujan, and
Bannikov) won bronze medals at the
1966 FIFA World Cup in England, and
Andriy Biba was recognized as the best football player of the year in the Soviet Union. in a friendly game in
Turin, 16 June 1967 In
1967 and
1968, Dynamo again won the Soviet Class A Group 1, thereby repeating the record of Moscow's
CDKA, three championship titles in a row. In the same 1967, the Kyiv team made its debut in the
1967–68 European Cup. Maslov's team sensationally eliminated the current holder of the trophy, Scottish
Celtic F.C., in the first stage, but lost to Polish champion
Górnik Zabrze in the round of 16. In
1969, Dynamo Kyiv finished second in the league, behind Spartak Moscow. In the
1969–70 European Cup, the Kyiv team defeated
FK Austria Wien 2-1 and 3–1, but lost to Italian
AC Fiorentina 1-2 and 0-0. The
following season, Dynamo finished only 7th in the championship.
Turyanchyk,
Sabo,
Bannikov, and
Porkujan left the team, and after the season ended, coach
Viktor Maslov also left Dynamo. In 1971, the team was coached by
Honored coach of the USSR Aleksandr Sevidov, and 22-year-old
Viktor Kolotov joined the club from Rubin. He later became one of the best midfielders in the history of Soviet football, being the captain of Dynamo for seven years, and in 1975–1976, the
Soviet Union national team. Dynamo immediately won the
Soviet championship, and the team's goalkeeper,
Yevhen Rudakov, was recognized as the best goalkeeper and football player of the Soviet Union. In
1972 and
1973, the team took second place, and
Oleh Blokhin became the Dynamo's top scorer in both seasons with 14 and 18 goals, respectively.
The Lobanovskyi team: 1973–1988 , the most successful coach in Dynamo's history In October 1973, before a match against
Karpaty in Lviv (20 October 1973), the Kyiv team's players were introduced to a new head coach, 34-year-old
Valeriy Lobanovskyi. In January 1974, Lobanovskyi was joined by his former Dynamo partner
Oleh Bazylevych, who had coached
Shakhtar Donetsk after his retirement. This tandem worked until the end of 1976. Both coaches had equal rights, although Bazylevych was primarily a prominent theorist, while Lobanovskyi organized the training process. In 1974,
Anatoliy Puzach also joined the staff. Oleh Bazylevych initiated an invitation to join the club of physical training scientists. The physical training program for the players was developed by scientist Anatoliy Zelentsov. After the 1974 season, the press characterized the Dynamo's style under the new coaches not very positively and criticized them for rationalism, unwillingness to play attacking football away from home (the so-called "away model" - playing from defense to obtain a draw), and for performing at mediocre speeds. But good results were achieved in 1974, the Kyiv team won the
1974 Soviet Top League and the
1974 Soviet Cup. A team was formed that could compete with the strongest teams in Europe.
Yevhen Rudakov was in goal,
Viktor Matvienko,
Stefan Reshko,
Mykhailo Fomenko, and
Volodymyr Troshkin played in defense. In the midfield played, in particular,
Volodymyr Muntyan, the young
Leonid Buryak, who was progressing rapidly, the team captain
Viktor Kolotov, and
Volodymyr Veremeyev. Together with
Oleh Blokhin, at the point of attack played
Volodymyr Onyshchenko. The traditional Soviet "list of the 33 best football players" in 1974 included 8 Dynamo players, 7 of them at the number 1 position. During the 1970s and 1980s Dynamo's players constituted the base of the Soviet Union national team. At the same time, Dynamo set a record for the Soviet "list of 33 best football players": as many as 12 Kyivans were on the list, and 8 of them were ranked at No. 1. Ten the European Cup Winners' Cup holders received the highest sports title, "Honored Master of Sports". According to the 1975 results, the British
Sports Journalists' Association recognized Dynamo Kyiv as the strongest football team in the world. After the triumph of 1975, a certain decline in Dynamo's game began, which lasted until 1985. The team continued to win Soviet trophies, but there was no breakthrough in the game. In addition, constant failures in European cups continued. In 1983, Valeriy Lobanovskyi, appointed head coach of the
Soviet Union national football team, left Dynamo and returned to the club in 1984. The new "Lobanovskyi team" confirms its international class: Dynamo won the
1985–86 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup for the second time, and almost the entire Dynamo team as the USSR national team played at the
1986 FIFA World Cup and the
1988 European Championship, where it became the vice-champion of Europe. In 1986 Ihor Belanov became the second Dynamo player to win the Ballon d'Or. The Dynamo's list of players that became holders of the 1986 European Cup Winners' Cup: • Goalkeepers:
Mykhaylo Mykhaylov (5, 5),
Viktor Chanov (5, 3). • Defenders:
Anatoliy Demyanenko (9, 2),
Oleh Kuznetsov (9),
Serhiy Baltacha (8),
Volodymyr Bezsonov (7). • Midfielders:
Vadym Yevtushenko (9, 3),
Vasyl Rats (9, 2),
Ivan Yaremchuk (9, 3),
Andriy Bal (8),
Oleksandr Zavarov (8, 5),
Pavlo Yakovenko (8, 1),
Oleksiy Mykhailychenko (1). • Forwards:
Oleh Blokhin (9, 5),
Ihor Belanov (9, 5),
Vasyl Yevseyev (1). • Senior coach:
Valeriy Lobanovskyi.
Last Soviet years and reformation: 1989–1993 society In 1989, the club transitioned into an independent company, being disassociated from the Ukrainian republican society of Dynamo. The club transitioned from the Soviet "team of masters" to a regular professional football club of "western" style as it was interpreted then. It was also part of the
Mikhail Gorbachev's
Perestroika reforms, known as
Khozrasschyot, when state enterprises had a difficult time keeping their associated organizations afloat and encouraged them to transform into self-sustained businesses. During the last seasons of the Soviet Top League, Dynamo competed in the national colors of Ukraine as part of the national movement that grew very popular. In
1990 Dynamo won the Soviet league for a record 13th time, which became an unsurpassed record among Soviet teams, and took their 9th Soviet Cup.
Revival: 2014–2016 , former player and manager of the team from 2014 to 2017 In the beginning of the 2014–15 season, Dynamo signed many promising players such as
Aleksandar Dragović,
Jeremain Lens (departed after end of the season),
Łukasz Teodorczyk and
Vitorino Antunes. Under Rebrov, Dynamo won the
2014–15 Ukrainian Premier League – undefeated – and the
2014–15 Ukrainian Cup to earn a domestic double for the first time in eight years. In the
2014–15 Europa League, Dynamo comfortably qualified from a group containing
Aalborg BK,
Steaua București and
Rio Ave, finishing in first place with 15 points. In the round of 32, the club eliminated
Guingamp 4–3 on aggregate, and in the round of 16, eliminated
Everton 6–4 on aggregate after a spectacular 5–2 performance in Kyiv. Rebrov prioritized the passing game but focused on solid defensive foundations. However, in the quarter-finals of the Europa League, Dynamo was eliminated by
Fiorentina 3–1 on aggregate. In the beginning of the 2015–16 season, Dynamo signed the highly talented
Derlis González and was drawn in Group G of the
2015–16 Champions League alongside
Chelsea F.C.,
FC Porto and
Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. Dynamo finished in second place with 11 points after a spectacular performance and a memorable 0–2 in
Porto. However, Dynamo was punished by
UEFA for a racist incident in the home game against Chelsea where four black men were attacked in the stands by Dynamo fans. Despite this, Dynamo reached the round of 16 in the Champions League for the first time since 2000, where it was drawn with
Manchester City. Dynamo was eliminated 1–3 on aggregate but managed to hold an impressive 0–0 draw in
Manchester. Dynamo's domestic performance was equally memorable as the club celebrated the
2015–16 Ukrainian Premier League only losing to archrival Shakhtar Donetsk 0–3 twice and was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the
2015–16 Ukrainian Cup. At the end of the season, several star performers (such as
Miguel Veloso,
Aleksandar Dragović,
Younès Belhanda and
Łukasz Teodorczyk) departed the club and were not replaced.
Stagnation and new decline: since 2016 The 2016–17 season was a relative disappointment for Dynamo, as the club finished in second place in the
2016–17 Ukrainian Premier League, behind Shakhtar Donetsk, with a difference of 13 points after a string of disappointing results. In the
2016–17 Champions League, the club was drawn in Group B alongside
Napoli,
Benfica and
Beşiktaş J.K. Dynamo finished in fourth place after a dismal campaign, but managed to record a memorable 6–0 win over Beşiktaş in Kyiv. In the winter transfer window, Dynamo signed promising defenders
Aleksandar Pantić and
Tamás Kádár and focused on youth academy talents such as
Viktor Tsyhankov,
Artem Besyedin and
Volodymyr Shepelyev, managing to improve its performances. Dynamo lost the
2016–17 Ukrainian Cup to Shakhtar Donetsk 0–1 in the final. For the 2017–18 season, after Serhii Rebrov departed, the club appointed former player
Alyaksandr Khatskevich as Rebrov's replacement. In Khatskevich's first two seasons at the helm, Dynamo failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stage, having to settle for the UEFA Europa League group stage instead. Both times they were eventually eliminated in the Round of 16, first by
S.S. Lazio (2–4 on aggregate) in
2017–18, and then by
Chelsea F.C. (0–8 on aggregate) in
2018–19. Domestically, Dynamo remained firmly in second place behind Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukrainian Premier League. Despite the apparent lack of progress in the results, Khatskevich was rewarded with a two-year contract extension. , manager of the team from 2020 to 2023 However, only six matches into his new extension, Khatskevich was fired on 14 August 2019, after once again failing to advance to the UEFA Champions League group stage. Dynamo's Sports Director,
Oleksiy Mykhaylychenko, was appointed as manager. Despite the change, the results on the field hardly improved, as Dynamo was eliminated from continental competitions by placing 3rd in Group B of the
2019–20 UEFA Europa League group stage. On 23 July 2020, Mircea Lucescu became the head coach of Dynamo, signing a two-year contract. Under his leadership, in 2021 the team won the
national championship and the
Ukrainian Cup, but failed to achieve success during the following two seasons. After Lucescu's resignation in 2023, the post of head coach was taken by
Oleksandr Shovkovskyi, but in late 2025 he was replaced by
Ihor Kostyuk. ==Crests and colours==