Kurnenin to lay in state at Dinamo Stadium
Kurnenin, a former defender of Dinamo Minsk who coached
Belarus at last month’s European Under-21 Championship in Sweden, died in Minsk
on Thursday at the age of 55.
Kurnenin, who made history by becoming the first defender to score a hat-trick
in the Soviet league, was said to have passed away in his sleep.
The Russian-born Kurnenin played as a full-back for Dinamo
Minsk between 1976 and 1987 and helped the club win their only Soviet league
title in 1982. He was named among the Soviet league’s 33 best players for three
consecutive seasons in the early 1980s.
Kurnenin had coached a number of Belarusian clubs and the Syrian national team
before taking the top job at the country's under-21 team.
