was not allowed to play for Torpedo, Streltsov attended matches at his old club throughout the season. In October 1964, Khrushchev was replaced as the Communist Party's First Secretary by Leonid Brezhnev, who shortly after taking office received a letter signed by tens of thousands of people, including heroes of Socialist Labour and national and regional Supreme Soviet members, requesting the reversal of Streltsov's professional ban. Some party members were wary of a potential comeback, fearing that Streltsov's inclusion in a Torpedo squad that regularly travelled to Western Europe could lead to an international incident, but Brezhnev repealed the ban, arguing that as a free man Streltsov should be able to use his trained profession. He was cleared to return to Torpedo before the 1965 season. Return to professionalism Streltsov was enthusiastically welcomed back by supporters. Although he had lost some of his strength and agility, his footballing intelligence was still intact; his presence helped Torpedo to win the 1965 Soviet championship, with Streltsov scoring 12 goals from 26 league matches. At the end of the season, he came second in the voting for the Soviet Footballer of the Year behind Torpedo team-mate Valery Voronin. It was the second time that Torpedo had won the league; the club had won its first title five years earlier, during Streltsov's imprisonment. Streltsov made his debut in continental club competition on 28 September 1966, playing in a 1–0 defeat away to Inter Milan in the European Cup. He was recalled to the Soviet national team on 16 October 1966 in a 2–0 home defeat against Turkey, and scored the first international goal of his comeback a week later in a 2–2 draw with East Germany. An appearance in a 1–0 away defeat against Italy followed two weeks later. Torpedo reached the final of the Soviet Cup in 1966, but lost 2–0 to Dynamo. Streltsov matched his previous seasonal tally of 12 league goals during the 1966 Top League season. Streltsov successfully re-established himself in the Soviet team over the following year, as he appeared in eight consecutive USSR matches, starting with a 2–0 friendly victory over Scotland in Glasgow in May 1967. He scored two goals during this run in the national side: one each in a 4–2 win against France in Paris on 3 June 1967 and a 4–3 European Championship qualifying home victory over Austria eight days later. After losing his