[1] He started his career in the Moldavian SSR, then played in the Russian SFSR, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, France and Germany before retiring in Moldova.

During his extensive career he played for Nistru Chișinău, Dynamo Moscow, Castellón, Servette, Genoa, Olympique de Marseille, Atlético Madrid, Fortuna Düsseldorf and Tiligul Tiraspol.

[3] Dobrovolski played for three different national teams: USSR at the 1988 Olympic Games where he was a gold medal winner and finished second top goal scorer with six goals (including one in the gold medal game itself); Romário scored seven but Brazil lost in the final to USSR.

[4] Four players have had the honour of scoring at least one goal in five successive matches at the Men's Olympic Football Tournament – Igor Dobrovolski (USSR in 1988), Ottmar Hitzfeld (FR Germany in 1972), Milan Galić (Yugoslavia in 1960) and Adolfo Baloncieri (Italy in 1928).

[5] Marseille Soviet Union Under-21 Individual At 39 years old he was coaching Tiligul Tiraspol in the 2005–06 season, and then took over the Moldova national football team for the qualification to UEFA Euro 2008, with a view to a two-year extension to his contract if he was successful.