Born in Moscow, Soviet Union, now Russia, Kolyvanov began playing organized football at the age of 9, when he was approached by Viktor Abayev.

Although Spartak was one of the leading teams in the Soviet Union at that time, Kolyvanov did not see a chance in breaking into the starting line-up, and when Dynamo Moscow called him in 1986, at the age of 17, he agreed to a move.

In the Soviet Top League he established himself as a fine long shot striker that is able to score easily from outside the "penalty box".

The same year, his playing for the national team caught Foggia Calcio's attention, and after Dynamo reached the third-round of the UEFA Cup, he was allowed to transfer to Italy.

That season he experienced another injury (right before a planned transfer to Inter Milan which consequently fell through), and Foggia slumped to the bottom of the Seria A and being relegated to Serie B.

He took a number of tours throughout the country to select the players, who eventually became the Russia U17 national team that won the 2006 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship.

Kolyvanov's achievement as a coach was exemplified by the very organized and consistent tactical play of the team, especially for players of that age, along with extreme motivation.

[1] After returning FC Torpedo Moscow to the second-tier Russian Football National League at the end of the 2018–19 season, he was replaced by Sergei Ignashevich on 4 June 2019.