Protasov played for the Soviet Union 68 times, including at the 1986 and 1990 FIFA World Cups, as well as Euro 88, where he scored two goals.

In December 2005, Oleh Protasov returned in Ukraine to coach his hometown team, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, after an impressive UEFA Cup performance with Steaua București.

[3] In his first 2005–06 season as Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk's coach, Oleh Protasov led the team to a 6th-place finish in the Ukrainian Premier League.

Dnipro sacked him on 29 August 2008 after an embarrassing defeat from AC Bellinzona in UEFA cup qualification match.

However FC Kuban was hard-hit by the global financial crisis of 2008–2009, which greatly decreased the club's budget.

[5] Then, he signed a two-year deal worth 400,000 euro per year with Iraklis Thessaloniki, starting from the summer of 2009.

[citation needed] He is a naturalised citizen of Greece and is able to speak Greek, alongside English, Russian and his native Ukrainian.