The Moscow native played in two World Cups, scoring two goals in 1958 and four in 1962 when he shared top scorer status with, among others, Hungary's Florian Albert who died last week.
Ivanov, who would have been 77 in two weeks' time, helped the Soviet Union to their first major international title at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics where they beating Yugoslavia 1-0 in the final.
"He was suffering from Alzheimer's disease. He had been sick for a long time," Nikita Siminyan, Ivanov's team mate on the 1956 Olympic team, told reporters.
"We played together on the national team for many years. He was more of what you now call a playmaker than a pure centre forward. You always had to be alert on the pitch because he always had some tricks up his sleeve."
Ivanov, who was awarded the UEFA Order of Merit, spent his entire playing career with Torpedo Moscow, winning two Soviet league titles in 1960 and 1965 and Soviet Cup in 1960. He is still the club's all-time leading scorer with 124 goals.
Ivanov was married to famous gymnast Lidiya Kalinina after they first met during the 1956 Melbourne Games, where she also won gold as part of the Soviet women's team. She repeated that feat at the Rome Olympics four years later.
After scoring twice in 1958, he netted four goals in 1962 to finish joint top scorer with Garrincha and Vava of Brazil, Leonel Sanchez of Chile, Drazen Jerkovic of Yugoslavia and Albert of Hungary, whose funeral took place on Sunday, just two days before Valentin's own death.
