Yuri Kuznetsov was born on August 2, 1931 in Baku.

In 1952-1955, 1960-1965 he played 216 games for Neftchi and scored 61 goals.

Kuznetsov, known as the "King of Passing", made his debut in the history of Azerbaijani football by being invited to the USSR national team. Kuznetsov, who was called up for two friendly matches with the Indian national team in February 1955, made his name in the history of USSR football as the first player to be called up to the national team from the first league. At that time, Neftchi was playing in the lower division, and in August-September 1955, the striker appeared in 3 official matches for the USSR national team and scored 3 goals. Kuznetsov formed a wonderful tandem with his compatriot Alakbar Mammadov both in the national team and in "Neftchi".

After finishing his career, he started coaching. In 1988, he worked as the head coach of Neftchi.

In 1962, he was awarded the title of Honored Master of the USSR.

Kuznetsov died on March 4, 2016.