UEFA.com, Switzerland
July 22 2005
The real Tractor Boys
Friday, 22 July 2005
By Denis Orlov
Vladimir Romanov’s vision saved MTZ-RIPO from extinction
For a club playing their very first European fixture it was a
remarkable result. Belarussian minnows FC MTZ-RIPO Minsk had little
right to expect anything other than a drubbing in their UEFA Cup
first qualifying round match away against Hungarian giants
Ferencvárosi TC, but wound up as 2-0 winners.
Tractor boys
A goal after 38 minutes from talismanic Armenian international
midfield player Hamlet Mkhitaryan set the team named after a Minsk
tractor factory on their way and substitute Vitali Tarashchik piled
on the misery for the home supporters with a second goal deep into
added time.
Viachaslau Hleb has joined the club on loan
Battling win
MTZ-RIPO qualified for Europe after beating FC BATE Borisov 2-1 in
the Belarus Cup final in May. In that game, Yuri Puntus’ side were a
goal behind before strikes from Denis Fedorov and Artem Kontsevoy
earned them their first-ever trophy.
Near miss
Nonetheless, they only narrowly avoided relegation in 2004, finishing
14th in the table, and they made a similarly miserable start this
season. After six games they lay 12th in the table with just four
points, but five wins in their next seven games have seen them
surging up the table.
Stern test
“Initially we were being beaten again and again but I was not
ashamed,” said Puntus. “The poor start we had was a kind of test for
my young players: will we survive or will we start to shy out of it?
I think we have passed this exam and proved we have a tight-knit and
battle-ready side.”
New owner
MTZ-RIPO have had their share of testing times in recent seasons.
Back in 2002 they were on the verge of bankruptcy and glued to the
foot of the table after the first half of the season, until
Lithuanian entrepreneur Vladimir Romanov – who also owns Heart of
Midlothian FC and FBK Kaunas – took charge.
Rebuilding process
“Before we came to MTZ-RIPO, they had all but lost their place in the
top division,” remembered Romanoc. “Our chances of staying up where
about one in ten, but we managed it. Now we’re in a tough process of
building. MTZ-RIPO will be strengthened by their own academy and
players from the former USSR.”
Important signing
Romanov’s promises are not hollow. The MTZ-RIPO academy is up and
running with 63-year-old Eduard Malofeev, the man who won the Soviet
Supreme League with FC Dinamo Minsk in 1982 and coached the Belarus
national team from 2000 to 2003 having taken charge.
Foreign bodies
Moreover, as they prepared for the new season, the club made good use
of their connections to sign Georgian striker Gia Todua and Slovenian
midfield player Denis Zilavec. The result is a very young squad –
with an average age of just over 23 – with enormous potential.
Youthful promise
With Puntus still working as Belarus Under-21 coach, MTZ-RIPO boast
excellent young players in the likes of striker Artem Kontsevoy and
midfielder Mikhail Afanasyev, and have been strengthened by the
arrival of Viachaslau Hleb – younger brother of Aliaksandr – on loan
from Hamburger SV.
Rotation policy
Romanov is keen for the young MTZ-RIPO players to get a chance to
play at the other clubs he owns, saying: “It is often a case that a
player cannot fulfil himself in one team. That is why we have a
rotation system – maybe it will help footballers to find their best
form in one of our other clubs.”
Big plans
Puntus, meanwhile, is starting to get ambitious. “Our strategic goal
is to advance to the group stage of the UEFA Cup,” he said. Stranger
things have happened.
–Boundary_(ID_4eUrCfBDAT+V69baTrqJ4A)–
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress