Jonathan Wilson on late-night vodka drinking sessions at Dinamo Minsk's stadium, the current state of Belarusian football and an insight into a couple of tonight's Europa League matches.
But they'd reached the finals of the Under-21 championship, I pointed out; surely that meant things were looking up? Ah, he replied, but hadn't the Hleb generation reached the same finals in 2004? And, Hleb aside, where were they now? The argument seemed logical and so I said little more, and, as if to prove his point, Belarus went on to pick up only one point in those U-21 finals in Sweden.
My friend is an avid fan of Dinamo, to the extent that one night after a few too many vodkas, he persuaded me to climb over the wall, slip under the wire, and break into their stadium where, having little else to do, I ran a brisk 1500m, drank some more vodka, and fell asleep in
the dug-out. He is incapable of pursuing any conversation for more than about five minutes without dragging it back to the subject of 1982 and the heroes who won Dinamo their only ever Soviet Supreme title.
I spoke to him again a couple of weeks ago, expecting him to be as gloomy as ever, but his mood had abruptly changed. Dinamo, you see, while their form remains uneven, are suddenly playing pockets of sensational football with an exciting young team. On May 30,
crucially, they hammered MTZ-RIPO, their Minsk rivals, 5-0, prompting the resignation of the opposing coach, Yuri Puntus.
Six of that side made it to Sweden with the Under-21 squad: the solid defender Oleg Veretilo; the huge but inconsistent defender Alexander Martynovich; Anton Putilo, a midfielder who has already had experience at Hamburg; the free-kick specialist Sergey Kislyak; and the two rapid
wingers Andrey Chukhlei and Sergey Gigevich. It is not all about the youngsters, though: the French left-back Aurelien Montaloupe has been the definition of solidity, the 36-year-old right-back Sergei Gurenko adds very necessary experience and the midfielder Bruno Mbanagoye is having the season of his life, and stands on the brink of World Cup qualification with Gabon.
Dinamo may lie second in the Belarusian table, already 12 points behind the leaders BATE Borisov, but more importantly to their fans, they are eight points clear of MTZ-RIPO. The priority now is for Dinamo to have a run in the Europa League and, although they drew the
home leg of their qualifying tie against Tromso of Norway 0-0, they have high hopes ahead of the return tonight (they are 5.6 to win; Tromso are 1.67 and the draw is 4.1). They may have drawn four of their six away league games so far this season but, then, they only
need a scoring draw to go through. And this is a side who, under the wily Serbian Slavoljub Muslin, who once coached the Bordeaux of Zinedine Zidane, are exceptionally hard to break down away from home. Under 2.5 goals, at 1.82, may be tempting.
Tromso, meanwhile, have had a desperately disappointing season, and lie just tenth in the Tippeligaen. The 36-year-old Sigi Rushfeldt and his rather quicker partner Morten Moldskred still offer something of a goal threat, but they are far from an intimidating side and, although
Dinamo won't admit it, they will probably feel a little frustrated that they aren't taking a lead into the second leg.
Dinamo at least have a better chance than MTZ-RIPO, who were beaten 3-0 in Ukraine by Metalurh Donetsk in the first leg of their tie. They are 3.5 to win the return, but if they do so it will surely only be because Metalurh (2.0 to win) have taken their eye off the ball.
Elsewhere, perhaps the most intriguing tie will be in Niksic, where the Montenegrin Cup winners Petrovac try to overcome a 2-1 first-leg deficit against Anothorsis Famagusta, who last season managed a 3-3 draw with Internazionale in the Champions League. Petrovac are 4.5 to win, with Anothorsis 1.84, but the away goal must give them encouragement.
In Belarus, though, all eyes will be on the Arctic Circle.
23 July 2009 / About Editor
Source:
Betfair | Europa League Betting: Belarusian football slighly closer to finding the next Hleb
