Belarus: Continental Pioneers

Wednesday,  14th October 2010, was a strange day for Belorussian football. The national team were defeated 3-0, by World Cup qualifying group rivals, England.  The match, which ended the qualifying rounds, saw Belarus once more fail to qualify for a major tournament. The fact that the contest only ended 3-0 did much to disguise the real story of the game.

England eventually ran out comfortable winners but, for more than fifty minutes, the former Soviets showed composure, movement and incisive passing that surprised even the most knowledgeable followers of the Eastern European outift. In the absence of talisman Aleksandr Hleb, Vitali Kutuzov proved the most menacing threat to the English. His running and eye for the acute reverse ball gave the bumbling Glen Johnson more than a tough night, as the Liverpool right-back saw his movement reduced to a metaphor for Bambi On Ice.

Metaphors aside, the match presented an all too familiar feeling for the millions of Belorussians watching, up and down the country, from the northern voblast (province) of Viciebsk, to it’s southern counterpart, Homiel. That feeling? It was the sense that however good their opening impressions might seem, Belarus always lose when it matters.

The simple fact is that Belarus have never qualified for a major international tournament. For all the development as a nation and the youth structure that has produced technically proficient players, such as Hleb and Kutuzov, Belarus remain a failure.  They boast the unenviable record of being the first team, since 1983, to score three goals away against Italy, in an international qualifier.  However, in true Belorussian fashion, the team contrived to somehow leak four goals and sink into unsanctimonious defeat.

The country, whose name derives from the phrase “white Russia,” borders their much larger namesake, as well as Poland, the Ukraine and the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania.  Along with the Lithuanians, they represent the largest international flop from that less than successful group. Since their declaration of independence in 1991, Belarus have been involved in eight international qualifying campaigns and, as previously mentioned, qualified for none. Their group stage record is consistently inadequate, with one 6th placed finish,  three 5ths, another trio of 4ths and a lone 3rd.  Internationally, Belarus have been a constant failure but, this year, the nation has enjoyed surprising success at club level.

The 2010/2011 season marks the first time that three Belorussian teams have reached the Europa League qualifying play-off. BATE Borisov, Dinamo Minsk and Dnepr Mogilev make up the pioneering trio. At the time of writing, the three sides have each contested the first leg of their play-off ties, in which victory would see them into the group stages,with varying degrees of success.

Minnows Dnepr, enjoying their first European campaign for ten years, had the misfortune of drawing Spanish giants Villareal and were roundly flattened 5-0, in Spain.  Dnepr, who overcame the odds to claim third place in the national championship, cruised through to the play-off with a 3-1 aggregate win, over Banik Ostrava, in the previous round.  After that match, manager Andrei Skorobogatko conceded that his side were perilously ill-equipped to face a team of Villareal’s might.

“Most of our players have never played in such an important game and it is hard to say when they will have another chance to test themselves at this level… (yet) We have nothing to lose following the wins against Stabæk and Baník.” — Dnepr manager, Andrei Skorobogatko

Dinamo Minsk and BATE Borisov fared better, although Minsk went down 2-1, to Club Brugge, at least escaping from the Jan Breydel Stadion with an away goal and a degree of solidarity. BATE, perhaps the most successful of Belorussian teams in recent years, claimed a 3-0 home victory over Madeira’s Maritmo.

A glowing testament to the development and the establishment of clubs by the FFB (Football Federation of Belarus) is the fact that, realistically, Belarus could have two sides in the group stages of the Europa League and, with the stringent aid of  a minor miracle at Dnepr, the former Soviets could have three.

Despite the fact that Belarus have only recently become established in the continental club game. BATE President Anatoliy Kapsky maintains that the landscape of Belorussian football has been strong for many years:

We always have many gifted players in our country. Now it has started to yield results on the international club stage. What is more, our league has become more competitive since it was reduced [for this season] from 14 clubs to 12. – Anatoliy Kapsky, BATE President

Note that Kapsky praises the FFB’s decision to reduce the league size, giving players and clubs a shorter season in which they can hone their talents and focus on real development, whilst also providing a solid platform for the national team to aid players in making the step up from club football. It’s refreshing to see a proactive football association that is not afraid to overcome tough challenge; perhaps the English FA could learn something.

The feeling throughout Europe is that Belarus are growing stronger, both at international and club level.  With this in mind, it’s surely only a matter of time until they cross the breach from perrenial international failures to plucky minnows, boasting names that the BBC and ITV pronunciation departments could fret over at upcoming international tournaments. With the 2012 European Championships being hosted by neighbours Ukraine and Poland, Belarus may feel that their time as a serious footballing nation is on the horizon.