Old Vlad interview

[Eldar Hadzimehmedovic]

Haven't seen this in ages.

 

The context changes every few months or so.

 

Always interesting for Hearts fans to go back to these things.

 

 

Q Mr Romanov, you have three football clubs under your control.Isn't that too many?

 

A If you think about it, it is a lot, of course. But in order to build the pyramid I wanted to create, it was essential. In fact, it would have been even better if there were another three clubs at the bottom. But I don't have the energy for that now.

 

Q It would seem that Kaunas and MTZ RIPO are at the base of your pyramid, with Hearts at the top. Is that right?

 

A Yes. I had the idea a long time ago. And time has shown that a hierarchy of this sort makes a lot of sense. It means we don't need to go out looking for foreign players for the main team - we just need to prepare players from Lithuania and Belarus and raise them to a higher level.

 

Everyone has been able to see that the Lithuanians have adapted really well in Scotland. Velicka recently scored a hat-trick in the Cup so the system is working, the quality of the players is increasing.

 

Of course you need to be very careful with the players. It's essential to gauge when it's time for each of them to move to the next level. Do this too soon and they burn out, do it too late and they go to pot. So the main thing is not to miss the right moment.

 

Q In other words, you could say that every player representing Kaunas at the Commonwealth Cup is, first and foremost, fighting to earn a move to Hearts?

 

A Of course. They are all selected with Hearts in mind. Several of them already have a contract with the Scottish club.

 

Q A couple of years ago you made an attempt to acquire another club?

 

A That was before I went to Scotland. I thought about acquiring (Russian Premier League club, Saturn, and putting it at the top of the pyramid, with Minsk and Kaunas below them.

 

Q So what made you reject the Saturn option?

 

A At that time, I also had the possibility to buy Dundee United but the option with Hearts came up and I rejected all other alternatives. You just have to look at the club's history and location.

 

Q So you've given up all thoughts of buying a club in the country of your roots?

 

A What would I do with another club? I've already got plenty.

 

Q You are best known to the world as the owner of Hearts.

 

What does it feel like to be the owner of a club with almost 150 years of history behind it?

 

A I wouldn't say I experience any particular emotions. When I bought the club, I didn't think anyone would pay much attention, and then suddenly I found everyone homing in onme. For the Scottish, football is everything, it's life itself.

 

They don't have politics, they don't have kings, they live for football and nothing can replace it. Do I feel proud owning a club like this?

 

Generally, when you do a job well, you always feel pride.

 

Q You've been in control at Hearts for two years now. What conclusions have you been able to draw during that time?

 

A That you can't trust anyone. You know, it's just like a scene out of an old movie: We're at war with the Germans. The unit is asleep. A soldier sees a white flag being waved in the distance but his commanding officer is sleeping. So he goes up to the priest and says, 'Father, there's a white flag over there'. The priest replies, 'The enemy is sly and cunning. Shoot them'. And that's how it is.

 

Q When you took over you declared that Hearts would in a few months be mounting a real challenge to Rangers and Celtic and would be battling for the title.

 

Nobody took you seriously then but you soon returned the club to long forgotten heights. What was the secret of your success?

 

A Celtic and Rangers? Even Kaunas are a match for them on the pitch. The thing is they've turned football into a type of show business with their underhand games. They buy off players and referees.

 

When it comes to weaker teams then nobody can help but if two opponents are equally matched, then the referees can have a real influence on the outcome.

 

You've got the same thing happening in England where Abramovich's Chelsea are being undermined. Opponents operate using a standard strategy: pressmanager- players. Once players have achieved their aims, you need to sell them. Once the manager has got what he wants, and become a star - let him move on and prove it somewhere else. If he's allowed to stay, then he can easily destroy the team and then he will take players with him when he goes.

 

Q Things have got that bad in Britain?

 

A That's not the word for it. I went there with the hope that I'd be able to avoid all the dirty stuff that we've all grown used to here. I thought that there everything was clean, ideal, (that I would be dealing) with gentlemen. But it turned out that there everything is even worse.

 

Q Worse than here?

 

A Yes, by some way.

 

Q In what way is that visible?

 

A They have a different mentality.

 

A different culture, or to be more precise, lack of culture. What do I mean by that? Here, for example, I can say to German (Tkachenko, the Russian football magnate who runs the agency that represents players such as Laryea Kingston and who was sitting next to him during the interview): 'Why are you trying to deceive me?' (German Tkachenko interjects: 'And I would feel ashamed'.) A And he would feel ashamed. But if I say that to a British person, they give you an innocent look and say, 'Me? Deceive you? I'll see you in court!' That's the difference.

 

What we would call base behaviour is the norm for them. It's normal for them to betray one's own club and conduct talks with another club behind their back or not to give their team everything on the pitch because someone has seduced them by waving the shirt of another club at them.

 

But fans there deserve something much more. They are not like the tiffosi in Italy. British supporters are well-versed, they understand everything, they live for football. But they are being served up a rotten product, even if it is well packaged.

 

Q Let's return to matters on the pitch. Last season, you had George Burley as manager. The quality of his work with the players was noted in Britain and beyond.

 

Under him the team enjoyed nine wins from 12 games, spent a long time at the top of the table, and were battling it out with Celtic for the title. The manager was respected by the team and loved by the fans, but why did he only last fourmonths in the job?

 

A What is a head coach? He is just a small part of a long chain. If the club lacks any organisation, he won't be able to achieve anything. These days agents understand more about football than head coaches.

 

Q So this was the problem?

 

A No. I'm speaking in general terms. What happened with Burley? Nothing happened with him. If you want to put it this way, Burley works in an agent's office - maybe something happened there.

 

As far as Burley is concerned - let him prove what he is capable of at his Southampton.

 

Q What was the reasoning behind appointing Eduard Malofeev, who failed to win a single game and became the worst manager in Hearts'132-year history?

 

A Well, if you've got five people in the team working for Celtic and Rangers, then what more is there to say? What could Malofeev have achieved.

 

Q Steven Pressley, who recently moved to Celtic, was presumably one of those? Who are the others?

 

A One might say that the captain of the team is already the whole team.

 

Q How do you see the club's future?

 

A The club's future? That's for God to know. It's not given for us to see.