They produced players like Alexander Hleb and Vitali Kutuzov, two of the highest profile current Belarusian internationals currently plying their trade abroad. And now, BATE Borisov are building a dynasty in their own right.
Borisov is a city of around 150,000 located east of the capital Minsk. And it’s now the home of the dominant Belarusian club side of the past few years, winning three consecutive League titles and currently looking good for a fourth (currently 9 points clear at the time of writing). Their 2008 success is their fifth in all.
Belarus is one of a number of countries to operate a calendar year season due to climactic factors, Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway being among the others.
Last year, BATE made history by being Belarus’ first-ever representative in the group stage of the Champions’ League after eliminating Anderlecht and Levski Sofia. They were drawn with giants like Real Madrid and Juventus. Although predictably finishing bottom of the group, they still managed three draws- including two with Juventus.
BATE’s squad includes several Belarusian internationals, and star players include the gifted attacking midfield duo of Igor Stasevich and Sergei Krivets, both of whom scored against Juventus. They follow the pattern set by teams of the former Soviet Union and the Eastern Bloc in general- a well-drilled side with high levels of technical ability and tactical awareness.
Belarus are currently coached by former Perth Glory coach Bernd Stange, under whom a fair number of domestic players have been utilised, and they now find themselves in contention for second place in their group behind England. One of those, FC Vitebsk midfielder Pavel Sitko, scored against England in a 3-1 home loss.
Should BATE repeat their feat of qualifying for the first group stage, last year’s experience will put them in good stead and big name opponents will await- filling up the club coffers will not be a problem. Considering Arsenal’s poor away record against teams from the region (having suffered defeats to Spartak Moscow, Dynamo Kiev, CSKA Moscow and Shaktar Donetsk), and that Chelsea are also susceptible to tripping up to this kind of opponent, dire warnings of doom and defeat for the English capital’s clubs are not without without sound foundation.
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