Author's column by Ruslan Vasilyev. How will the next attempt to tame the football kolka end?

Football team of Belarus on the eve of the big premiere! Namely, the first official matches under the leadership of the new head coach Viktor Gancharenko in the framework of the Nations League - the UEFA tournament is gaining maturity. Our team is registered in the third-ranked division "C", group 1. Rivals are Albania, Finland and San Marino.

Here is what is interesting: if in previous years the group stage of the League of Nations was divided into three autumn game blocks, now the designers of UEFA, as stated in the film by Mark Zakharov “The Munchausen”, decided to combine “celebrations with arrests”. So we only have two game blocks. The first is late September/early October (four matches), the second is the equator of November (two matches). And any fan knows how mysterious the paths of football mentors are. The most joyful anticipation of the first fight can soon be replaced by a series of failures, and therefore disappointment, which sometimes initiates hasty coaching resignations. Of course, this is not our case! At least in the pre-launch days, we should entertain only optimistic expectations. Just confirm as “Our Father”: the Belarusian team can turn into a real force on the continent, which will be proved in the League of Nations! And then, of course, “hurrah!”, “attack!”, “bullet fool – bayonet!” and all that.

Really! That’s how we’ll start winning on September 26 in Albania, and we’ll continue to do it in Finland on September 29, and then in Budapest in October, which will be our team’s hometown this autumn. And do not be ashamed of ambitious plans! First, in professional sports, ostentatious modesty is a moveton, and we have long needed to shout: "Hey you up there!" Move, move, we're coming! Secondly, the ABFF bosses have already set very ambitious goals for Gancharenko. By the way, immediately note that they are two-stage. In January, when a four-year contract was signed with the mentor, the federation leadership clearly formulated the requirement to enter the final stage of the top tournament, where the nearest is the European Championship-2028. Like, the format of the selection is so simplified that “it’s time to rejoice in your lifetime.” And in September, the chairman of the federation, Yevgeny Buloychik, noted that the League of Nations is strategically considered as the main stage of preparation for the fight for a ticket to the continental forum.

However, the tournament of the Nations League, no one called training – no! Bulojchik, referring to Gancharenko, said about the intention of the national team “always to play for victory, always to please our fan regardless of the status of the match”, which automatically means the fight for first or second place in group 1 of division “C”. “What will we strive for!” – stated the Chairman of the ABFF.

“Yes, of course!” replied the mentor, who jokingly told how sad and uninteresting the outsider share, forcing “from third place to threaten fourth”. So you have to do everything you can to step up, why not? This refers to a breakthrough in Division B, for which it is necessary to prevail in the group. The good news is that Albanians and Finns are slightly higher in rating than us, but in any case, close by. That's right! And here it is important not to look back on your opponents, but to show your best qualities.

By the way, our rivals in group 1 treat the Belarusian team with respectful fear, which is best evidenced by the Finnish throwing in the field of political “warming of spirit”. So, immediately after the draw of the Nations League in February, football figures of the country Suomi were so saddened by the prospect of playing a home match with Belarus that they announced the transfer of the battle, scheduled for September 29, outside Finland – to a neutral field. However, closer to autumn, the Chukhon residents changed their shoes in the air, preferring to take Belarusians to the Olympic Stadium in Helsinki. This prompted Ukrainian anger. Don’t worry, your shirt is closer to your body.

Nevertheless! Respect for rivals is great, but how appropriate are our own ambitions? Unfortunately, doubts abound. The fact that the table of the national championship in the major leagues is sensationally headed by the missing stars from the sky “Isloch”, transparently alludes to Shakespeare’s diagnosis from “Hamlet”: “Not all is well in the Danish kingdom.” Of course, the “wolves” are happy: they are amazingly bold and let them continue in the same spirit. But, firstly, the potential of the leader does not look high, and the connection of Isochi with the main team of the country is small - only defender Ivan Tikhomirov is invited. Secondly, the failures of the favorites - Dynamo Minsk, ML Vitebsk, Neman, Torpedo-BELAZ, to put it mildly, are discouraging. After all, they should be locomotives, but in fact the grandees play like “trailer trailers”. This, of course, was reflected in the summer European Cup campaign. BATE, ML Vitebsk, Minsk Dynamo achieved very little, both individually and collectively. Although, perhaps, to the club from Borisov still can not make claims. However, only because of the “yellow-blue”, the outsider of the major league, no one in principle expected anything, and they, look, made it to the second qualifying round of the conference League. In turn, ML Vitebsk immediately flew out of the Champions League, and in the Conference League for a long time did not stay. And to understand who trains bookmakers on a particular day with their scandalous staff turnover on the captain’s bridge is not a task for average minds. Finally, the capital “Dynamo” under the mentor Alexander Shagoiko simply does not have its own game pattern, faceless team.

So where does our ambition come from? First of all, it should be understood that the average level of Belarusian performers is not so bad. We don’t have to eat it, but we do! Some may be surprised, but I will insist that the inertia of Eduard Malofeev’s efforts dating back to the late 1970s is still having a positive impact. As we put the computer then “literate”, so we enjoy a good educational level. Even if many do not already understand who should bow at the feet for this. Of course, there is hope in us for the help of the troops of the legionnaires - 12 players. The same goalkeeper of Sofia CSKA Fedor Lapoukhov drags his club, winning a series of post-match penalties in Europe, in particular in Bulgaria. But the main bet of the fans and the leadership of the ABFF is made on the professionalism of the coach Gancharenko, in which, I would like to believe, the same best footballer of the country - 2025 Valery Gromyko, who is now gray like a fireman's pants in ML Vitebsk, will be able to show his best football. Like all other Belarusian collections. In the spring and summer of this year, the Belarusian national team held a series of friendly matches in which they never lost: three wins and one draw. The teams of Cyprus (1: 0), Armenia (2: 1) and Syria (4: 1) were defeated. The match with the squad of Burkina Faso ended in peace - 2: 2. NOTE

For the games of the League of Nations in our team are preparing 26 players.

Goalkeepers: Pavel Pavlyuchenko (ML Vitebsk), Fedor Lapoukhov (CSKA Sofia, Bulgaria), Andrey Kudravets (Dynamo-Minsk). Defenders: Kirill Pechenin (“Wings of the Soviets”, Russia), Zakhar Volkov, Kirill Gomanov (both “ML Vitebsk”), Anton Lukashov (“Orenburg”, Russia), Egor Parkhomenko (“Torpedo” Moscow, Russia), Roman Begunov, Vladislav Kalinin (both “Dynamo-Minsk”), Ivan Tikhomirov (“Isloch”). Midfielders: Max Ebong (CSKA Sofia, Bulgaria), Evgeny Yablonsky (Asteras, Greece), Valery Gromyko, Valery Bocherov, Artem Kontseva (all - "ML Vitebsk"), Alexander Selyava, Evgeny Malashevich (both - "Dynamo-Minsk"), Artem Shumansky ("Akron", Russia), Daniil Galata ("Aris", Cyprus), Anton Kovalev ("Torch", Russia), Alexander Svirepa ("Isloch"). Forwarders: Vitaly Lisakovich (Tobol, Kazakhstan), German Barkovsky (Polonia, Poland), Trofim Melnichenko (Port, Portugal), Timofey Simanenka (Gomel).