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He won 47 full caps for the Soviet Union, made nearly 300 appearances for the mighty
Dynamo Kiev, owns a string of medals including one for winning the European Cup Winners
Cup - oh, and did we mention he played for St. Johnstone?
Six years after pulling on the Saints shirt for the last time, the great Sergei
Baltacha met up with fanzine writer Rafe Dewar for a no-holds barred interview, which
now appears exclusively in blueheaven.
So, have you had the opportunity to see Saints much recently?
Yes, I usually watch on television, but in the First Division I went to see them a
couple of times. In the last 5-6 years the club has done very well, and it is now an
ambitious club maybe 3rd, 4th position in the table, not in the middle or in danger
of relegation. Paul Sturrock did really well, and Sandy is a good manager and has
achieved good results.
Was the smooth transition between the two managers during the season
surprising?
Oh yes. I know Sandy is a very organised manager tactically. That is why I was surprised
when Saints lost 7-0 to Rangers. The games recently were different as Saints played
more defensively which you maybe have to do. But Sandy is the right man for the job.
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Sergei displays his medals
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What do you think of the Saints team now compared to the one that you
played in?
The difference between the two teams is money. Sandy, and Paul Sturrock previously
have had the opportunity to buy better players than before. The team plays exciting
football like we used to play during our first season in the Premier. But I don't
like comparing teams because I don't really know the players now. It is a different
time and different football.
I think that what can be compared easily with the two teams is the good team spirit
now, and at the start of the 1990-91 campaign especially.
Oh yes. It is still a good community club and the people who work there are very
friendly. The club is like a family and there is a good atmosphere. I very much
enjoyed it in Perth. The club have good directors and are certainly heading in the
right direction.
What about the boardroom - Geoff Brown for instance?
I have known Geoff for a long time and respect him very much. He is a good chairman
and a good business man. As a result the club is in a good financial position.
What was your opinion on the sacking of Alex Totten?
I think it was a bad decision to sack Alex at that time, and a bad move to appoint
John McClelland. It came down on the club very heavily, because I don't think he was
the right man for the job. Saints got relegated soon after, and I don't think
his (McClelland's) understanding of football was good enough. It is all in the past
now, but I think that if there has been one mistake that Geoff has made then it was that.
What was your most memorable moment with Saints?
I remember every one of my games with Saints and honestly I enjoyed playing very
much. But I feel that I left the club having not given every thing that I could.
I could have given maybe 3-4 more years to the supporters, but unfortunately John
McClelland took over the club and he did not want me to continue. Alex and Geoff
offered me a contract before Alex was sacked, but when John took over he cancelled
the contract. He actually lied to the players by saying that there was a contract
put on the table, but I had demanded more money. He would not even discuss my signing
which was very disappointing because I enjoyed playing for the club. I was 35 at the
time and I played on as manager of Caley Thistle, but I feel I could have played on
at Saints for a few more years. It is sad because it was political. I think that John
cancelled the contract because of personal differences. Maybe I was too popular, too
much of a threat to his position. I felt that from the first time I met him in his
mind he really was against me. We had a couple of problems in the first team as
well - we even threw a couple of punches in a game against Airdrie in his first season.
John's arrival affected me and also affected the club because he began to play me at
different positions - at right back, four in central defence. But he was the manager,
and managers must put across their own ideas, which I am OK with. I have never met
him since I left the club but I would like to meet him (laughs).
I can only remember you scoring once for Saints, in the game at Dunfermline when
we won 3-0. The ball bobbled over Andy Rhodes from around 30 yards out. Did you
mean that, Sergei?
It was a difficult game for us because we had three games within a week during that
spell. I remember I was very tired because of this...
So you took a shot instead of running any further?
Yes, I said "OK, I'll need to take a shot now!"
When you signed for Saints there was a huge buzz around Perth, as it was a massive
achievement for the club and the town.
At that time I did not realise how big it was being the first Russian in Britain. There
were two offers, From Xamax in Switzerland, and Ipswich. But the Ipswich vice chairman
and manager arrived first in Moscow and I decided after a few days. I wanted to try
British football which is very popular in Russia. When I arrived at Ipswich it was a
very different attitude and style of football. John Duncan bought me as sweeper but
I never played there for him, which did not make me happy. When I heard that
St.Johnstone were interested, my first question was 'do they play sweeper?!' Alex
Totten said yes, and we talked.
How have you spent your time since leaving Saints?
After Saints I was manager at Inverness Caley for 2 years, then I moved back to Kiev
as I had an offer to work as assistant manager for their daughter club in the First
Division for two and a half years. Then Tony Fitzpatrick asked me to help out at
St.Mirren as assistant manager. But then Tony was sacked and Tom Hendrie brought
in a new team. There was a lot of politics at Caley but it was good experience.
My players had a good attitude. It was a good club with a good board, but the first
season was very difficult because of the recent merger. I have never known a town
where one member of the family may be a Caley fan and another a Thistle fan, and the
two do not speak! I didn't really have any money, but I brought in Alan Smart from
Brechin, and it has been good to see his potential recognised. I sold him to Preston
and he is now at Watford. I tried to develop young players from scratch, spending 12
hours on the park towards youth development. I think the club now has great potential.
It was difficult to travel regularly from Perth to Inverness, but my daughter wanted
to play tennis and there were no facilities or competition there. It was difficult
for her to progress so I resigned for family reasons. Elena has the ability to continue
and progress in tennis. She is 15 and in the British squad, and I hope she will turn
pro soon. She is 76th in the world for under 18's, and No.1 in Britain. Hopefully
one day she will maybe even win Wimbledon!
Your disciplined approach to the game is well known. So what do you make
of Roddy!?
HeÕs a great player - a nice lad and a good personality. He very much deserved his
testimonial. You need to have players in your team like Roddy. He gives 100% for the
supporters.
I have been told to ask about a supposed after-match trip home where you declined the
invitation of a celebratory fish supper, when the rest of the team got stuck in?
Yes, that is true. I had forgotten about that! I do enjoy fish and chips but not after
a match! All my life I have learned to be very professional, and it is maybe why I
played over 10 years for the national team. My son is also doing well at St. Mirren
and I hope I have been a good example to him. Sergei Jnr has become a regular for the
first team this season. He signed for Dynamo Kiev last November after being invited
for a trial. But Ukrainian rules stipulate that if you are over 18 you must enrol in
the army for 2-3 years. Within 24 hours he was ordered to attend an army camp or he
would be arrested. If we had tried to leave from the Ukraine he would also have been
arrested, so we drove a car straight to Moscow and flew back to the UK. We cancelled
the contract!
So why is it that Rangers and Celtic, for all their money, cannot find success
in Europe?
France won the World Cup because they started to develop a youth policy 20 years
ago, yet are only now seeing the benefits. This is a problem for Scottish football.
But Dynamo Kiev has had a youth policy for 40 years already. It has been the coaches
that have developed these players, and that has been the biggest problem in
Scotland - finding coaches. Also, academic learning is as important as full-time
coaching. When I was 12 I left my home for the School of Excellence where I was
full-time. I started to play games only when I was 16-17. Before that we maybe only
played games 2-3 time per year. The rest of the time was practice - no pressure, and
plenty time to develop my skills. Children here have the pressure every Saturday from
their parents and coaches, and do not get the chance to develop their skills.
When they are under pressure they do not enjoy the game, and do not do the right
things. With all the other distractions such as computers today, it is important
that money is put into coaching to encourage kids. In European football, when a
player arrives in a reserve team at 17-18 he can do everything from a technical
point of view. But here, even some professionals in the Premier cannot kick the ball
with both feet! The reason is that they did not go through the system as a youngster.
So I must ask, what do you enjoy about Scottish football?
I have really enjoyed Scotland. It is much different even to Ipswich. It is faster, and
there is great passion, and fairness. I was the type of player that was very
emotional, very physical, and when I played for Dynamo Kiev I was one of the aggressive
footballers. I like aggressive football, and so Scottish football was suited to me.
In European football, any touching of opposition players results in a free-kick.
Here I like the challenges.
Who was the best player that you played with at St.Johnstone?
All of the team that I played with was good. I can recall every name, from Lindsay
Hamilton who was a great keeper, John Inglis, Mark Treanor, everyone. I won everything
a player can, but the reason for this was that I was always lucky to be part of a
team, where that spirit made us play for each other. St.Johnstone had that atmosphere.
We were friends not just on, but also off the park. This is important, not just in
football but in any business. St.Johnstone were successful in my time because the
team, the club, and the town were all together. It was very important that when I
came back into the changing room I hadn't let down my mates.
I will remember everybody at St.Johnstone for the rest of my life - the players...
And Aggie?
Definitely!
At the time did you know anything about the Graeme Souness altercation with Aggie?
In all honesty, no. I only read about it in the papers the next day.
Souness famously referred to Harry Curran as a "hammer thrower" after the game for
his tackle Oleg Kuznetsov. What actually happened?
Kuznetsov already had this injury when he arrived at Rangers, and Souness said it
was a bad tackle. But after the game I came into the changing room and spoke to
Kuznetsov, and he said he twisted his knee with no contact.
Who was the best player that you played against in Scotland?
I rated Davie Cooper very highly when he was playing for Motherwell.
I look back now and the quality of football when I played in the Premier was very high.
Who about the all-time best player you have come up against?
In my life I have played against everybody - Van Basten, Gullit, but I reckon the best
player was Maradona. I marked him twice.
And in Spain 1982 you played against Scotland?
Yes, I played in all five games. Scotland had a good side - Strachan, etc.
We drew 2-2 but for us that was enough. We knew before we played Scotland we were
good enough to get the draw. It was like Rangers now, a similar attitude to
Mr. Advocaat, if we needed a draw we would get a draw. In 1986, after the Cup
Winners Cup I snapped my Achilles and I was in hospital for 2 weeks and missed
the World Cup in Mexico. In 1990, I was again in the squad but I signed a contract
with Ipswich not to attend.
Was Spain 1982 the highlight of your career?
I was lucky to play in the 1988 European Championships in my last season with
Dynamo Kiev. We lost in the final to Holland. I also regard the Cup-Winners Cup win
a highlight. We (Dynamo Kiev) lost to Steaua Bucharest in the Super Cup in 1987
in Monaco. I was lucky to win the U-19's World Cup and the U-21's Euro Championship,
as well as my Olympic bronze in 1980. I won the Russian League 4 times, the Russian
Cup 4 times, and the Russian Super Cup 3 times. I was nominated 10 times as the best
defender in Russia. Unfortunately I didn't win any medals for St.Johnstone which was
a great pity.
If only Dave Bowman hadn't handled the ball on the line at the semi-final at East
End Park though...
Yes, and the second goal we lost against Dundee Utd was offside. Saints will win it
some day though. Geoff Brown's dream when I was there was to see Saints play in Europe.
But Rangers and Celtic have discovered it is a much different standard - mentality,
preparation. It will be a long wait to see a Scottish team succeed, Scotland is so far
behind.
What about your future?
For the first time in my life I have found out that the footballing profession is
very insecure! I have a diploma of P.E. teaching in Russia, and I have tried to get
this recognised in Britain. It is difficult to get back into football because I am
still recognised as foreign. For me, football is everything but I realise that the
longer I am out of football, the more difficult it is to get back in.
If a managerial job arose?
I still think I have a lot to offer in management, or even perhaps coaching in an
academy in England.
If the situation arose in the future that St.Johnstone had a job vacancy, would you
consider applying?
Oh yes! I love the club, and I would want to do it definitely. I am very appreciative
of the supporters and all my time I felt happy there. My game was all about giving
something back to the fans, but unfortunately I didn't get the chance to offer more.
But football is funny - I don't know what lies around the corner. I am still young
though, at 40, with management and coaching experience. It would be easy in Ukraine
to find employment where I have many contacts, but it is a bit more difficult here
to know chairmen, and directors. However, I am now settled here in Scotland, where
my family is.
Interview: Rafe Dewar
Interview originally appeared: Issue 1 (February 2000)
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