Translated material
Offside
Yuri Zavarzin resigned from the post of general director of FC Dynamo
Yesterday it was announced a change in the highest executive power at the country's oldest football club. According to the information contained in the official press release of ZAO FC Dynamo (Moscow), the now former general director Yuri Zavarzin submitted his resignation of his own free will. Dmitry Ivanov, who previously headed the working group for the implementation of the anti-crisis program of the Dynamo hockey club (Moscow), was appointed to perform duties in this post from August 17.CJSC FC Dynamo draws attention to the fact that its shareholders are still the central council of the company and businessman Alexey Fedorychev, and OJSC Vneshtorgbank acts as a creditor and financial partner. Despite the deliberate emphasis, it is clear that the reshuffle marks the beginning of a process of serious changes in the structure of the club.
Having failed to reach an understanding with the Dynamo Central Committee regarding the transfer of ownership of land in the capital’s Petrovsky Park, Alexey Fedorychev suspended funding for the football club. The “blue and white” had serious wage arrears, and in order to avoid a players’ strike, the central council took out a loan from Vneshtorgbank. It was possible to patch up the financial holes that arose, but one cannot count on a serious transfer policy in these conditions. The appointment of Mr. Ivanov, who has already proven himself to be a professional anti-crisis manager, to the post of general director should rather be considered as a temporary measure until the final settlement of issues in relations between current and potential shareholders.
In the meantime, the majority of Dynamo fans accept with undisguised joy the resignation of Mr. Zavarzin, the second head of the Dynamo club in post-Soviet times, who replaced Nikolai Tolstykh in August 2002. Then the arrival of Zavarzin, as a man from the camp of Spartak - historically the main opponent of Dynamo, was received with hostility. None of his promises, both in terms of achieving sporting results and in terms of developing the club's infrastructure over the past four years, have, in fact, been fulfilled. Dynamo fans have repeatedly staged various protests against their general director.
Dmitry Ivanov, who replaced him, is an unfamiliar figure to a wide range of sports fans. He served as head of the PR department of TNK, deputy general director for public relations of the Russian Aluminum company, where he oversaw contracts for sponsorship of the Russian national and Olympic football teams. When HC Dynamo had financial problems last spring, Mr. Ivanov took a key part in resolving the situation, structuring debts and preparing the budget for the next season. Which I successfully dealt with.