| Sergei Stepashin introduced the new owner of football Dynamo The capital's football club Dynamo shared its plans for the coming years. The scope of the Blue and White leadership is impressive. The new owner of the club, Alexey Fedorychev, promised to allocate $150 million for infrastructure development alone. In response, the head of the Dynamo board of trustees, chairman of the Accounts Chamber, Sergei Stepashin promised Mr. Fedorychev “full preference from the state.”
In turn, Dynamo General Director Yuri Zavarzin had no choice but to promise the Russian Cup next year, entry into the European arena in two years, and gold medals in the national championship in three years. “These tasks will be completed - we will meet in three years with the same composition. No, you won’t see anyone sitting at this table again,” Mr. Stepashin mysteriously told reporters.
To begin with, he explained how the head of the Fedcominvest company, the general and almost the only sponsor of the Champions League finalist Monaco, Alexey Fedorychev, received 51% of Dynamo shares. “There were three options,” said the chairman of the club’s board of trustees. - The first is a Soviet atavism: finance the club from the budget. But this path leads to nowhere. The second option is one-time financial injections into the club. This was the case when the title sponsor of the team was YUKOS. Oleg Deripaska offered us a similar option. In the same vein, we previously worked with Alexei Mikhailovich (Fedorychev - Ed. ). But in the end we came to the conclusion that the club should have an owner.”
The new owner was the owner of a company engaged in the export and import of mineral fertilizers, Alexey Fedorychev. “The owner is strong, arrogant and proven. Hereditary Dynamo player. He began his military service in the first regiment of Dzerzhinsky’s division,” Sergei Stepashin described Mr. Fedorychev in a nutshell.
Apparently, Dynamo management has finally decided on who will be the head coach. Sergei Stepashin made it clear who he sees as the team's coach.
“The corresponding proposal was made to Oleg Romantsev,” said Stepashin. - We talked with him about this topic during the match with Shinnik and we look forward to a long-term partnership with the coach, who was written off too early. Now the ball is in his court. Earlier we talked with Anatoly Byshovets. But now he is in Scotland, where he received a tempting offer. A year and a half ago there were conversations with Oleg Dolmatov. Then Oleg, unfortunately, refused our offer, citing first of all his moral obligations to Kuban.
By the way, the general director of the club, Yuri Zavarzin, made it clear that Oleg Romantsev is close to accepting the invitation. In any case, according to Zavarzin, Romantsev has already compiled two lists. In the first - players who should be left in the team, in the second - those players whom he would like to buy.
The new owner of the club, Alexey Fedorychev, did not hide the fact that Dynamo is more for the soul than for business. “I have many other opportunities to earn money, but I want to help Dynamo, I want the club to get on its feet,” Fedorychev explained. And then he told me how much and how he was going to spend on Russian football. “To date, $20 million has already been invested in Dynamo,” said the club owner. Using his funds, the club's debt of $13.5 million was recently paid off. Dynamo's annual budget, according to Mr. Fedorychev, should be about $25 million.
The most expendable item, for which, apparently, Dynamo was given to Alexey Fedorychev, is investment in infrastructure construction. They will amount to $150 million. Using these funds, the reconstruction of the sports training base in Novogorsk will be completed. More than a year ago, the first stone was solemnly laid at the base’s foundation, but somehow things didn’t go any further. Now the players can hope that the hotel complex will be built next year.
Also, according to the plans of the club's management, in 2005 the reconstructed Small Sports Arena of the Dynamo Stadium with stands for 13-15 thousand spectators will be fully commissioned. There the team will begin to hold matches of the national championship when the Big Sports Arena is rebuilt. “This work will be carried out together with the implementation of the project for the reconstruction of Petrovsky Park, into which very serious funds are being invested,” explained Sergei Stepashin. Moreover, the football fields in the two arenas are rotated 90 degrees relative to their current position. This will be done due to special requirements of UEFA.
Mr. Fedorychev also promised support from Monaco. “We talked about this topic with Deschamps (Monaco head coach. - Ed. ) He was also interested in the idea of cooperation with a Russian club,” said the owner of the Fedcominvest company, whose central office is located in Monte Carlo. But first of all, cooperation will be carried out on the exchange of young football players. Expensive players, like Cavenaghi, who cost Spartak almost $11 million, according to Fedorychev, are harmful to Russian football. Andrey VDOVIN |
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