Malofeev lacks style as coach, says Baltacha

THE curriculum vitae of Eduard Malofeev makes impressive reading, having played for his country in the World Cup finals of 1966 and then guided them to the finals 20 years later as manager.

It is perhaps a closer look behind the bare statistics of the latter achievement, however, which provides the best clue as to what Hearts can expect from the man who will be in charge of their next two fixtures against Dunfermline and Celtic.

The news that 64-year-old Malofeev is now acting head coach at the Tynecastle club came as a major surprise to one of the men who made up the squad of players which qualified for the 1986 World Cup finals in Mexico under his command.

Sergei Baltacha, the cultured former Dynamo Kiev defender who spent time in Scottish football with St Johnstone and Inverness Caley, appeared genuinely startled when informed by The Scotsman yesterday of Malofeev's latest role in a remarkable career.

"It's a big surprise for me to hear that," said Baltacha. "I wasn't even aware that Mr Malofeev had gone to Hearts this year."

Baltacha was generally reticent to discuss Malofeev's coaching style and methods at any length, an indicator that his time in charge of the USSR from 1984 to 1986 is not exactly fondly recalled.

"He had won the Soviet Supreme League with Dinamo Minsk, which was a massive achievement," said Baltacha. "It was the first time a club from Belarus had won the championship and that's why he was given the job of managing the national team.

"All I can really say about the qualifying campaign for Mexico is that the results were okay, but the performances were not so great. The supporters were not happy with the way the team played."

The Soviets, for whom Baltacha had distinguished himself in the 1982 finals in Spain at Scotland's expense, were drawn alongside Denmark, Norway, Switzerland and the Republic of Ireland on the road to Mexico 86, with the top two teams in the section securing a place in the finals.

After a poor start to the campaign, winning only one of their first five games, Malofeev's team recovered and grabbed second place in the group behind Denmark by reeling off three consecutive home wins in the autumn of 1985 against the Danes, Irish and Norwegians.

Both the fans and the Soviet football federation officials, however, remained unconvinced of Malofeev's ability to lead the team successfully in the finals and their misgivings were hardened by a calamitous series of friendly internationals in the first few months of 1986. Four straight defeats were suffered against Spain, Mexico, England and Romania, prompting the decision to dismiss Malofeev.

He was replaced by Valery Lobanovsky, the legendary Ukrainian coach who had just guided Baltacha's Dynamo Kiev side to an historic triumph in the European Cup Winners' Cup when they defeated Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the final.

"The federation officials turned to Lobanovsky and it was a popular decision," says Baltacha. "As I say, there was a lot of discontent with the way the team had been playing under Malofeev. It was not a difficult decision, because Dynamo Kiev had just won the Cup Winners' Cup and most of our players would be part of the national squad for the World Cup finals. It made sense to give the job to Lobanovsky."

A snapped Achilles tendon sustained just two weeks before the Mexico finals robbed Baltacha of his place in Lobanovsky's squad who transformed their style of play under the stern-faced new coach. The Soviets were one of the most attractive teams on show in the finals, crushing Hungary 6-0 in their opening game and qualifying from a first-round group which included France. They were eventually knocked out by Belgium 4-3 in one of the games of the tournament.

Malofeev's career continued at Moscow Dynamo, but without any notable success, before his later return to international management in charge of Belarus.

If Baltacha is either unable or unwilling to provide a ringing endorsement of Malofeev's qualities as a coach, he has no problem in enthusing over his former manager's place in Russian football's playing hall of fame.

"Malofeev was a brilliant player," says Baltacha. "Everyone recognises him as one of the best players of the team which reached the semi-finals of the World Cup in 1966. There is no doubt he is one of the country's all-time greats. As a coach, it was harder for him."

Now a full-time PE teacher in London and working as a part-time coach for Charlton Athletic's youth academy, Baltacha will pay closer attention than usual to the Scottish football results this weekend.

"It will be very interesting to see how things work out for Mr Malofeev at Hearts," he said. "I hope he does well but, as I have said, it is a surprising choice."

Taken from the Scotsman