Riabovas made his mark in Soviet era

IT MAY appear that Vladimir Romanov simply sticks a pin in an open page of the Lithuanian football encyclopedia when identifying his next occupant of the ever changing technical area at Hearts.

There is, however, at least a modicum of method in Romanov's madness. His choice of Eugenijus Riabovas as the latest caretaker head coach of the Tynecastle club is not a completely random decision.

Riabovas takes over on Monday and while he will certainly have no greater influence over team affairs than any of his exasperated predecessors were allowed under the club owner's authoritarian rule, a closer inspection of the 55-year-old's CV does at least show that he is a genuine football man.

Born in Kaunas, it was in Lithuania's capital Vilnius that Riabovas earned his reputation as one of the Baltic nation's most accomplished players of all time. The era in which he laced on his boots as a free-scoring striker was one which saw his country still subjugated by the Soviet empire, but Riabovas made the most of the limited opportunities available to him.

He scored 72 goals in 248 appearances for Zalgiris Vilnius, then Lithuania's leading club who were in the third tier of the old Soviet League pyramid when he joined them in 1976. In his second season with Zalgiris, Riabovas netted 23 times in 42 games as they earned promotion to the second division.

Riabovas was voted Lithuania's Player of the Year three seasons in succession from 1976 to 1978 and was a cornerstone of the Zalgiris side who eventually joined the heavyweight clubs from Moscow and Kiev in Soviet football's top flight in 1982.

Unfortunately for Riabovas, the best years of his career came when Lithuania did not play competitive international football in their own right. The Soviets, however, did allow players from their satellite states to wear their own national colours briefly at a tournament in Moscow in the summer of 1979.

It was with immense pride that Riabovas was named captain of the Lithuanian squad, playing in all seven of their matches as they faced opposition from Kyrgyztan to Georgia, although he was unable to score for his native land.

By the time Zalgiris reached the dizzy heights of the Soviet Supreme League, Riabovas' playing powers were on the wane and he returned to the Lithuanian domestic championship to play for Pazanga Vilnius in 1982. He helped Pazanga win the league and cup double in his first season, scoring in the cup final, and in 1983 made his initial move into management when, as player-coach, he helped Pazanga retain the Lithuanian title.

Riabovas remained fondly regarded at Zalgiris, however, and soon returned to his former club as part of the coaching staff. When Lithuania gained its independence in 1990, he emerged as a key figure as Zalgiris dominated the early years of the rejuvenated national league which they won in 1991 and 1992.

He was promoted to the head coach's position in 1995 and among the emerging talent he guided was a young Edgaras Jankauskas, the striker he will now be rejoining at Hearts. Zalgiris regularly qualified for the European club competitions under Riabovas and Aberdeen supporters may experience a shiver up their spines when reminded of the UEFA Cup tie between the teams in August 1996.

Roy Aitken's side appeared to have secured an easy passage to the first round proper of the tournament with a 4-1 win in Lithuania, but Zalgiris forged a 2-0 lead at Pittodrie and had Aberdeen reeling until Brian Irvine scored with four minutes remaining. Zalgiris, who included future Dunfermline defender Andrius Skerla in their line-up, scored again for a 3-1 win on the night, but Aberdeen sneaked through on aggregate.

Riabovas left Zalgiris when he was appointed coach of the Lithuanian under-21 side in 1999. Among those under his charge were Deividas Cesnauskis, also now at Hearts, but Lithuania managed just two wins from ten games in their qualifying campaign for the 2002 European under-21 Championships.

Riabovas returned to Zalgiris, adding another honour to his list when they lifted the Lithuanian Cup in 2003, before receiving the call from Romanov for the first time earlier this year to replace Eduard Malofeev as head coach of Kaunas. He completed the championship winning season the veteran Russian had started, but now faces a far more daunting challenge at a club and in a country where his employer's bizarre behaviour does not bring success so easily.

Nevertheless, Riabovas is confident he can be a success at Tynecastle.

"For me there are good teams and bad teams and I want to work for a good team," he said yesterday. "Hearts have a very strong team and I think I am good enough to be the Hearts coach. There are good trainers and bad trainers and I think I am a good trainer."

Taken from the Scotsman