© EuroFootball.com
Approaching the match with the defending champion Glasgow "Celtic" of Scotland, the vice-champion of Edinburgh club owner Vladimir Romanov denied rumors that he could soon fire the team's coach Valdas Ivanauskas and called it "complete nonsense." The newspaper "Daily Record" on Friday reported that after the Champions League second qualifying round match, which ended in a draw, where "Hearts" played as guests against "Siroki Brijeg," a conflict occurred between the Lithuanian businessman and the team's coach, as V. Romanov was extremely dissatisfied with the team's performance.
"I want to reassure our players and fans that this is not true, none of that happened. That journalist writes absolute nonsense. I saw Valdas, but it was a short meeting, as I was going to the car to leave for business, and he was going to a press conference. I shook his hand and said "great job" for advancing to the next stage - and we both went our separate ways. Later we did not talk on the phone and certainly did not argue. I have complete confidence in Valdas," said V. Romanov.
The club owner said he saw the significance of such rumors: "This story is simply created, but I know what the goal is - to ruin the team's morale before important matches. It was the same last year, when newspapers wrote made-up stories before the big games, trying to completely destroy the players' confidence. Every time before such matches, they start this verbal diarrhea. It's such nonsense and raises questions about the newspapers that publish such stories."
V. Ivanauskas also denied the spread rumors: "I have never argued and would like to meet with the correspondent who wrote about it. It's a story without any facts. How could Mr. Romanov have time for arguments, when after the match he went straight to Split airport? I don't know where such information comes from, and there is no truth in it."
In the fight for a ticket to the Champions League matches, "Hearts" will have to defeat Athens "AEK," but before that there is an important match in the national championship - on Sunday, the Edinburgh club will play at home against Glasgow "Celtic." In this match, the team may already be joined by Portuguese Tiago Costa, who officially joined on Thursday.
The 21-year-old defender able to play in defensive positions, T. Costa, whose contract with Lisbon's "Benfica" expired in the summer, participated in the "Hearts" trial for a while, and although his chances of staying in the team were initially viewed skeptically, before the player registration deadline for the match with "AEK" club, he signed a two-year contract with the possibility of extending it for another year.
"It's great to join this club. In Portugal, "Hearts" is well known because Bruno Aguiaras, Takis Fyssas, and Edgaras Jankauskas play there. When my agent told me about this opportunity, I wanted to come here and improve. I trained here for three weeks, and it's a very well-organized club with good fans, and I am optimistic about everything. I will do my best for the team and hope to continue the success that was started last season," said T. Costa officially to the club website.
