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Former "Kaunas" coach Eduardas Malofejevas left the Edinburgh "Hearts" club and returned to Belarus to train the Minsk "MTZ Ripo" team. According to the Scottish media, the strategist also admitted to having disagreements with Valdas Ivanauskas, who led the "Hearts" team.
The 64-year-old Belarusian, who left the future Lithuanian champions "Kaunas" at the beginning of the season to move to Scotland, where he worked as director of sport at "Hearts," acting as Ivanauskas's replacement during his absence, did not secure a single victory in six matches.
"I had problems with Ivanauskas. He's a great guy, but sometimes it was not easy to agree with him. When I first arrived at "Hearts," I didn't have a UEFA license, so I didn't get permission to work. So I had to be an advisor to Romanov in the role of sports director," Malofejevas told the newspaper "Daily Record."
"I participated in organizing some training programs, but I had problems with Ivanauskas, and therefore I couldn't assert myself more when working with the team. I told Romanov about this problem, but when Ivanauskas fell ill, Vladimir asked me to be the coach," the Belarusian said.
However, almost a month after his vacation, Ivanauskas returned to the Edinburgh club and on the previous Saturday, he led the "Hearts" team in a match against "St. Mirren." Meanwhile, Malofejevas was appointed to coach the "MTZ Ripo" club, which, like "Kaunas" and "Hearts," is financed by the businessman from Kaunas, V. Romanov.
The specialist from Belarus also admitted that it was not easy to overcome the cultural differences between Eastern Europe and Scotland: "Some episodes in Scotland I liked, but not all, and when I learned what I didn't like, I told the leaders. In Russia and Belarus, we promote a stricter training system, while in Scotland, people just love football. I have to admit that when I was in charge, the team didn’t play well within a month, as we ended three matches in a draw and lost to the Rangers and Celtic."
Malofejevas' return to his homeland likely means that Eugenijus Riabovas will continue to lead "Kaunas" next season, who was an assistant to the Belarusian at the club, and in June, the head coach. when the coach of the vyr. took over the duties and helped the residents of Kaunas win the "A Lyga" gold medals again after a year's break. "Kaunas" will start preparing for the new season in just over a week.
However, Riabovas himself stated that he would also like to move to "Hearts" and for now doesn't know his future: "Today or tomorrow, I will know whether I will go to Edinburgh, because I am preparing to talk to Vladimir Romanov. I want to talk to him until Saturday. I do not know my current position, but I am thinking about what Vladimir told me. I still want to come to "Hearts", I believe that I would only help them. But at the moment, I don't know if I will go or not, I don't know if there will be a place for me there."
