Belshina start as underdogs

Belarussian champions FC Belshina Bobruisk are not fancied to repeat last season's success when the 2002 first division campaign gets under way today.

Major upheaval
A troubled pre-season in which the club's main sponsor cut its financial involvement has led to a major upheaval at the Spartak stadium. Several players left the club, including Valery Shantolosov, officially the best goalkeeper in the country in 2001, forcing coach Vyacheslav Akhshaev to offer his resignation. The board rejected it but morale is not good and Belshina will not start as favourites.

Chief challengers
History is also against Belshina: no title holder during the past five years has gone on to retain the league championship. FC Dinamo Minsk and FC BATE Borisov, champions in 1997 and 1999 respectively, will be looking to add another season to that statistic.

Influential player
Borisov have managed to lure Igor Chumachenko, the league's most influential midfield player in 2001, to the City stadium from rivals Dinamo during pre-season and several other key arrivals have prompted coach Yuri Puntus to publicly declare that the league and cup double is well within his side's grasp.

Homegrown talent
In contrast, Eduard Malofeev, the Dinamo coach, has kept a low profile in recent weeks, preferring to prime his team for success rather than lauding their chances in the media. When asked, however, about Dinamo's championship chances, he responded: "I like to grow the flowers in my own garden," in reference to the capital club's crop of homegrown players.

Chasing pack
Other sides hoping to impress are FC Gomel, Shakhtior Soligorsk, FC Slavia Mozyr, FC Neman Novopolotsk and Torpedo-MAZ Minsk. Each is capable of sustaining a championship challenge but breaking the stranglehold of the big three is likely to prove a fruitless task.

New boys
FC Torpedo Zhodino, recently promoted to the first division, are aiming high under coach Yakov Shapiro. He has an excellent pedigree after sensationally guiding FC Ataka to fourth place in their debut season in 1995. "I have posed 26 tasks for my players ahead of the new season," Shapiro said. "That is, to win every one of their 26 league matches." His words will be tested to the full today as Torpedo host Borisov.