Dinamo facing barren season

FC Dinamo Minsk are currently enduring one of the most difficult years in their illustrious history and face a struggle to qualify for European competition next season.

Five titles
Dinamo last won the league title in 2004 under coach Yury Shukanov, their first since 1997, but that success failed to set the tone for following seasons with numerous coaches having come and gone after failing to restore the club to its former glory. Such times are a contrast to the early 1990s when Dinamo won five titles in a row between 1992 and 1997.

Golden period
Those successes followed on from the Belarussian club's golden period in the 1980s when Dinamo won the Soviet title in 1982, finished third in 1983 and reached the USSR Cup final in 1987. European success followed as in the spring of 1984, 1985 and 1988, Dinamo played in the quarter-finals of the European Champion Clubs' Cup, UEFA Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup respectively.

Coaching changes
However despite that 2004 triumph, the club has endured little stability since the 1990s with 16 different coaches coming and going. Indeed the club’s preparations for the current season were thrown into turmoil when Petr Katchuro was replaced by former FC Dynamo Kyiv midfielder Aliaksandr Khatskevich before the campaign had even started.

Lagging behind
Perhaps as a result of that instability, Dinamo have struggled with the club's raft of new signings failing to halt their slide down the league table. After the first half of the season they were in the bottom half, trailing trailing leaders FC BATE Borisov by 19 points, with just five victories from 18 matches.

Euro exit
Dinamo have endured little change in fortune on the European scene either as the club exited the UEFA Cup at the second qualifying round following a 5-1 aggregate defeat to Denmark’s Odense BK. Earlier three goals from summer acquisition Róbert Rák had helped Dinamo overcome Latvian side Skonto FC in the first qualifying round.