SLG
Born Again..........and still Scottish!
Joined: 16 Sep 2005
Posts: 5515
Location: Dùn Eideann
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 Posted: Fri Nov 25, 2005 11:38 am Post subject: Romanov to take over Celik;) |
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Who knows what he's playing at. Could be good for Hertz if it leads to them getting a batch of talented Bosnian youngsters on the cheap though.
| Quote: | Romanov in bid to take over Celik
ROB ROBERTSON
VLADIMIR Romanov, the biggest single shareholder in Hearts, is seeking to buy a debt-ridden club in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Herald can reveal that the Lithuanian businessman is scheduled to visit Celik of Zenica, a mid-table Bosnian premier league club, in January to discuss his takeover plan.
FC Celik are 11th in their league and have been looking for someone to invest in their side for a while.
The interest from Romanov has even reached the highest political levels with Ahmet Hadzipasic, the Bosnian prime minister, confirming the news during the 17th birthday celebration of Celik's supporters group, called "Robijasi", which translates as "convicts".
The club was founded in 1945 and play at the 18,000-capacity Bilino Polije stadium. Celik means "iron" and the club is in the industrial heartland of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The club won three league titles from 1994-97 but the league comprised only teams from the Muslim population at that time, due to the political problems which destroyed the framework of the nation.
In 2000, clubs from the country's ethnic Serbian and Croatian communities joined the league and their inclusion resulted in Celik struggling to make an impact and falling down the league.
Romanov has made it clear he wants to become the sole owner of Hearts and de-list the club from the Stock Exchange and it will be interesting to see how Celik fits into his plans.
He also has a stake in MTZ-Ripo Minsk in Belarus and his bank sponsors FBK Kaunas in Lithuania, which would mean he would have links with four clubs throughout Europe.
Celik currently have debts of about £2m. While that is small compared with Hearts' £19.6m at the time Romanov became involved at Tynecastle, it is a lot of money in Bosnian terms and their financial plight has hampered hopes of bringing in new players. Romanov's interest does not come out of the blue, though, as he had previously said he wanted to invest in other football clubs.
The multi-millionaire has an aluminium smelter plant as well as other business links with Bosnia, where his bank has made investments in local companies.The repercussions for Hearts of Romanov becoming involved in Celik could lead to Bosnian players being sent across to the Tynecastle club for trials and possible inclusion into the first-team squad.
Such a scenario happened when Romanov first became involved with Hearts, with a clutch of players from Kaunas arriving at the club after he announced his interest in taking over. A group of them took part in a training session at Hearts' youth academy in January and the club had first pick of their services.
Of that group, four players – Andrius Gedgaudask, Marius Kizys Gediminas Vicius and Saulius Mikoliunas – were signed, although only the latter is still at the club.
Weekly wages for footballers in Bosnia are so low in comparison to Scotland that the vast majority would leap at the chance of a move to Scotland if Romanov becomes involved and uses Celik as a feeder club for Hearts.
On the field at Tynecastle, Edgar Jankauskas is losing his battle to be fit for tomorrow's Bank of Scotland Premierleague match with Motherwell at Fir Park after suffering a slight tear of his hamstring in the 1-1 draw with Aberdeen last Sunday.
However, Roman Bednar, the highly-rated Czech youngster, may return for the first time since undergoing a cartilage operation in September. |
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