ZHurnal-Dinamo.----1-7

It seems now that it all happened a hundred years
ago, although 1999 does not seem to be too far
away from now. Vitali Kutuzov escaped shrewd
Oleg Pashinin and Igor Shugainov on the right flank
and made a perfect backward pass for Aliaksandr
Liskouski to fire. BATE’s No.4 left no chances to
Ruslan Nigmatullin, drilling the ball past the Russian
international right into the corner.
The goal brought the home crowd on their feet,
as well as those who watched the game from the
balconies of the nearby houses and those, who
supported BATE from the roof of the so-called
Vietnamese Wall, a long house across the road.
Two of the fans were so happy that invaded the pitch
to congratulate the goalscorer. The police, too happy
about the goal, lost concentration for a while and
started the chase a bit late. They caught one guy,
but the second managed to escape with mission
completed. He shook hands with Mr. Lisouski and
jumped over the stadium fence to be lost forever.
That was quite a festive moment in BATE history,
although most people would call it a disgrace.
That was the sixth goal of the game. Previous five
were scored by the opponents of the Yellow-Blues,
almighty Lokomotiv Moscow. Russian powerhouse
scored seven in Borisov, but BATE struck back in
their first ever UEFA game courtesy of Lisouski.
1-12 on aggregate. That was painful. Just 13
years remained until FC BATE Borisov win against
FC Bayern Munich to become a pan-European
sensation.
A young club with a rich history. This is not a pun.
This is the best definition that can be given to FC
BATE. The years that followed Sania Lisouski’s
goal accommodated an amazing amount of
events. Ten league titles, two national cups, four
Belarusian Supercups, three participations in UEFA
Champions League group stages, two in UEFA
Europa League group stages and same amount of
Last 32 rounds. Which in total makes more than a
hundred UEFA games. All these records are so far
unbeaten by any other Belarusian team.
Lisouski is now no longer Sania, he’s called
Aliaksandr Petrovich. Versatile ex-midfilder works
now as a coach of BATE assisting Aliaksandr
Yermakovich — the guy he substituted to score
the first ever European goal for BATE. Uladzimir
Niavinski, another Yermakovich’s assistant, played
the whole match against Lokomotiv in 1999 as
well. Viktar Hancharenka, who lead BATE to the
win against Bayern played as right full back.
Aliaksandr Hleb, Belarus’s best player of post-USSR
era, sat on the bench with just 18 years of age.
Borisov Gorodskoi stadium has seen a lot of
miracles, but soon the arena will retire. FC BATE
will move to a new house, stylish, fashionable,
modern and unique for Belarus.
From a illuminator of a plane Borisov looked
quite ordinary in 2010. You would not tell it from
any other Belarusian town. But thanks to Borisov
Arena, a brand new stadium, you cannot mix it
up with anything else now. Superb space design
by Slovenians from Ofis Arhitekti make people
travelling past Borisov turn their heads.
The building started in late 2010, and in 2013 it
was almost finished — quite a tempo for such a
construction. Everything is done quickly and in
due time when Anatoli Kapski, BATE president,
takes charge. Being a committed BATE and football
fan, he did a lot for this ambitious project to
come true. As a result the Yellow-Blues received
an arena not worse than those that Borisov fans
visited on their extensive European Odyssey.
Now BATE supporters have a roof above their
heads. The stadium was built to fit UEFA Category
4 top standards and meets all the necessary
requirements in terms of safety and security as
well as crowd management and hospitality. There
is a restaurant, a kids room to leave toddlers
during the match, a perfect catering multiplied
by fantastic view from any position and amazing
acoustic. Bose sound system give the opportunity
to hold concerts of world stars here and
conference facilities make it a good asset for the
city, generating revenue not only on matchdays.
But still football is the main dish served here. And
football infrastructure is impeccable as well, with
top quality Richter pitch, heating and spacious
convenient dressing rooms.
The location is perfect for visitors from Minsk
and Orsha as the stadium lies just next to the
automobile road and railroad station.
Now BATE can invite UEFA Champions League
group stages matches to their home town for the
first time in history. Previously The Yellow-Blues
had to play in Minsk or even in Grodno, but now
big nights are possible in Borisov as well.
Space Arena
for Belarusian
Champions
18 • Журнал «Динамо» Журнал «Динамо» • 19