Player Profile: Aliaksandr Hleb

News on the new boy - story courtesy of Goal.com.

Belarussian Aliaksandr Hleb has decided to leave VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga to strike out in the Premiership with Arsenal. Brian O’Driscoll profiles the 24-year-old who is likely to become a household name in England.
Aliaksandr Hleb may not seem the most glamorous summer signing for those whose European football knowledge tends to dissipate at Dover. Belarus, the country of his birth, is a comparative minnow in international football terms, and Hleb is not a preening poseur lamenting how football interfered with a promising boy band career. Yet, at VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, Hleb has been a big star, well appreciated by a knowledgeable German audience exposed to his weekly deeds – on the football pitch rather than in the nightclub. Born in Minsk in the winter of 1981, the football life of Hleb began in earnest 19 years later when the promising midfielder left local club BATE Barysau to join top German outfit Stuttgart. Slightly-built, lean and tall, Hleb soon established himself in the first-team and prospered under the tutelage of former West German midfield dynamo Felix Magath. A strong Bundesliga showing in 2002 took Stuttgart into Europe the and a crack at the Champions’ League. Victories over Glasgow Rangers and Manchester United highlighted Hleb’s importance to the Swabians, and his priceless ability to set-up crucial goals made him indispensable to a team playing some of the most flamboyant football in Europe. Better was to follow in the Bundesliga, with the player netting a series of spectacular slalom-like goals as Stuttgart set off like a train at the start of the 2003/2004 season. While Hleb was orchestrating the midfield machinations of a gloriously swashbuckling young side, Timo Hildebrand was smashing Oliver Kahn’s domestic goalkeeping record by shutting-out all comers for over 800 minutes, Philipp Lahm was becoming the best full-back in the country at 20, and Kevin Kuranyi the nation’s great scoring hope. When the domestic title challenge failed in the spring, Stuttgart allowed Magath to leave for Bayern Munich, and Hleb was widely-tipped to join his erstwhile mentor in the departures lounge. Nevertheless, he opted to stay and commented at the time: “I feel very much at home here in Stuttgart. We have got a very young team that has grown over the years. I am sure that we will continue to develop as a team and be successful in the future." However, his form waned under new coach Matthias Sammer, and, while Stuttgart remained competitive in the Bundesliga, Hleb was never the same influence under the new man. The former Dortmund coach placed less emphasis on the flamboyant football so beloved of Magath, and thus, by extension, on Hleb. Linked with a host of clubs, he finally opted for Arsenal when Sammer bit the bullet after missing out on Champions’ League qualification. He leaves the German game with a reputation for magnificent creativity, but a penchant for fading when the sun starts to shine. Nevertheless, Arsenal fans are in for a treat when he settles. He approaches the future with a heavy heart. On his move to London, Hleb told respected German football publication Kicker Sportmagazin: “I see changes with mixed feelings. On the one hand I look forward much to playing for Arsenal, but on the other hand I am also a little sad. I owe so much to the Stuttgart and that is something I will never forget.” On his reasons for leaving, he says: “It is time to take the next stage in my career. I learned much with Stuttgart. I love the club, the fans, the city, everything. But I I must now move in order to further develop.” Melancholic and sensitive he may be, but he’s also realistic. On his hopes for the new season at Highbury, he is disarmingly honest. “I hope to play better than last season. I know that I did not play constantly on a high level. It was not a good year for me and my development stagnated.” With Hleb keen to kick-on again, and the Arsenal collective sharing his sense of inertia after an anti-climactic season, the Belarussian may just be the catalyst required to launch a serious assault on the Premiership and make his club’s final season at their old home a stately one. Maybe the state of Belarus will become less mysterious too…even to those who see Dover as football’s Land’s End.