Looming presence of Ivanauskas

THE first Lithuanian to play in the Bundesliga. One of a select band of men who have represented two countries. The manager who caused Tony Mowbray a sticky start to his reign at Hibs, and Berti Vogts's No 1 fan. Will the real Valdas Ivanauskas please stand up?

Hearts are back in the hands this morning of their background man from the Baltic, whose anonymity during these madcap months has contrasted with a career spent at the forefront of clubs and nations. Ivanauskas, 39, has pedigree in the European game, which is probably why bookmakers installed him as joint favourite alongside Nevio Scala to replace George Burley at the helm of Hearts last October. Yet here he is, for the second time, promoted to a caretaker role by an owner who once entrusted him with the charge of his hometown club, FBK Kaunas.

Given that he doesn't want him to manage Hearts, what does Vladimir Romanov expect from Ivanauskas? A regular presence at training, it has never been clear whether he is employed to scrutinise - dare we say supervise - the workings of the incumbent coach or to assist him. Yet fellow staff speak highly of his knowledge and his contribution. Also on the payroll of the Lithuanian FA as an assistant coach, Ivanauskas has his finger in many pies, but what marks him out from colleagues at Riccarton is that he understands his boss. "Romanov is the boss, he is in control, and in Lithuania and in Russia the owner can do what he likes," he said in an interview published yesterday by the Edinburgh Evening News.

Ivanauskas gained five caps for the former Soviet Union in the late 1980s. After disbandment he picked up a further 28 caps for Lithuania, scoring eight goals and earning four national player of the year awards. Having earned a living at Zalgiris Vilnius and Lokomotiv Moscow, he spread his wings to play for Austria Vienna and then Hamburg.

Such diverse experience suggests Ivanauskas knows how football culture differs across borders. He thought he had managed to convey this distinction to Graham Rix, but yesterday's announcement ended any hopes he might have held of a breakthrough in understanding. "I have had to explain to Graham he must try to think from Romanov's point of view," he said. "For Graham it is difficult and I understand that because I have coached in Germany, but it is a mentality thing."

Ivanauskas's first visit to Edinburgh on business, in fact, had nothing to do with Romanov. Before being head-hunted by the Kaunas owner he was coach of lowly FK Vetra, who were drawn to play Hibs in the Intertoto Cup. The Lithuanians held Hibs to a 1-1 draw at Easter Road and then edged them out 1-0 back home. Along with causing Mowbray the grief of a rank start as Hibs manager, his visit to Scotland was marked by a fawning tribute to the abilities of Vogts, then approaching the end of his tenure at Hampden.

"Scotland has Berti Vogts as manager - that means something," Ivanauskas said. "I've known him for over 20 years through my time in German football. He is a big, big figure.

"Scottish football is fortunate to have him."

A flawed judgment if ever there was one, but how will he fare as interim coach of Hearts? It clearly suits Romanov to use his friend as a stop-gap, and Ivanauskas, who has a 16-year-old daughter at school in Germany, seems unlikely to veer from thinking the same about Scotland. "It is hard because I miss my little girl and in Scotland I am alone," he added. "But my life is football."

That last utterance was further evidence that he won't long linger in the shadows. Hearts have a new leader and soon, notwithstanding a Romanov U-turn, they will have yet another. Ivanauskas seems unique in that he knows where he stands.

Taken from the Scotsman