ALYAKSANDR KULCHY

Named Belarusian Player of the Year in 2009, Alyaksandr Kulchy is the only centurion in the history of the Belarus national team having made 102 appearances for his country between 1996 and 2012.

A versatile and talented defensive midfielder who spent the majority of his club career in Russia, the 48-year old Kulchy has now returned to one of his former clubs, Dynamo Moscow, to continue his coaching career. Temporarily stepping up to coach the senior team as caretaker manager, Kulchy is primarily responsible for the fortunes of feeder club FC Dynamo-2 Moscow.

Born in the Belarusian city of Gomel in 1973, Kulchy made his senior debut for the national team in a 3-2 defeat to Turkey in Izmir in February 1996 having previously represented his country at U21 level. Over the course of the next 16 years he would score five goals in his 102 appearances, opening his account against Azerbaijan in a friendly in May 1996, while his only competitive goal for his country came in March 2005 as Belarus held Slovenia to a 1-1 draw in FIFA World Cup qualifying.

During his club career, Kulchy enjoyed success with Belarusian outfit MPKC Mozyr, winning the domestic double in 1996 and claiming an impressive return of 30 goals in 86 games during his three seasons with the club. His performances prompted interest from Russian side Dynamo Moscow, and he would make the most significant transfer of his career when he joined the club in 1997. Ending his playing career in 2013 in Kazakhstan with FC Irtysh Pavlodar, Kulchy's professional career saw him play over 650 games and with it establish himself as one of the true legends of the Belarusian game.

However, Kulchy's international career has not been without controversy, and a public dispute with German manager Bernd Stange in 2007 appeared to have brought his time with the national team to an end. Refusing to play in an international friendly against Israel that summer, Stange opted against selecting Kulchy in the next squad having claimed a 2-1 victory without him. However, four straight defeats in September and October that year prompted Stange to reach out to the team talisman, and three consecutive victories over Albania, the Netherlands and Iceland coincided with his return.