maandag, september 03, 2001

Keepers en drank

MOSCOW, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Belarus international goalkeeper Gennady Tumilovich, who admitted to drinking heavily in the past, believes he can look forward to a brighter future after giving up alcohol. "I haven't touched a drop for three years now, although the effects of a hypnosis course is long over," Tumilovich, who joined Russian premier division side Rostselmash Rostov this season, told the Sport-Express newspaper in a recent interview. "And I feel great now. No more morning hangovers." In 1998, the goalkeeper stunned Russian media by saying after one of the league matches: "As soon as I stopped drinking my game just fell apart." Tumilovich, who turned 30 on Monday, said he began drinking in his teens while playing for Dynamo Minsk reserves: "It's a real pity I didn't have hypnosis when I was 18. Then my whole career could have been different." He listed stealing a team bus from training grounds, spending time in a detention centre, missing team flights and feigning injury among his drunken escapades. "Once I almost killed myself when I lost control of my car at full speed while crossing a bridge," he recalled. "I was lucky to crash the car against a lamp-post or I would have fallen off a cliff. I escaped without even a scar, probably because I was drunk, but after that I didn't drive when drunk."

EMOTIONAL OUTBURSTS Tumilovich, famous for emotional outbursts during matches, says he hates referees. "I never liked referees since playing for Minsk youth teams because very few of them are decent people," he said. "You just can't keep yourself under control when you see these brazen guys just try to bury your team." One such outburst happened during Belarus' World Cup away qualifier against Norway in Oslo on June 6 when Tumilovich was sent off nine minutes from time for lashing out at the referee. "I just couldn't keep it (the emotion) inside," he said. "The Norwegians played very dirty." The outburst meant Tumilovich missed Belarus's 2-0 defeat by Ukraine on Saturday with a one-game suspension, but he could return for Wednesday's home qualifier against Poland. However, Tumilovich says his drink-related problems are all in the past now. "Being 30 is a big thing. It's a milestone, although when you don't drink you don't feel you're getting old," he said. "I'm a married man now, I have a son, who was born in Israel when I played there. There's no turning back. I've already drunk my fill."

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