Post-retirement
Belanov turned to business after finishing his playing career. He returned to prominence when he became the majority shareholder at Switzerland’s FC Wil, in August 2003. His predecessor, banker Andreas Hafen, had been given a five-years imprisonment sentence after embezzling 51 million Swiss francs ($40 million) from the UBS Bank.
Belanov’s first move at Wil was replacing first-team manager Martin Andermatt with his former Dynamo Kyiv teammate Zavarov, not taking note of the fact that he lacked the necessary UEFA licence to manage a European top-division outfit. That circumstance forced Belanov to sign former FC Karl-Marx-Stadt manager Joachim Müller. Due to the appointment of Müller, Zavarov’s job was officially described as director of football; Müller did not last long as coach however, as Belanov sacked him just after three months, replacing him with Tomas Matejcek.
Matejcek’s strict training regiment caused a quick revolt amongst Wil players. This forced Belanov to make amend for his decisions and to re-appoint Müller as manager, and hand the assistant-manager role to former Swiss international goalkeeper Stephan Lehmann. Those turned out to be Belanov’s last series of actions as Wil’s major shareholder as, in a quick sequence, he pulled out of his chairman and shareholder role of the club.
Additionally, Belanov also owned a football school in Odessa, which carried his name.
Read more about this topic: Ihor Belanov