Andrew Zolotko: Vejle Boldklub er et bedre sted, end da jeg kom til

Andrew Zolotko takker for sin tid i Vejle Boldklub og ser tilbage på en klub, som først og fremmest har gennemgået en stærk udvikling under det nu forhenværende ejerskab, og som har været på en rejse med både gode oplevelser og udsving.

Andrew Zolotko udtaler i den forbindelse følgende:

When a few years ago I was asked what it would take for me to sell the club, I said that everything has a price, but not all prices appear on the labels. Price of success, however big or small, lays in a big commitment, and a big time investment. It is not only about the money.

I’ve always said that I will sell the club when I reach a point in my life, where I could not afford to invest as much time and effort into the project as before. Since I’m about to become a father, I want to be present in my kid’s life, and I don’t want our weekly communication or my behavior to depend on a referee decision, a scored goal or a missed last-minute penalty.

A football club is a full-time job. Every job looks easy, especially if you’re not the one doing it. People in the arena are faced with challenges that are invisible to those in the crowd. Even though we had a bumpy road, I believe we went through a beautiful journey together, and we, as a team, have brought VB to a new level, from which the club can only grow now.

After all, we’ve managed to have the best results this club had in the last 25 years on the pitch, and best in its history – off the pitch. Before we came to the club, its biggest transfer was around 300.000 euro, and we’ve managed to raise the bar by about 20 times. This in combination with the results we had in the good seasons, have put VB’s brand back into the European football market, brought self-respect and self-awareness for the level of players we produce and develop, and most importantly, made people which were part of the process to believe in themselves and in VB again. And this is the most important legacy we will leave the club with!

Emotional rollercoaster is a big part of the game, and that’s why we love football. I wish to everyone related to VB, to have lots of happy emotions from now on and enjoy being part of the Nørreskoven family!

I want to thank personally each and every person who was part of our journey in VB. Some of them became friends over the years, and I hope this relationship we will be able to maintain, and cheer together for Vejle’s successes in future!

Thank you and ”Vi ses”.

En stærk udvikling

Administrerende direktør i Vejle Boldklub, Henrik Tønder, takker den moldoviske forretningsmand for samarbejdet og for den udvikling, klubben har taget siden 2016.

- Andrew Zolotko kom til Nørreskoven, da klubben var et rigtigt svært sted. Der var få spillere på kontrakt, et akademi, der var træt, og klubben var på medarbejdersiden skåret helt ind til benet. Andrew kom med en ambition om at udvikle klubben. Gennem de sidste otte et halvt år er Vejle Boldklubs infrastruktur blevet udbygget med elitehuset i VB Parken, løbende øgede investeringer i klubbens akademi, samt øgede ansættelser i og omkring miljøet omkring klubbens førstehold, fortæller Henrik Tønder og fortsætter:

- Det er et arbejde, Andrew fortjener en tak for. Samtidig har det internationale snit på trænersiden også løftet Vejle Boldklubs professionalisme og givet et indblik i flere måder at arbejde med klubbens førstehold på. Andrew har heller ikke lagt skjul på, at Vejle Boldklub også var en investering for ham, og derfor har det også været planen, at han ville sælge klubben, når det rigtige bud kom. Jeg er glad på Vejle Boldklubs og fansenes vegne, at det salg sker til en kreds af danske og lokale investorer, afslutter Henrik Tønder.