From Ronaldinho replacement to the Birmingham bench

As his first professional club, BATE Borisov, prepare to face the Catalans in the Champions League on Wednesday, the Belarus star's career remains on the downward slope.Aliaksandr Hleb once complained that London was too loud. The attacking midfielder was a big hit at Arsenal, but kept a low profile under the bright city lights and sounds. And he didn't make much noise at Barcelona, either.In fact, the player's time at Camp Nou marked what appears to be the beginning of the end in a career which had seen him hit impressive heights at Stuttgart and Arsenal. So, as his first professional team, BATE Borisov, prepare to host the Catalan club in the Champions League on Wednesday night, he must be wondering where it all went wrong.Hleb signed for Barca in the summer of 2008, a watershed moment in the history of the Catalan club. For Barcelona there is a before and an after that period of time. And the same thing could be said for Hleb, too.That summer saw Pep Guardiola take over from previous Barca coach Frank Rijkaard following two trophyless campaigns, and the Belarusian was one of a number of new signings. Dani Alves, Gerard Pique and Seydou Keita all came in, and all triumphed, as well as Henrique, Martin Caceres and Hleb himself, all of whom endured tougher times. Hleb was seen by some as a replacement for Ronaldinho, whose form had dwindled and waistline grown in the previous 12 months, amid reports of wild parties, a lack of motivation and dressing-room disharmony. The Brazilian was packed off to AC Milan, while another problematic figure, Deco, moved to Chelsea. Hleb was part of the new crowd.But the Belarus midfielder never really took his chance in Catalunya. Pre-season appearances showed promise, but the player was disappointing on his league debut for Barca and in the next game, a home match against Racing Santander, Hleb was the victim of an awful challenge by Pablo Pinillos which left him sidelined for over a month.When he returned, competition for places was intense, with Lionel Messi, Thierry Henry, Samuel Eto'o and the emerging Pedro all ahead of him in the queue for a place in Barca's fantastic front three. It was the beginning of the end.Expectations can be heavy at Camp Nou and Barca fans demanding. Still much was expected of Hleb, especially after the 'Ronaldinho replacement' tags, and there were groans of frustration at failed dribbles and misplaced passes. Things weren't going well for the €17 million man, even after his return from injury.And they didn't really ever get much better. Guardiola appeared to decide early on that things were not going to work out, and opportunities were few and far between for the eastern European. An injury crisis at the end of the season saw Hleb make it onto the bench for the final of the Copa del Rey, and he played the last six minutes of the 4-1 win over Athletic Bilbao. But a week later, he was nowhere to be seen as Barca beat Manchester United to win the Champions League in Rome.Hleb turned down a move to eventual treble winners Inter as part of the deal which took Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Camp Nou and Eto'o to San Siro, deciding instead to return to Stuttgart on a season-long loan. But the attacker was never able to reproduce the form shown in his first spell in Germany and later claimed going back had been a mistake.Injuries were interrupting his progress again at this stage, however, and Hleb was laid low by an ankle problem after joining Birmingham City in the summer of 2010. That move had seemed the perfect opportunity for the player to rebuild a flagging career. But not only did it end in relegation, but Hleb himself was relegated to the bench on numerous occasions, with coach Alex McLeish claiming the player had to earn his right to be in the team.Hleb was also absent during Birmingham's brightest moment of the campaign as he missed the Carling Cup final win over Arsenal, his former club, through injury. At the end of the season, he spoke of his desire to rejoin the Gunners, although this interest was not reciprocated by the north London club. McLeish, meanwhile, claimed the player had been scarred mentally by his time at Camp Nou, saying the experience had been a 'mental beating' for the attacking midfielder.Hleb is still on Barca's books, fighting for fitness as he looks to make something of a two-month loan at Wolfsburg, but he is likely to be back at Camp Nou in December. So he will be an interested observer tonight, then, as his parent club meet the side where he began his professional career in football. Who does he want to win? "Borisov of course - I like them more." Given the player's Camp Nou ordeal, it's hardly surprising.