THEY have the same parentage, but their footballing careers could not have been more different.

While Alexander Hleb, 28, has enjoyed a meteoric rise to his career, first with Arsenal and now with Barcelona, his younger brother of two years, Vyacheslav, could only look on with envy.

The 26-year-old Belarussian is in Singapore with Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua, who play S-League champions Singapore Armed Forces FC in an AFC Champions League group match tomorrow.

'Yes, I'm jealous of my elder brother,' Vyacheslav told The New Paper in an exclusive interview after a training session at Jalan Besar Stadium yesterday.

'When people see my name, they think I'm Alexander. And the media likes to interview me just because I'm Alexander Hleb's brother.

'At first, I was very hurt, because I want people to know me as 'Slava', and not 'Alex'. But now I'm used to it.

'When we were young, I can say that I was as good as my brother. Then his career went all the way up while mine went down.'

The 1.81-metre tall striker was referring to the time when both he and his elder brother were playing for VfB Stuttgart in the German Bundesliga.

Vyacheslav joined the German club from Dinamo Minsk in 2001 when the then 18-year-old caught the eyes of the Stuttgart scouts with six goals in nine games for the Belarussian club.

His brother Alexander had joined Stuttgart a year before, and the Hleb siblings were tipped for great things in Germany.

In four seasons with the German club, Vyacheslav made a fast progression from the youth team to the first team.

Bust-up

He scored nine goals in 49 appearances for Stuttgart in four seasons, but things went awry after a bust-up with then Stuttgart coach Felix Magath in 2004.

'I made some stupid mistakes in Germany, which I do not want to comment,' said Vyacheslav who has scored five goals in 14 appearances for his national team.

'It's a thing of the past and I have learnt from my mistakes.'

Following his clash with Magath, Vyacheslav jumped ship to Hamburg.

His stint with the German club lasted only 10 games before he was transferred to Swiss club Grasshopper Zurich.

That move also didn't work out and in 2005, he returned to Belarus where he joined FC MTZ-Ripo, scoring 29 goals in 72 games.

Vyacheslav could have joined his brother in the United Kingdom in 2006 when he looked set to sign for Scottish Premier League club Hearts after a two-week trial, but the move broke down after he failed to get a work permit.

His career with Shanghai Shenhua has not taken off as he would have liked, as he was sidelined with injury after signing a two-year contract earlier this year.

He has taken some time to adjust to Asian football, but he believes it is a matter of time before he makes his mark.

'The football in Europe is very different from that in Asia,' aid Vyacheslav, who has scored only one goal in 18 games for the Chinese club.

'The teams in Japan are very technical like the Spanish La Liga, the K-League teams play fast and aggressive football while football in China is very much like the Premiership in England - very physical.'

Despite playing in different parts of the world, Vyacheslav maintains constant contact with his brother.

He said: 'We talk to each other regularly on the phone. In fact, my brother just called me this morning.

'We were talking about the 'El Clasico' on Saturday where Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 6-2. My brother did not get to play, but he was happy that the team won.'

Vyacheslav revealed that Alexander is frustrated with the lack of playing opportunities at Barcelona and may ask for a transfer away from Camp Nou at the end of the season.

'My brother is not happy at Barca because he doesn't get to play as often as at Arsenal. If the situation doesn't change, he will go to another club next season.

'So far, he has received offers from England, Italy and Germany. We shall see.'

Looking forward to the AFC Champions League match tomorrow, Vyacheslav said: 'This is a must-win match for us. We're going to attack from the start and if I get to play, hopefully I can score a few goals.

'That's my main goal for the next two years. If I play well and score lots of goals, I'm sure the big clubs in Europe will take notice of me and hopefully one day, I can be as successful as my brother.'