Russia are approaching Euro 2012 in a confident mood, eager to at least match their performance from four years ago, when they reached the semi-finals before losing to eventual champions, Spain.
Despite a sluggish start to the qualifiers, which included a labored 2-0 win over tiny Andorra and a 1-0 home defeat to Slovakia, the Russians comfortably sealed their place in this year’s finals by finishing top of qualifying Group B.
Russia rarely produced the attacking flair that made them look so attractive in Austria and Switzerland in 2008, but they were defensively sound, conceding only four goals in their 10 matches.
Dick Advocaat, who succeeded his Dutch compatriot Guus Hiddink as Russia coach following the country’s failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, has retained virtually the same squad from the previous campaign.
Advocaat has been heavily criticized by local media for failing to blood new players into an ageing team that many experts feel has already reached its peak.
Key players, such as Russia captain Andrei Arshavin, striker Roman Pavlyuchenko and winger Yuri Zhirkov, who shone at Euro 2008, have struggled for form this season.
Those three plus Diniyar Bilyaletdinov have quit their respective English Premier League clubs over the last few months and returned home to revive their careers.
Arsenal forward Arshavin, in particular, had an erratic last 12 months in London before rejoining his former club Zenit St Petersburg on a three-month loan in February.
Arshavin’s inability to adapt to the rigors of the English game is seen as the biggest drawback to Russia’s chances.
One bright spot for Russia is the form of Pavel Pogrebnyak, who defied the trend by moving to England, joining Fulham from Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart in the January transfer window.
The powerful striker, who missed Euro 2008 with a knee injury, scored in his first three league games for his new team, including a hat-trick against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Nevertheless, Russian soccer boss Sergei Fursenko has boldly predicted that his team could reach the final in Kiev.
“I think we’re very capable of doing even better than what we achieved four years ago,” Fursenko, who also claimed his country would win the 2018 World Cup, said after the Russians were drawn in Group A along with co-hosts Poland, 2004 European champions Greece and the Czech Republic.
At Euro 2008, Hiddink-led Russia, regarded as rank outsiders, upset the favorites to reach the last four, their best showing at a major championship in 20 years.
“In 2008, not many people counted on our team, thus we were able to surprise a lot of the so-called experts,” said former international Yevgeny Lovchev, now a newspaper columnist for sports daily Soviet Sport.
“This time, it will be a much harder task, not only because other teams are not going to take Russia lightly, but also because Advocaat has relied basically on the very same players as his predecessor,” he added.
However, Arshavin has remained optimistic.
“I know a lot of fans back home have written us off. Let them say what they want. Personally, I like to prove people wrong,” the 31-year-old was quoted as saying by Russian media.
“I think a big plus for us is that we have a seasoned team and know what to expect in a tournament like Euro 2012, where the main task is always trying to advance past the first round,” he reportedly said. “Once you reach the quarter-finals, anything is possible — we did it four years ago.”
MARRED FINAL: As most of Senegalese players walked off the pitch after a controversial decision, some supporters threw objects and attempted to get onto the pitch Senegal on Sunday won the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner sunk hosts Morocco 1-0 after a chaotic final that saw the eventual champions storm off the pitch late in the game. Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco with a controversial spot-kick in the 24th minute of added time at the end of normal time as ugly scenes broke out in the stands. However, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted “Panenka” chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
Qatar’s Nasser al-Attiyah on Saturday secured his sixth Dakar Rally car title in Saudi Arabia with Luciano Benavides scraping home by two seconds to claim the motorbike title. “We’ve worked very hard since last year. I might not be showing much emotion yet, but it’s there, deep down. We are so happy to win,” al-Attiyah said at the finish. Al-Attiyah, at the wheel of a Dacia, only had to avoid a final day slip-up to top the podium after bringing his career tally of stage wins to 50 on Friday. The 55-year-old, who took clay pigeon shooting bronze at the
Tobias Harris on Monday scored 25 points as the Detroit Pistons held off the Boston Celtics to score a 104-103 victory in their top-of-the-table Eastern Conference showdown. Harris was one of four Detroit players to finish in double figures, with Jalen Duren adding 18 points and point guard Cade Cunningham scoring 16 points with 14 assists. The win sees Detroit extend their lead at the top of the Eastern Conference to 31-10, 5.5 games ahead of second-placed Boston, who fell to 26-16 with the defeat. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics scoring with 32 points and almost snatched victory in the
The Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 36 points from Tyrese Maxey and a triple-double from Joel Embiid, on Thursday beat the Houston Rockets 128-122 in an NBA overtime thriller. Cameroonian big man Embiid scored 32 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and handed out 10 assists, posting the ninth triple-double of his career to help the Sixers end the Rockets’ three-game winning streak. Rockets star Kevin Durant scored 36 points and Amen Thompson added 17, but Thompson was scoreless in the fourth quarter. Even so, the Rockets led by nine midway through the final frame, Maxey tying it at 115-115 with 40.1 seconds left. Durant missed a
RSS