.JPG "Bad end to a good start")
The Russian football team could not even tie the game and left its group of Euro 2012.
It came third in Group A and didn’t reach the quarter-final of the championship. In the crucial matches of this group Greece beat Russia 1-0, and the Czech Republic outplayed Poland 1-0. Consequently, the Czech Republic won the group with six points; both Greece and Russia got four points, but the Greek team came second in the group due to the result of the match.
The results shown by the Russian team in the first leg deteriorated with every game. A splendid victory and passionate team play in the first match with Czechs was followed by a decent draw with Poland in the second match and the last mediocre match with the Greeks. All Dick Advokaat’s team needed in order to reach the second leg was to tie the game, but the mistake of our defenders deprived the Russian fans of any hope to see our team in the playoff of Euro 2012.
Andrei Kanchelkis, famous former Russian midfielder commented on the Russian loss and noted: “It is remarkable that our team under the guidance of Dick Advocaat hasn’t achieved a strong victory. Our team played worse and worse with every game of Euro 2012. It is difficult to explain the reason for this deterioration, because I’m not a member of the team. However, let’s turn to the match with Greeks. It seems to me that our players weren’t success-oriented. It is quite obvious. Their aim was to tie the game since the beginning of the match. In contrast, the Greeks were inspired and played very well since the beginning all over the pitch".
Many experts agreed that Russian players had in their minds that it would be enough to tie the game in order to reach the playoffs. Moreover, it could be enough for them even to lose the match, if the Poland vs Czech Republic game had been a draw. This had a negative effect on Advokaat’s players. The Russian team lacked a much needed attitude and concentration.
In contrast, the Greeks who faced a great number of troubles at the very beginning of the championship managed to concentrate before the crucial game. In the first matches the Greek team lost its main goalkeeper, suffered from arguably biased refereeing and bad luck, but it didn’t throw up its hands. In the opening game the Greeks managed to come back playing ten together with the Poland, the team of the host country. In the game with the Czechs the Hellenes missed two goals at the very beginning of the match, but they continued fighting till the end of the game and closed the gap to a single point. In the match against Russia Greece used the only chance they had and fought for it. They managed to do this, albeit with a touch of fortune.
The fact that the Russian team left the championship has become one of the championship’s sensations. Many foreign reviewers called Advokaat’s team one of the favorites of this championship. “The fact that the Russian team lost shocked everybody”, - Slaven Bilic, the manager of the Croatian team said in his interview to Sport Express. – “It is the main surprise of the championship”.
It is quite obvious that both the play of the Russian team in the last game and its results were a great disappointment for Russian fans. There were very few printable words, like “what a shame!”, addressed to the Russian players that night. As always happens, yesterday’s idols praised for the victory over the Czechs became derelicts. There are no fans who are ready to forgive their team for indifference. The flow of criticism hailed on the team was so intense that Vitali Mutko, Russian Minister of Sports, came to its defense saying that the loss to Greeks couldn’t be the reason for offending the players.
Nevertheless, not all the players of the team need his defense. Andrei Arshavin, the captain of the team, spoke to the fans in Bristol Hotel in Warsaw and said in a provoking manner: “The fact that we haven’t come up to your expectations isn’t our problem. It is your problem. I’ll account for it to you when I become a deputy of Duma. We lost because we haven’t scored any goals, and the Greeks have.
Arshavin’s cynical attack provoked lots of emotions. A lot of veterans and players have already commented on it. Most of them are shocked at Arshavin’s speech.
Vyacheslav Koloskov, ex-President of the RFS
- Of course, these words are beneath our captain’s level. Arshavin has never understood people who crossed the country at their own expense in order to support the team. I have met people from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk recently; they arrived especially in order to watch good play and to support our team. That’s why our fans arrive at the championship – in order to see the players inspired and patriotic. Instead of it the captain of the team says that it is their own problem. In my opinion, such a captain can’t play for our national team.
Sergey Shavlo, former football player, Director General of FC Spartak Moscow
- To my mind, Arshavin isn’t right. First of all, our team is our players who play for our country. If you’re not ready to fall on the pitch for your country, confess it. Say that you can’t play and try your best. The fans always support the team. The way they support it is another problem. But I think the support of the Russian fans was stronger than ever at this championship.
We should note that almost all the players of Russian team refused to comment on their loss to Greeks to the media. Alan Dzagoyev, the midfielder of the team, was the only player who answered the questions of journalists after the alighting of the plane with the Russian team on board in Vnukovo-3 aiport.
- First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the Russian fans who supported us in Poland and at home, near their TV screens, - Dzagoyev said to Sport Express. – We have tried our best, and we are very upset that we haven’t managed to do this.
Alan Dzagoyev added that his feelings about stopping the fight in the first leg were very hurt.
- We missed the first goal against the Greeks, and the rivals played defense. We tried to score goals, but, unfortunately, we didn’t manage to do this. I would like to say once again that my feelings are very hurt; all the country expected us to leave the group, and we realized it.
Euro 2012 is over for Russia. The fans can only follow the struggle of other teams for victory and guess who will be the manager of our team. Dick Advocaat left for Holland several hours after the loss to the Greek team; he will be the manager of PSV Eindhoven there. The future of our team is not his problem. The Dutch specialist has apparently done his best (though not very much) and earned some million dollars in Russia.
