Russia
Riding their luck
Russian fans experienced a rare feeling of triumph when substitute Roman Pavlyuchenko scored twice in five second-half minutes against England in Moscow last October to bring the national team a 2-1 victory and seemingly book their Euro 2008 ticket. It was the first time the country had celebrated a football occasion since CSKA Moscow won the UEFA Cup in 2005, and the national squad were greeted emotionally by state president Vladimir Putin, who referred to the coach as “lucky Mr Hiddink”.
But four weeks later came the devastating 2-1 defeat in Israel that left them with little hope of reaching Austria/Switzerland and brought the team strong criticism from fans and media. It was so strong that even Croatia’s unexpected victory at Wembley, which, coupled with Russia’s narrow win in Andorra, put Guus Hiddink’s men into the finals, did not change the general public’s mood.
A typical reaction ran: “What are we going to do in Austria/Switzerland – rely on Hiddink’s luck only? But it may not work again and again.” And this time the squad did not even get the customary congratulations from the president.
Every finals game will be shown by two TV channels in Russia, and the country’s ticket allocation has long been sold out. But the fans’ hopes are not high, especially with regard to the opening game, against Spain. This will be a real test for Hiddink’s feeble defence, which made a number of mistakes during the 3-0 friendly defeat in Romania in March. The attack did not look much better in that game, failing to muster a single shot on target. The team undoubtedly missed the technical skill and wizardry of captain and playmaker Andrei Arshavin, who will also miss the first two games of the finals because of suspension and, because of this, may not actually be included in the squad.
The group draw offers a little room for optimism. Although Spain are favourites, the other two opponents – Greece and Sweden – could have been worse. Russian fans remember their team’s “consolation victory” over the Greeks, the eventual champions, at Euro 2004, and the team’s record against the Swedes is not bad either.
Unofficially, the target for Hiddink, who is paid £2million a year by the federation, is to get through the group, something Russia have failed to do at a major finals since the break-up of the Soviet Union. But his record with unfancied teams is renowned – the Dutchman steered both South Korea and Australia to the World Cup knockout stages, with the former actually making the semi-finals in 2002.
Interview with Russia coach Guus Hiddink
Interview with Russia's Igor Semshov
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