Greece 0 Russia 1: Hiddink sees room for improvement in Russia
Monday 16 June 2008
Latest in International
On Facebook
Sport blogs
iBet: Back Wales to win at Twickenham
England and Wales are joint top of the RBS Six Nations table after two games with four points apiece...
UFC: Legends to pass the torch
As the fan favourites of yesteryear are gradually replaced by a new calibre of athlete, the inescapa...
Thierry Henry returns to New York after ‘completing the story of the legend’
Both player and manager were quick to say Henry would be a sideshow, not the main attraction, but hi...
The Soviet Union was one of the giants of the European Championship, winning the inaugural competition in 1960 and finishing as runner-up in 1964, 1972 and 1988. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain and the collapse of Communism in the years following that last defeat, however, the Russian state that was at the heart of the USSR has struggled.
In 1992, as the main component of the Commonwealth of Independent States, they reached the eight-team European finals but did not emerge from their group. Since starting to compete as Russia, from August 1992, they have reached only four of seven major finals tournaments prior to this one and have never gone beyond the group stage.
That Ukraine reached the last eight of the 1992 World Cup and Latvia qualified for Euro 2004 only added to Russian embarrassment. It seemed that without the Ukrainians who made up the bulk of the 1988 team and the occasional exceptional footballer from elsewhere, like Alexander Hleb of Arsenal and Belarus, Russia could not punch their weight.
That may be about to change. Cash is flooding into Russian football as the oligarchs seek non-political ways to make an impact. Brazilian and Croatian internationals are playing in the Russian league. CSKA Moscow won the Uefa Cup in 2005 and Zenit St Petersburg this year. Most significantly, Roman Abramovich is underwriting the employment of Guus Hiddink as the national side's coach.
After Saturday's defeat of Greece in Salzburg, Hiddink's team are within reach of becoming the first exclusively Russian team to reach the knockout stages of a major tournament. Victory over Sweden in Innsbruck on Wednesday will secure a quarter-final against Hiddink's native Netherlands, the Soviet Union's conquerors in that 1988 final.
Russia will need to be more clinical against the Swedes. They were the better team on Saturday and could have put half a dozen past the holders, but Greece were also allowed a string of chances. The one goal either team managed was a 33rd-minute tap-in by Konstantin Zyryanov after the Greece goalkeeper, Antonis Nikopolidis, went walkabout.
Hiddink was pleased with the improvement from the 4-1 defeat by Spain, but recognised that there remains room for improvement. His focus, however, is on the long term. He is contracted until 2010 and is helping overhaul Russia's development programme.
"Russia is not a big power in world football," he said, "but Russian football is developing. It is important the national team performs well, but even if the first team is not performing well you must go on with improving the infrastructure – training centres, new stadiums.
"There must also be a renewal of the methods of training. With this huge country – 140 million people – if you organise well in scouting and youth development, then step by step it can be a powerhouse."
If the Russians are coming, the Greeks are history. Their 2004 win looks more than ever like a freak result. Otto Rehhagel, their 69-year-old coach, may now be pensioned off.
Not that he intends to go quietly. After an acrimonious exchange with Greek journalists, he said: "The Acropolis has been around for thousands of years, we won't be. That puts things in perspective."
Greece (4-3-3): Nikopolidis (Olympiakos); Seitaridis (Atletico Madrid), Dellas (AEK Athens), Kyrgiakos (Eintracht Frankfurt), Torosidis (Olympiakos); Katsouranis (Benfica), Basinas (Real Mallorca), Patsatzogou (Olympiakos); Charisteas (Nuremburg), Liberopoulos (AEK Athens), Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt). Substitutes used: Karagounis (Panathinaikos) for Seitaridis, 39; Gekas (Bayer Leverkusen) for Liberopoulos, 58; Giannokopolous (unattached) for Amanatidis, 80
Russia (4-1-3-1-1): Akinfeyev (CSKA Moscow); Anyukov (Zenit St Petersburg), Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow), Ignashevich (CSKA ), Zhirkov (CSKA); Semak (Rubin Kazan); Zyryanov (Zenit St Petersburg), Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow); Torbinski (Lokomotiv Moscow); Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow). Substitutes used: Saenko (Nuremberg) for Bilyaletdinov, 69; V Berezutski (CSKA) for Anyukov, 87.
Referee: R Rosetti (Italy).
Booked: Greece Karagounis, Liberopoulos; Russia Saenko, Torbinski.
Man of the match: Torbinski.
- 1 Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho remains cautious amid La Liga title talk
- 2 Administrators set to meet with Rangers squad
- 3 Neil Warnock: My appetite is whetted by thought of taking over at a tasty top club
- 4 Wenger knows he must be up for the Cup
- 5 Boxing: Chisora takes risk with slap in the face
- 6 Liverpool Wembley places on line
- 7 James Lawton: Giggs has shown gut leadership worthy to inherit the hairdryer
- 1 WikiLeaks takes aim at an unlikely new victim: Unesco
- 2 Prehistoric cybermen? Sardinia's lost warriors rise from the dust
- 3 Employers reject jobs scheme that's all work and no pay
- 4 Robert Fisk: I've lost a good, brave, honourable friend
- 5 Vatican told to pay taxes as Italy tackles budget crisis
- 6 Administrators set to meet with Rangers squad
- 7 Pete Doherty: I was a bit unhinged
- 8 'My 10 days at an Eton summer school was a real shock to the system'
- 9 Spotify: 1 million plays, £108 return
- 10 The artist vandalising advertising with poetry
Free trial of new Independent iPad app
Get your daily dose of the best of British journalism, sponsored by American Airlines
Win a family adventure for four in the new Subaru XV
Enjoy a three-nights family adventure at Slaley Hall Resort, Northumberland courtesy to Subaru XV
Amazing restaurant offers
Three glasses of free champagne and a special menu at 46 top London restaurants.
Latest Independent competitions
Win anything from gadgets to five-star holidays on our competitions and offers page.
Commercial thought leaders
Watch the best in the business world give their insights into the world of business.
Career Services
Day In a Page
Inside the tiny town that will topple Sarkozy
Claire Foy: Criticism, tumours and embarrassing sex scenes
Wilderness and wildlife in Australia’s Top End
48 Hours: Marrakech






Comments