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GET IT OFF YOUR CHEST - UEFA Cup, Euro 2008 bronze, Super Cup… What are the reasons behind the recent rise of Russian football?
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- Alexander September 19, 2008, 18:52
- The reasons are quite obvious. The more money invovled/invested in sport, the better results will be. I don't believe russian footballers were playing worse 10 years ago than they do now. But, they got much bigger $motivation$ than they did before. Not to mention great coaches - G.H. & D.A.
Anyway, it's always nice to watch your national team doing great
- Sevodnya_Net September 14, 2008, 23:40
- Zenit's run in the UEFA Cup was exhilarating and it was great to see them triumph in the final against opponents who plainly had no interest in playing positive football.
Of course this success was directly related to the Super Cup victory 3 months later in a one-off game, but before getting too carried away on the club front, it ought to be remembered that although CSKA won the UEFA Cup a couple of seasons earlier this success was not the predicted forerunner of great times, with another of Russia's more high profile sides Spartak seemingly in turmoil and humiliated recently by Dinamo Kiev in the Champions League.
Similarly Zenit, despite a memorable victory over Manchester United, are not exactly setting the Russian League on fire in defence of their title, and will really be up against it in the Champions League.
It seems that Eastern European teams, sadly, are destined to continue to struggle at the very highest level of international club competition. The creaming off of the wealthiest teams from a handful of countries into the Champions League has left the UEFA Cup devalued and, dare I say it, allowed more unfancied and unfashionable teams to come through, which of course is great as far as it goes. Whether the potential great wealth of Zenit will allow them entry into the "Euro-elite" remains to be seen. For now the very best Russian players such as Pavlyuchenko aspire to play in more competitive leagues, and until that changes I can't see Russian club teams being a force to be reckoned with at the highest level.
On the other hand, the comparative success of the national team I'd say is largely down to the influence of the coach Hiddink, who's changed the style of play to a more counter-attacking setup. I'm sure this greatly helped the Russian team in Euro 2008, as previous Russian sides had a reputation for not travelling well.
In addition of course it helps to have players such as Arshavin around which a coach can build a team, although it was obvious also in Euro 2008 that for the moment anyway there is too much reliance on this one player.
Russia ought to be a sleeping giant of world football. Despite its size it still has comparatively few people taking up the game, but success tends to breed success and perceived success heightens awareness of the game, so although I'd not want to get too carried away, it may be that the positive image football has had in Russia recently may lead on to even greater things. At least internationally Russia should be able to compete in future on a more level playing field (figuratively speaking!)
By the way a football topic on this forum is long overdue!
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