Russia coach Dick Advocaat had the honour of celebrating four goals on Friday as his team clinched maximum points in their first UEFA Euro 2012 match.
Before Friday’s opening fixture against the Czechs, Sport Express quoted Advocaat as saying:
“When we started our preparations, we said straight away that we wanted to be number one. But we can only say at the end of the tournament whether that was a realistic target or not.”
Thus far, things are looking good for the Russians. They beat the Czech Republic 4-1 at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw. In the aftermath of the victory, the departing manager told news source NOS:
“This is an important victory. We made it hard for ourselves in the beginning of the second half. But in the end this match is good for our confidence.”
Russia could seal their place in the quarter-finals in their second UEFA Euro 2012 game. However, only 90 minutes have gone by and Dick Advocaat wants to make sure that complacency does not affect his squad’s confidence. He continued:
“But the trophies will be given out at the end of the tournament. We played well, but not [during] the whole game.”
In between their 4 goals, the Russians wasted a number of chances – most of which fell to striker Alexander Kerzhakov. When Pilar got a goal back for the Czechs early in the second half, pressure mounted on Russia to restore their lead. Commenting on these flaws, Advocaat concluded:
“So I saw enough things we can do better. We're happy, but we will be really happy when we reach the next round.”
Russia will play Poland in a tricky fixture on Tuesday, June 12.
“When we started our preparations, we said straight away that we wanted to be number one. But we can only say at the end of the tournament whether that was a realistic target or not.”
Thus far, things are looking good for the Russians. They beat the Czech Republic 4-1 at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw. In the aftermath of the victory, the departing manager told news source NOS:
“This is an important victory. We made it hard for ourselves in the beginning of the second half. But in the end this match is good for our confidence.”
Russia could seal their place in the quarter-finals in their second UEFA Euro 2012 game. However, only 90 minutes have gone by and Dick Advocaat wants to make sure that complacency does not affect his squad’s confidence. He continued:
“But the trophies will be given out at the end of the tournament. We played well, but not [during] the whole game.”
In between their 4 goals, the Russians wasted a number of chances – most of which fell to striker Alexander Kerzhakov. When Pilar got a goal back for the Czechs early in the second half, pressure mounted on Russia to restore their lead. Commenting on these flaws, Advocaat concluded:
“So I saw enough things we can do better. We're happy, but we will be really happy when we reach the next round.”
Russia will play Poland in a tricky fixture on Tuesday, June 12.
