Arshavin: If we didn't live up to your expectations, it's not our problem! State Duma Deputy Anton Belyakov: “The conflict with Arshavin distracts from the real problems in our football. Your expectations are your problems.

The players of the Russian national team explained why they lost

The Russian national football team, which crashed out of the Euro 2012 championship, returned home quietly and without much fuss. The fans did not, as usual, meet the athletes at the airport. And no wonder: the game of our team with Greece turned into a severe disappointment for all domestic football fans.

While experts and ordinary fans analyze the results of the match with Greece and the results of Euro 2012 in general, the players of the Russian national team did not even try to name the reasons for their unsuccessful performance. Russian national team captain Andrey Arshavin and completely transferred the “arrows” to the fans. In the first hours after the failure, the football player did not comment on the result of the match with Greece at all: “I have nothing to say so far,” Arshavin quotes him official site. However, then he still deigned to comment on the team's loss - in his usual manner.

The fact that we did not meet your expectations is not our problem. These are your problems, - said the football star, - We lost because we didn't score, but the Greeks scored. From these conversations, the result will not change anyway.

The goalkeeper of the Russian national team spoke less aggressively Vyacheslav Malafeev. In his opinion, the team did not have enough pressure and desire.

We are very angry because we did not get the result that we wanted so much, - said Malafeev, - I was sure that we could get out of the group. I did not expect such a defeat, and now I am very disappointed. I didn't see enough emotion on the pitch. In our game, unfortunately, there was no passion, we just played football.

Midfielder of the Russian national team Roman Shirokov did not expand on the defeat of his team and simply said: "I'm sorry." And to the question - what did he say to the team Dick Advocaat after the game - said:

What can he say? "Thank you and goodbye". Do I want him to remain the coach of the Russian national team? I think the decision has already been made. And what I personally would like does not matter, - said Shirokov.

The only player on the team who decided to talk to reporters and more or less clearly spoke out about his failure was Alan Dzagoev:

First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the fans of the Russian national team who supported us in Poland and supported us at the TV screens, - said Dzagoev, -. We tried to show our best, and we are extremely upset that we could not do it. In the match against Greece, we were the first to concede and the opponent dug in defensively. We tried to score, but unfortunately we couldn't. I repeat, it is insanely insulting, because the whole country was waiting for us to leave the group, and we understood this.

Your opinion on losing Russian team unexpectedly expressed ... and Orthodox Church. famous archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin believes that the departure of our team from the European Football Championship is a reason to make peace with the Polish people.

- About the game of our team in its last match I don't want to talk about Euro 2012. Once again you are convinced how much depends on the mood, on psychology, on the spirit, - Chaplin writes in the blog "Orthodox Politics". - If there was a stronger opponent, we would certainly have won. And here - everything seems to be decided, there are no reasons for heroism, and the talk is only about who we will go to in the quarterfinals ... Relaxation at the time of "normal" work is not the strongest feature of our national character ... However, what happened has one positive result. Football fate once again gave us a chance to reconcile with the Poles. The fighting draw and the unenviable outcome of the Group A matches for both of her favorites is an occasion for similar, common feelings. And let some of the fans - both Polish and ours - behaved aggressively, insultingly, in a boorish way. Both teams, representatives of both nations found themselves in the same situation. What happened seems to be telling us: do not quarrel!

Andrei Arshavin, in an interview with the St. Petersburg TV channel "100 TV", explained what happened in his ill-fated conflict with State Duma deputy Anton Belyaev, and also apologized to the fans not only for the team's performance, but also for the fact that the players did not thank the fans after the match with Greece.

“Firstly, a few days after we were eliminated from the tournament, I would like to turn to the fans of Russia, to say a huge thank you to them for the support they gave us at the championship, and not only at the stadium, but also in the city, in Warsaw "Near the hotel, on the streets and wherever the players met them. Of course, there may be many who want to hear excuses. From my side, from the side of the players. I would like to say that we wanted to win this championship for at least four years back in 2008. Yes, the result that we showed upset us and, of course, the fans.We understand this, and I, on my own behalf and, as a captain, on behalf of the players, would like to apologize for the result that we I just wanted to say that this is football, and one way or another, someone has to lose.This time we were the losers, and, of course, I and all the other players are very sorry about this, so, naturally that we're not in the best mood right now."

Arshavin also commented on his conflict with State Duma deputy Anton Belyakov, in a conversation with whom the sacramental was said: "Your expectations are your problems:" I want to say that in that video my words were addressed to a specific person in a specific given situation. It had nothing to do with a lot of people, fans, fans all over the country. National team players never complained about the support of our fans, our fans do everything. Everything possible that is possible. They shout and support. We can't make any claims against our fans."

Arshavin expressed regret that after an unsuccessful match with the Greeks, the team did not come up and thank the fans of the Russian national team who filled the stands: “Naturally, we had to applaud our fans, of course, this is wrong and we have something to learn from the players of other teams, not only on the field, but also how to behave outside the match, outside the stadium.But everyone makes mistakes, and I think that after all, the fans should still understand that we wanted to win just as much as they wanted to win in the stands, and that responsibility and understanding that we did not do what everyone wanted - this is the only thing I can explain."

Andrei did not determine the reasons for the defeat - however, what is the point of looking for reasons now, because, unfortunately, the matter has already been done: “We didn’t talk much, neither in the locker room, nor on the bus. Because everyone had an understanding of what happened, everyone was worried "Practically no one slept. All the staff packed things, because, of course, before the game no one did this. Families came to many to support in difficult times. We had a good team during the Euro, in principle, why should it break out of "Yes, an insulting defeat? We've been together for many years, we've been through a lot, there were even worse situations, so it's natural that there was little talk. Everyone was waiting for the return home. "Of course, there will be an update, there will be young players. Already at this Euro flashed Alan Dzagoev. I think that a few more guys who were in the lineup, but did not play, are able to replace those who left, or who will leave. So I think our team will be fine."

This was to be expected, of course. That dissatisfied fans will go to the showdown with the players, that the players will definitely say something stupid in response, which will only increase the general degree. Stupidity said. “The fact that we did not live up to your expectations is not our problem,” said the national team captain. - It's your problems". And immediately the conversation moved on. In high tones.

“We don’t owe anything to anyone,” it was before the Euro, now this is Arshavin’s phrase. But you can take off in a completely different way. The Swedish coach, after his team put on a show against England but lost, joked at the post-match press conference. The Irish just apologized for the bad game and bad results.

Ours do not believe that something out of the ordinary has happened. Just think, they flew out of the group, which they themselves called "kindergarten", "yard teams" and so on. It didn't roll. Happens.

But to apologize, well, or just say some normal human words to people who spent money, vacation time and endured Polish antics to cheer for the Russian team - it's so simple. “I have nothing to reproach myself and the players with,” said the English team coach after the failure at Euro 2000 Kevin Keegan. - We simply did not fit into the turn, behind which there was a straight line, where everyone was equal. We are very sorry". And the fans just applauded the man who found the courage to admit that his team lost in football to a weaker opponent.

I agree with Arshavin that our high expectations are our problems. The main one is that we consider our team strong, while it is no different from Poland, the Czech Republic or Greece. We also get into major tournaments twice in the third one and also consider it lucky to reach the playoffs, which we have had only once in the entire Russian history.

Arshavin's generation is the most stellar in Russian history. The backbone of the current national team are CSKA players who won the UEFA Cup in 2005, and Zenit players who won the UEFA Cup and European Super Cup in 2008. The quintessence of this team was the successful performance at Euro 2008, where the Russian team reached the semi-finals and eventually shared third place with the Turks.

Of course, few people want to remember that in five matches at Euro 2008, the Russian team lost twice with a big score. Then there were misses at the 2010 World Cup and a failure at the current Euro. Not getting into South Africa after the hookah story eventually acquired a scandalous connotation, there will surely be something from the same series this time. Otherwise, we can't.

For Arshavin himself, this European Championship seems to have become the last major tournament in the national team. The captain of the Russian national team is not young, and good physics has never been one of his main advantages. Andrei has never been able to play more than two matches in a row on high level, in fact, this is exactly what happened at Euro 2008. Because of the children's red card, the leader of the Russian team missed the first two matches in the group, then played well against the Netherlands and was already barely moving around the field in the semi-finals with the Spaniards. Note that in the iconic semi-final of the UEFA Cup against Bayern, won with a score of 4:0, Andrei also served a suspension.

And at this championship in the third match, Arshavin was clearly tired ahead of time. Although it was he who had to lead the partners behind him. I had to shout, swear in the locker room, stomp my foot. However, it would all look too comical, try to imagine Arshavin yelling at Alexey Berezutsky.

35 year old Georgios Karagounis he showed us very well in contrast what the captain of the national team should be like. And just like any football player should give himself to the game. The Greek, like the Russian, also has problems with physics, but how much passion and charisma! Even on the bench, he brought his team more benefit than Arshavin on the field.

Dick Advocaat like its predecessor Guus Hiddink, believed in Arshavin unconditionally. Both Dutchmen, it seems to me, saw in the player a pure and great talent without many impurities. So, probably, a gold digger looks at a huge nugget and sees in it only what he wants to see. Andrei is really capable of making a goal out of nothing, as he has now put it former mentor Russian team, but I would change the time: I was able. It used to be that Arshavin constantly climbed forward, tried to beat, aggravated. It's all gone in London. And the Advocate was still waiting for this nothing, from which his captain would make a goal. Not wait.

Both foreign coaches(even three, let's count more Arsene Wenger) due to their ignorance of our realities, they did not want to see in Arshavin a capricious player bombarded with money to the ears, who does not like to work too much and does not have any leadership qualities. Remember how Andrei moved from Zenit to Arsenal. Complaining that the St. Petersburg club actually enslaved him, although shortly before that he signed a five-year contract on very favorable terms for himself. Then he bargained with the Gunners for a long time, trying to bring his salary into at least some correspondence with the Zenit one. All this "Arshaviniada", which continued around Andrei's move to London, now looks especially comical, because there was only enough Russian in England for a year.

Deep down, of course, we knew that everything had to end this way. A weak-willed game against an average team, to which we lost not in football, but in desire and passion. And we knew that after the match our “collectors” would definitely say something like that. Who owes whom and how much. And in general, we have already managed to understand that we all owe it to the players of the Russian national team in general and Andrei Arshavin in particular. It will be necessary to offer Zenit to urgently increase the salary of the captain of the Russian national team. Maybe even chip in with the whole world, in case of refusal.

But this team had everything to go down in history, and not remain a team that once played football well and defeated the Dutch. It looks like it's really time for us to build a completely new team for the 2018 World Cup. In which there will be no place for Andrei Arshavin.

How Andrei Arshavin, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and other stars of Euro 2008 managed to slide to the very bottom...

The most successful in the history of the Russian national football team international tournament Euro 2008 gave the world a lot of new stars. But just a couple of years later, all these stars went out as quickly as they lit up. At the same time, most of the heroes of that Euro are still continuing playing career. We tell where they are now and how they came to such a life.

Andrey Arshavin

After the triumphant Euro 2008, where the Russians won bronze medals for the first time in recent history, it seemed that the leader of the national team, Andrei Arshavin, was about to turn into a star not only in Russia, but also in the world.

From Zenit, he moved to London's Arsenal and at first showed incredible results - two weeks after his debut in England, Arshavin scored his first goal, and a month later he scored poker against his principal rival - Liverpool. In the same year, Arshavin entered the field already in the captain's armband - no one expected such a rapid growth.

However, after a bright start, a series of failures followed. Andrei ceased to arouse sympathy among the British, both by actions on the field and beyond. Arshavin has repeatedly stated that he does not like the climate, the people, or England in general. The Russians also failed to make friends with club partners, colleagues noted the arrogance of the attacker.

Photo: Ilya SMIRNOV / Komsomolskaya Pravda

In 2012, the Russians were also convinced of Arshavin's arrogance. After the disastrous Euro 2012, the phrase of Andrey, who acted as the captain of the Russian team, became winged: “Your expectations are not our problems. It's your problems". After that, not only all of England, but all of Russia took up arms against Arshavin.

This reckless phrase played an unkind joke with Arshavin, because after the Euro he had to return to Russia, where he was not particularly expected. Over the next three years at Zenit, Arshavin scored only three goals, and in another year at Kuban, not a single one at all.

Now Arshavin defends the colors of the Kazakhstan "Kairat", and there he is doing much better. He scores again and is the leader of the team, but it is unlikely that a football player who not so long ago was the captain of the top club of the strongest football league peace.

Pavel Pogrebnyak

Tall and combative striker Pavel Pogrebnyak for many years knocked on the thresholds of top clubs, and only in 2007 he was noticed by Zenit. Pogrebnyak did not miss his chance, began to score regularly and, as a result, was called up to the national team. Despite the fact that at Euro 2008 the striker was not marked by effective actions, he was appreciated in Europe and a year later he went to conquer Germany.

Photo: Ilya SMIRNOV / Komsomolskaya Pravda

The fate of Pogrebnyak in Europe practically repeats the story of Arshavin: a good start, followed by an ongoing decline. In the German "Stuttgart" footballer lasted two years and a little, but after the expiration of the contract, the club did not want to sign a new one. Moreover, in Germany there were no people willing not only to outbid the footballer, but even to take him for free.

Pogrebnyak's only option was the modest English Reading, who were relegated from the Premier League the same year. Although the Russian managed to score there, the team still vegetated in the second division, and in 2015 Pogrebnyak was forced to return to Russia ingloriously. Since then, he has been listed with Dynamo Moscow, but in three years he scored only one goal.

Roman Pavlyuchenko

The most productive Russian at Euro 2008 Roman Pavlyuchenko immediately after the tournament was signed by Tottenham - one of the top clubs English Premier League. Much was expected from the Russian, but already the first games showed that Pavlyuchenko lacks dynamics, because the game in England is played at completely different speeds than in Russia. And the striker himself complained that the training system used by the head coach did not suit him.

Photo: globallookpress.com

As a result, Pavlyuchenko settled down tightly on the bench, entering the field only as a substitute. The Russian has more than once had the opportunity to move to another European club - in 2010, Liverpool wanted to acquire the striker, and in 2011, Espanyol. Perhaps if Pavlyuchenko had taken a different decision then, his career would have turned out differently, but for some reason the striker refused the offers.

With the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor Pavlyuchenko to Tottenham, he became a double player at all, and soon left the team, but went not to another European club, but back to Russia. For the next five years, Pavlyuchenko's career went downhill: from Lokomotiv to Kuban, from Kuban to Ural, and from Ural to the newly minted Ararat Moscow club, which plays not even in the second, but in the third league. Just today, Pavlyuchenko also terminated the contract with this club, but the football player is unlikely to find options for continuing his career.

Diniyar Bilyaletdinov

The last of the failed "conquerors of Europe" is a graduate of Lokomotiv Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. A whole year after Euro 2008 they fought for him best clubs Old world. As a result, the Russian went to the English Everton. In the new club, Bilyaletdinov quickly became the best passer, overtaking everyone in the number of assists. Nevertheless, due to high competition, even these successes did not give the Russian a place in the starting lineup.

Photo: globallookpress.com

Gradually resigned to the status of a substitute, Diniyar lost his form and interest in the game. Therefore, when Bilyaletdinov's competitor for a place in the starting lineup, Leon Osman, was injured and the Russian had a chance to gain a foothold in the base, he could not use it. Critics noted Bilyaletdinov's passivity, and soon he sat down on the bench again.

In 2012, following the rest of the cohort of Russians, Bilyaletdinov returned to his homeland, to Spartak. However, an injury prevented him from playing at the same level - during his absence, the midfielder lost his place in the squad and continued, as in England, to marinate on the bench.

On this, Bilyaletdinov's career actually ended - he changed three more clubs, but did not take root anywhere. This season, there was no place in Russia for a football player, and Bilyaletdinov again went to play abroad, only not to England, but to the small Lithuanian club Trakai. There, Bilyaletdinov, although he does not flatter himself with hopes for great results, can feel like a real star.