Kovtun returns as trio pay price

Russia coach Valeri Gazzaev has responded to last month's 1-0 defeat in Georgia by dropping the experienced trio of Egor Titov, Marat Izmailov and Dmitri Alenichev for the UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier against Switzerland.

Kovtun recalled
The loss in Tblisi left Russia two points behind Switzerland, the Group 10 leaders, and has also prompted Gazzaev to recall Yuri Kovtun for the match in Basel on 7 June. Alenichev is arguably the most surprising absentee following his goal in FC Porto's UEFA Cup triumph last week, but he misses out along with FC Spartak Moskva midfield player Titov - the national team captain - and FC Lokomotiv Moskva midfield player Marat Izmailov.

Eleven-month absence
Meanwhile, Spartak defender Kovtun, who scored three goals in his last three domestic games, is returning to the squad after an eleven-month absence. Kovtun, 33, has won 48 caps but this is his first call-up since the FIFA World Cup last summer.

New faces
Besides Kovtun, Gazzaev has also brought in two new faces in Dmitri Bulykin of FC Dinamo Moskva and Petr Bystrov of FC Saturn Moskovskaya Oblast, both 24. Bulykin, a tall, powerful striker, is top scorer in the Premier-Liga with six goals, while Bystrov, a midfield player, has regained his best form after missing a year through injury.

Gusev returns
Gazzaev, who is also head coach of PFC CSKA Moskva, has called up nine players from his club. Rolan Gusev is a significant returnee but two other CSKA players, Alan Kusov and Spartak Gogniev, have been dropped and will most likely reinforce the Under-21 side along with Izmailov.

Russia squad
Mandrykin, Ovchinnikov, Kotun, Evsikov, Solomatin, A Berezoutski, V Berezoutski, Onopko, Ignashevitch, Yanovskiy, Semak, Gusev, Karyaka, Aldonin, Bystrov, Smertin, Semshov, Sychev, Popov, Bulykin.