Five-star Russia please Skorovich
Friday, February 3, 2012
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Sergei Skorovich was a satisfied man after his Russia team opened their UEFA Futsal EURO 2012 campaign with a 5-0 victory against Turkey that secured their progress from Group C.
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Sergei Skorovich, Russia coach
It was important to start well and we did just that. The good work the team has done in recent weeks bore fruit. We thought we would dominate against Turkey, apply pressure and enjoy most of the possession – it happened the way we expected.
We failed to take some of our chances but, overall, I'm satisfied with the lads, we played well up front. When we were 2-0 up late in the first half they tried to play more precise and created some clear-cut chances. All the lads played well, although I can probably highlight [Konstantin] Maevski, who scored three goals.
Cirilo, Russia pivot
The impression that we had it easy is deceptive. There are no weak teams at the European Championship. We were a bit nervous before the start but we got everything under control on court. We watched Turkey's first game and saw they're a solid team.
Sergei Abramov, Russia forward
We had some tough moments but there were few problems all in all. I don't care who we play in the last eight, be it Portugal or Azerbaijan. We're ready to face anyone.
Ömer Kaner, Turkey coach
Congratulations to Italy and Russia, two good teams. We've learned a lot from these two games. I'm happy and proud of my players because we've shown a lot of people what we can do. Russia and Italy will go to the end [of the tournament] because they're really strong. Russia have played together a long time, longer than Italy, who have a young side.
The first half was OK but in the second we conceded three quick goals and that was us beaten. It's not easy, of course: we were playing Russia. To pay more attention isn't easy, so I'm not sad − I'm happy. I'm very proud of the players, I hope they've learned a lot.