Russians to do it for the fans
Thursday, June 17, 2004
Article summary
Goalkeeping coach Rinat Dasayev says that Russia will try to win against Greece for their supporters.
Article body
Playing for the fans
Not even a win against the Greeks will be enough to take Russia into the quarter-finals, but Dasayev is confident that the players want to end the tournament on a high. "After two defeats we need a victory for us and our supporters," he said. "And a good result could also help to get the team out of this state of disappointment we are in at the moment."
'Deserved more'
The former USSR international felt that his team were unlucky in Wednesday night's encounter with the hosts in Lisbon, where they had goalkeeper Sergei Ovchinnikov sent off in the 45th minute and lost 2-0. Dasayev said: "Russia did everything possible in the match against Portugal and deserved at least a draw. We could have drawn or even won but luck turned its back on us. But I still think the players showed great determination."
No scapegoat
Dasayev also refused to put any blame on Ovchinnikov for the sending-off, saying: "Sergei's actions were absolutely the right ones. He broke down the Portuguese attack and did not let them score. No one can blame him."
'We need a victory'
The suspended custodian will be replaced by Viacheslav Malafeev, who produced a solid second-half display at the Estádio da Luz, against Greece. Malafeev is already looking forward to the game in Faro-Loulé. "When I came on, I was quite nervous. But during the break I had a chance to stretch and calm down. Now we need a victory against Greece," he said.
Final touch lacking
Dasayev, meanwhile, does not agree with the critics who claim that Russia lack creativity in attack. "We model our game based on which opponents we play. Of course we did not create too many chances, but we did create some, and the only reason we didn't score was because we lacked the final touch," he said.
Guessing game
Coach Georgi Yartsev welcomes back defender Roman Sharonov from suspension but loses captain Aleksei Smertin, who received his second yellow card against Portugal, for the Greece match. Dasayev, however, refused to say who would replace Smertin as captain. "You will find out an hour before the game," he said.
