Sennikov promises no surrender
Monday, June 14, 2004
Article summary
Defender Dmitri Sennikov has vowed that Russia will not give up their UEFA EURO 2004™ dreams without a fight.
Article body
Never surrender
Sennikov told euro2004.com that, despite a 1-0 defeat by Spain in their opening Group A game, Russia would be totally committed for their second match against hosts Portugal in Lisbon on Wednesday. "We will fight until the very last second, as long as our hopes of qualifying are still alive," he said.
Massive crowd
With Portugal also desperate for a win after losing their first game 2-1 against Greece, the FC Lokomotiv Moskva man admitted that he expects a difficult encounter at the Estádio da Luz. "The support for the hosts will be huge," he said. "There will be even more people cheering them on than Spain had against us."
Serious opponents
Meanwhile, captain Aleksei Smertin denied that the Russians regard Portugal as a lesser opponent than Spain. "We take this match very seriously," he told euro2004.com. "[Coach] Georgi Yartsev has not stopped repeating that this game is not going to be any easier than the first one."
Minor advantage
Striker Dmitri Kirichenko also warned that the results of the first Group A fixtures could leave Russia with a narrow advantage over the hosts. "The loss leaves us little chance of progress so we have no fear, while the Portuguese should be under pressure," the PFC CSKA Moskva forward told euro2004.com. "They have no other option but to beat us, otherwise the tournament is over for them."
Weather factor
One factor that may work against Yartsev's men is the Portuguese weather, with Sennikov admitting that Russia were finding the high temperatures a struggle. "The climate is a bit tough for us," he said. "You saw the first game against Spain when even they tired after half an hour of play. Attacking for 90 minutes in such conditions is a bit optimistic. For me, the heat is too oppressive."
Open training
The Russian team have no injury problems ahead of the game, although their news conference for today was cancelled. Russia travel from Vilamoura to Lisbon on Tuesday morning and will hold an open training session at the Estádio da Luz tomorrow afternoon.
