On June 16, 2012, the Russian national football team finished its performance at EURO 2012. This news shocked many fans, because they were counting on a completely different result. The group in which the Russians played was not very strong, and many predicted a brilliant exit from it. The first game did not disappoint the fans, but after the last, many were in real mourning.
The first game of the Russians, in which the team played against the Czechs, was bright and memorable. The result of 4: 1 pleased many Russian fans. Everything in this match was great: quick attacks, competent actions in the center of the field, powerful defense. The opposing team could do almost nothing.
But the following matches disappointed the football world. The game with Poland was sluggish, possibly due to fatigue after the victory over the Czechs. One of the reasons for the loss in the European Championship is that Russian footballers were inactive in the second match. They could not win, they lacked strength, speed, accuracy.
Perhaps one of the mistakes was the change of striker in the first half of the game with Poland. Instead of Alan Dzagoev, who showed an excellent result, Marat Izmailov came out, unable to distinguish himself at this championship. You can talk for a long time about Alan's fatigue, because he was one of the best scorers in the championship and really did his best, but perhaps he could have scored more. Russia really lacked fresh strength, the players were not in good shape, but the replacement of a key player, most likely, was the reason why the game with the Polish team ended in a draw.
The last match did not cause excitement among the Russian fans. After all, the Russians have beaten the Greek national team many times. Yes, it cannot be said that the opponent was weak, as the Greeks won EURO 2004. But, as many fans remember, it was at that tournament that Russian footballers beat Greek footballers. And in 2012, many predicted a victory for Russia. Long-range strikes were one of the main mistakes that led to a sad outcome. Most likely, it was the head coach's attitude. The Russians are not used to this kind of action, they usually play pass to the very gates of the enemy. And if they behaved this way, they would most likely leave the group.
Dick Advocaat's fears were understandable, the Greek national team is famous for their defense. And a game with long shots could have ended in victory. But already in the first half of the match it became clear that these actions were wrong. Nevertheless, there was no new installation from the coach. The Russians tried to hit the goal almost from the middle of the field. Unfortunately, Russian footballers are not very accurate, it is easier for them to hit, being in the immediate vicinity of the goal. But they could not go against the coach.
Well, the last possible mistake is the goalkeeper's game. Rather, the coach's decision to choose a goalkeeper. If Akinfeev stood at the gate, perhaps there would have been fewer goals scored against the Russian national team. Many can say that Igor is not in the best shape, because he had a serious injury. But his recent games prove that he is still one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Malafeev is a good goalkeeper, he stands confidently at the goal, repelling even serious attacks. But he lacks intuition, vision of the game. Although Akinfeev has less experience, he has a flair that makes his actions almost brilliant.
The loss at UEFA EURO 2012 happened for two reasons. Firstly, due to the fact that some players were unable to show the game that millions of fans were counting on. Low speed, lack of accurate shots, inaccurate passes, all this was, unfortunately. The second reason for the loss was the wrong decisions of the coach, who seemed to be in a hurry to leave the Russian team as soon as possible.
