Russia celebrated Thursday their qualification for the Euro 2008 finals, praising Croatia`s glittering performance at Wembley and Russia manager Guus Hiddink.
"Hvala Vam, Hrvatska!", or "Thank You Croatia!", shouted the headline, written in Croatian, on page one of the Soviet Sport daily, rejoicing in the sensational 3-2 win over England at Wembley on Wednesday night.
"It`s A Miracle!!!" screamed the front page of another daily, Sport Express, which also praised Croatia and said the Croats had shown Russia the way they should play at the 2008 European championship`s finals.
Meanwhile, Hiddink, who has a reputation as being lucky among the world`s top football managers, said that his team had deserved to go through.
"Croatia performed with truly manly character and did honor to the principles of fair play," Hiddink said. "I can also say the same about Israel, who played very fairly against us Saturday."
Hiddink also said that he was surprised that England had failed to ensure at least a draw at home but acknowledged that Croatia were a very strong and experienced team, which won the qualifying Group E.
"I did not believe in miracles, I believed we had a small chance," the Dutch-born manager added. "I`m happy that we won it. I told my players that I`m proud of them."
Meanwhile, Russian Football Union boss Vitaly Mutko also celebrated his team`s succes calling however on the country`s fans to remain patient and warning them not to expect immediate miracles.
"I believe we deserved this succes. We were not bad at all in this qualifying group though our performance was definitely not the best possible," Russian football chief said.
"It is not yet a result of our football system`s work. We are just making our first steps in the right direction. But we should use this success for the good of Russian football."
Many Russian fans, although jubilant over their side`s last-minute qualification, nevertheless also noted that the national side would need to improve its game substantially if they want to be competitive at the 2008 European finals.
"Our dream is fulfilled, we made it to the Euro finals," 25-year-old fan Anton Vorobiev told the media in the far-eastern city of Vladivostok. "All of Russia praises Croatia for their regal gift!"
"Hiddink did his job perfectly and led us into the finals. Now he should teach us how to win there."
Russia finished second in the qualifying Group E with 24 points from 12 matches, five points behind the group winners Croatia.
sections: Sport |
Russian News
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