To my chagrin, Slava's comments on my posting were rather ill-conceived.Firstl y, by street soccer I meant children playing the game and learning the skills and developing the passion; I didn't mean a bunch of some over age amateurs getting together to kick a few balls around. Remember, the unique tournament we had "The Leather Ball?" This Russian team would have been demolished by any pre - 1990 squad, and his comparisons of current and past defenders just doesn't hold any water. Shesternev, Ponomarev, Hidiatulin... I know Ukranian football pretty well having studied under Lobanovsky and Zelentzov. In their last endeavor together Dinamo had demolished Barcelona with a combined score 7:0. Who do you have today? Semi-retired Shevchenko whose dream is to join the graveyard for superannuated players called the MLS? Obese Milevski who runs like a Maytag refrigerator on wheels?Where are the young stars nurtured by the famous Dinamo youth system?  And yet, both Russians and Ukranians will keep on buying second rate foreign players and appointing coaches who resemble the Traveling Musicians of Bremen. Their motto - Take the money and run!

very good go home red brothers you were over-confident :)

Russia, you pulled out a great match last night. Congrats on your win and keep the good work up!

Ilia (unregistered) wrote in #3 How preposterous to justify the lacklustre, insipid performance of the Russian team! The level of play is a direct reflection on the qualityof the Russian League. Third-rate foreigners, destroyed youth developmentthat used to produce players of international class. Big money has finished off soccer. When the former USSR center forward Simonian had learned the timing of centerback Ignashevich's 100 yard sprint, he just laughed and said the player wouldn't have made the reserve squad of Spartak Moscowin the 60s. Ukraine is pretty dismal, too. Street soccer has disappeared, the fans go to the games just to make noise and get drunk I don't know, in Ukraine (At least in Kiev and Melitopol) people play street football now almost every day, so I don't know what you are talknig about.. On a good day I could go on a field alone with a friend and by the end of the day 20 or more companions will join the game passing by and seeing me. And Ignashevich is the worst player of the Russian team basically, way to pick a guy. As far as I see Zhirkov and Denisov are much better individually then most previous defencemen of USSR and post-USSR maybe only worse then Onopko. And football is getting better not worse, maybe not at the current moment because there is barely any really good players right now, I can't say for example Messi is a "Legend" too be honest just the best there is now, but just 4 years ago there was Zidane and he was better then any midfielder of the 20th century in my opinon, and I know a lot. 

Goodbye Russia! ;p

Ilia (unregistered) wrote in #3
How preposterous to justify the lacklustre, insipid performance of the Russian team! The level of play is a direct reflection on the qualityof the Russian League. Third-rate foreigners, destroyed youth developmentthat used to produce players of international class. Big money has finished off soccer. When the former USSR center forward Simonian had learned the timing of centerback Ignashevich's 100 yard sprint, he just laughed and said the player wouldn't have made the reserve squad of Spartak Moscowin the 60s. Ukraine is pretty dismal, too. Street soccer has disappeared, the fans go to the games just to make noise and get drunk.

You are right! There is too much money being paid to players and there are too many foreigners players being allowed to play in teams. The clubs do not develop their young local players. This is the same for all countries not just Russia. The players would rather win the champions league than play for their country!

Russia plays very well like Barcelona. BUT, oh my God! Why the hell can't you score goals whne you have millions of chances???? Kerzhakov, what a failure, and also the rest of the guys that shoot the ball 10 meters from the goal, and not on target. You had many chances and screwd things up. Greece had one chnace, and the scored. Greece plays bad, but they are effective like the germans, french etc. Russia and Holland do not ply effective football. It does not help that it is pretty to look at when these teams misses millions of chances, and then get tired and can not deffend their own goal.  I am very dissapointed in Russia and how they play with no concentration at all in their chances. It is Advocaats responsibility that he let Kerzhakov play from start in all 3 matches.

What I saw was, especially in the second half where the dominance was clearly theirs, they lacked a goal scorer as Hristo Stoichkov. But this is how the sport is; no team has ever remained always on the top and unchallenged.

I am happy to see the Russians crash out, and also happy that a host nation (Poland) has crashed out. Hope Ukraine gets eliminated too.
You think England fans are bad? Eastern European fans are much worse: violence on the streets, throwing flares onto the pitch, racist chants, and jeering everytime any player on the opposing team gets the ball.
You have no class, and good riddance to you.

i am really very upset .. the way that they played  .. it is a very easy match . they proved once again that the are not capable to play international match . very poor defense and  not a tough offence 

How preposterous to justify the lacklustre, insipid performance of the Russian team! The level of play is a direct reflection on the qualityof the Russian League. Third-rate foreigners, destroyed youth developmentthat used to produce players of international class. Big money has finished off soccer. When the former USSR center forward Simonian had learned the timing of centerback Ignashevich's 100 yard sprint, he just laughed and said the player wouldn't have made the reserve squad of Spartak Moscowin the 60s. Ukraine is pretty dismal, too. Street soccer has disappeared, the fans go to the games just to make noise and get drunk.

Tough luck for the Russians. I liked the way they played. I am a bit surprised as I had expected them to go through to the next round. They still did very well.

Russia this is very sad. I like your team and great country.  You would kick the germans and also Hollanda  maybe Spain out next round. pfff.