Russian National Team – facts, info, stats, and club history

Nickname(s):

Association:

Football Union of Russia

Confederation:

UEFA

Home stadium:

Head coach:

Guus Hiddink

Assistant coach:

Aleksandr Borodyuk

Captain:

Andrei Arshavin

Top scorer:

Vladimir Beschastnykh

Facts & History

1 Russian National Team Overview
2 Russian Football History
- 2.1 World Cup 2002
3 Stars of the Current Squad
4 Team Legends
5 Team Honours
6 Management
7 Uniforms
8 Important Links
9 References

Russian National Team Overview

The Russian national team has a history of success and failures. They had their golden years during the fifties and sixties, even winning the Euro Cup in 1960 with legend Oleg Blokhin leading them in goals. During the 90’s and two thousands the Russian National Soccer Team had its most turbulent times, changing management six times and not going far in any championships. Russia recently qualified in the 2008 UEFA Euro Cup under the coaching of Guus Hiddink is looking to win the title.

Russian Football History

The game of football has been around in the Former Soviet Union ever since the Tsars ran the country. There are old records which indicated that in Moscow and St. Petersburg there were local competitive leagues. However, it was not until 1912 that the U.S.S.R formed it first national team. The first game that they played was in the Olympics, in which then lost to Finland 2-1.

In 1942 a little while after communism took over in the Former Soviet Union, the country joined FIFA. They played their first FIFA match against Bulgaria which they won 2-1.

During the mid fifties till the late sixties the Soviet Union had its most successful years on the world stage. Under head coach Gavriyil Kachalin, they went to the quarter finals during the 1958 and 1962 World Cups. They won the UEFA European Championship in 1960, defeating Yugoslavia in the final 2-1. Goal keeper Lev Yashin became a superstar during this period in Russia’s history.

During the 1970s and eighties the Soviet Union International Soccer Team did not do as well as before. The team was more successful in the European Championships then in the World Cup. Under the coaching of Valery Lobanovsky, they qualified for the World Cup several times, but did not go very far. However, in the 1972 Euro Cup they went to the final game but ended up losing.

During the break up of the Soviet Union, the team changed its name to Confederation of Independent States in order to play in the 1992 Euro Championship. The team did not go far in the tournament. After that competition, the football team became known as Russia and FIFA allocated the Soviet Union’s record to it.

In 1994 under the management of Pavel Sadyrin, Russian played in the World Cup. They where not considered to be a strong team in the tournament. They where put in group B along with Brazil and Sweden. This group was considered the toughest in the tournament. Russia was eliminated after two loses, to Brazil and Sweden. The only game which they won was against Cameroon, with a final score of 6-1, in which Oleg Salenko, scored five out of six goals. Due Russia’s poor performance in the tournament Pavel Sadyrin was removed as coach of Russia.

For the 96 UEFA Euro Cup, Russia chose Oleg Romansev as their head coach. During the qualifiers Russia did very well becoming first place with eight wins and two draws. They were put in group C of the tournament along with Germany, Czech Republic, and Germany. However during the tournament Russia did not do well. They go eliminated in a game against the Czech Republic and were not able to advance to the quarter finals. Romansev resigned after the tournament.

In 1998 Russia did not qualify for the World Cup, even though they were considered to be a great contender for it. They appointed Boris Ignatyev as manager, who was supposed to take them far in the tournament. Russia lost in last leg of the qualifiers to Italy.

For the 2000 UEFA European Championship, the Russian Football Union appointed Anatoliy Byshovets to be the manager. They began the qualifying rounds of the tournament with three straight loses to Ukraine, France, and Iceland, resulting in the replacement of Byshovets with Oleg Romantsev. At first Romansev did a good job with team, even beating France at home. However, Russia still did not qualify for the tournament as they lost to Ukraine for the second time in a row.

Russia qualified for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, under the management of Romansev. They were put in group H of the tournament, the weakest one of the tournament. At first Russia did well winning its first game against Tunisia. However, they were defeated by Japan and Belgium, not being able to advance to the second round of the tournament.

For the 2004 UEFA Euro 2004 Russia was coached by Valery Gazzaev. Just like the other season, the team qualified for the tournament, but did not get past the first leg of the competition. They were put in group A along with Greece, Spain, and Portugal. Russia lost in their first two games against Spain and Portugal and got eliminated from rest of the tournament. However in their third game, Russia won against Greece, 2-1.

After they failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, Russia decided to go with a foreign manager Guus Hiddink, as Russian managers where not working. Under his leadership Russia was able to qualify for the UEFA Euro 2008. They will be playing in group d along with Greece, Spain, and Sweden.

World Cup 2002

Goalkeepers Ruslan Nigmatullin (Verona, Italy), Alexander Filimonov (Uralan Elista), Stanislav Cherchesov (Tirol Innsbruck, Austria)

Defenders Yuri Nikiforov (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Viktor Onopko (Oviedo, Spain), Igor Chugainov (Uralan Elista), Yuri Kovtun (Spartak Moscow), Vyacheslav Dayev (CSKA Moscow), Andrei Solomatin (CSKA Moscow), Dmitry Sennikov (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Midfielders

Alexander Mostovoi (Celta Vigo, Spain), Valery Karpin (Celta Vigo, Spain), Dmitry Alenichev (Porto, Portugal), Yegor Titov (Spartak Moscow), Dmitry Khokhlov (Real Sociedad, Spain), Sergei Semak (CSKA Moscow), Alexei Smertin (Bordeaux, France), Marat Izmailov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Igor Semshov (Torpedo Moscow)

Strikers

Vladimir Beschastnykh (Spartak Moscow), Dmitry Sychyov (Spartak Moscow), Alexander Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg), Ruslan Pimenov (Lokomotiv Moscow

Stars of the Current Squad

Andrei Arshavin -- Andrei Arshavin plays forward for the Russian national team and FC Zenit St. Petersburg. He is a very versatile player, as he can play various positions on the field. He was the top scorer for his club team during the UEFA Cup with 11 goals in 25 matches.

Marat Nailevich Izmailov -- Marat is the attacking midfielder on the Russian National Team. He has been playing with the team since 2002. He is one of the most influential players on his club team Moscow Locomotive. Marat is known for his abilities to beat defenders and shoot from a long distance.

Aleksander Kerzhakov -- Kerzhakov is one the best strikers in Europe. In 2004 he scored the most goals in the Russian Premier League. One of his most noticeable contributions to Russia’s National Team was scoring a hat trick against Andorra in the qualifier for the Euro 2008.

Team Legends

Oleg Blokhin -- Oleg is the Soviet Union’s lead striker and has the team record with 42 goals. He was also the goal leader for the club team Dynamo Kiev with 211 goals in 432 games. He was one of the first Soviet players to play abroad with another country.

Fyodor Cherenov -- Fyodor Cherenov is a legendary player for the club team Spartak Moscow. He played in 34 games with the national team and went on to score 12 goals. In 1980 he won the bronze medal during the Olympics.

Lev Yashin -- Lev Yashin was is a legendary goal keeper for Russia. He played three times in the FIFA World Cup with Russia and went to the semi-finals with them once in 1966. While playing for Dynamo Moscow, he won the European Player of the Year award in 1963. Because of his great ability to defend the goal, Russia was able to win the Euro Cup in 1960.

Most International Matches Played

Rank	Player	Career Dates	Caps	# Appearances

Most Appearances

Rank	Player	Career Dates	# Appearances

Most Goals

Rank	Player	Career Dates	# Goals

Player Recognition & Awards

Andrei Arshavin -- Russian Premier League winner, 2007
Vasili Berezutskiy -- Russian Premier League winner, UEFA Cup winner -2005

Team Honours

FIFA World Cup

1958,1962-6th place, Quarterfinals
1966-4th place
1970-5th place
1982-7th place
1986- 10th place
1990- 17th place
1994- 18th place
2002- 22nd place

EURO Championship

1960- Euro Champions
1964- Runner up (lost to Spain)
1968—Fourth Place (lost to Italy in the semi finals, lost to England in 3rd place match)
1972-Runner up (lost to West Germany)
1988-Runner up (lost to Netherlands)

Management

Guus Hiddink -- Hiddink is a very well experienced Dutch coach. He has been successful with many teams on both the club and international level. His biggest success was with Dutch club team PSV Eindhoven, when he took them to a treble season. He joined the Russian international team after the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and helped them qualify for the Euro 2008.