Friday, November 23, 2007
Russians in a state of shock
Russian soccer fans were in a state of shock on Thursday after an improbable turn of events led to their team reaching the Euro 2008 finals.
Some still could not believe that Croatia, who were already assured of qualifying, upset England 3-2 at Wembley to hand the Russians a lifeline.
However, despite the happy ending, many Russians felt their team did not deserve their place.
'It was a shameful display,' Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov told reporters as he led a chorus of disenchanted fans.
'We must say thank you to Croatia for pulling us out of oblivion and giving us a ticket to the finals.'
The soccer-loving mayor said his city government team would fare no worse than the highly paid Russian professionals against the mostly amateur Andorrans.
'I would like to invite Andorra's national team to Moscow and play against our government team. I don't think the score would be any worse than it was on Wednesday night,' he said.
Some still could not believe that Croatia, who were already assured of qualifying, upset England 3-2 at Wembley to hand the Russians a lifeline.
However, despite the happy ending, many Russians felt their team did not deserve their place.
'It was a shameful display,' Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov told reporters as he led a chorus of disenchanted fans.
'We must say thank you to Croatia for pulling us out of oblivion and giving us a ticket to the finals.'
The soccer-loving mayor said his city government team would fare no worse than the highly paid Russian professionals against the mostly amateur Andorrans.
'I would like to invite Andorra's national team to Moscow and play against our government team. I don't think the score would be any worse than it was on Wednesday night,' he said.
