Alan Dzagoev, Artyom Dzyuba and Denis Cheryshev celebrate a Russian goal.
Last month, Russia qualified for UEFA Euro 2016 in France. This marks the fourth straight time Russia has qualified since 2004 and the fifth since 1996. In addition to the campaigns at Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, this also marks the first time, since 1992, Russia has qualified for three major tournaments in a row.
Unlike the World Cup, Russia has a more respectable history at the European Championship. The Soviet Union were the inaugural champions of the tournament in 1960 and reached the final in 1964, 1972, and 1988. As Russia, the team qualified in 1996 and 2004 but were seen as one of the weaker teams and failed to qualify for the knockout round. The big break came in 2008 under the leadership of Guus Hiddink when the team not only qualified from the group but defeated a superior team from the Netherlands to reach the semifinals. Similar expectations precipitated Euro 2012, but as in 1996 and 2004, Russia were eliminated in the group stage.
The journey to Euro 2016 came on the heels of yet another group stage elimination; this time at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. In the face of embarrassment, Fabio Capello promised improvements ahead the home based 2018 World Cup. After a seemingly strong start against Liechtenstein, draws against Sweden, Moldova, and a loss to Austria put the Italian under pressure. After an awarded victory over Montenegro and encouraging results in friendlies, the team appeared in good shape ahead of the critical home match to Austria. However, the encounter proved to be Capello’s last as the Russia lost 1-0.
For most of the summer, Capello’s future was clouded in uncertainty. Finally in late July, nearly three years to the day he was hired, the Russian Football Union quietly announced they were parting ways with the Italian. After a few weeks of speculation, CSKA’s Leonid Slutsky was announced as Russia’s new manager for the final four qualifiers.
Slutsky’s reign started on a high note as he mustered a narrow and tense 1-0 victory over Sweden; Russia’s main opponent for the second automatic qualification spot. The victory meant Russia needed to match or better Sweden’s results against relatively weaker opponents. After romping Liechtenstein 7-0, Russia defeated a firm Moldovan team on their home field. With only Montenegro to face in their final qualifier, Russia entered the nervous match in Moscow needing at least a draw. After starting brightly with a goal from Oleg Kuzmin, Russia dominated and eventually emerged victorious after an Aleksandr Kokorin penalty.
Having qualified directly, a task that seemed distant several months ago, Leonid Slutsky is not relieved of pressure. He will have to build a squad that is capable but at the same time not overrated; something the plagued the squads of 2012 and 2014.
Best Two Matches
Russia vs. Sweden; Sept 5, 2015; 1-0
This was the match Russia needed to absolutely win in order to have a chance at qualifying automatically. Anything less would have seen Sweden maintain a cushion and potentially qualify behind Austria. After an early goal from Artyom Dzyuba, Russia were on their way to victory and over a major hurdle to France.
Russia vs. Montenegro; Oct 12, 2015; 2-0
The culmination of the campaign was a victory over Montenegro to cap off four of four victories under Leonid Slutsky.
Worst Two Matches
Russia vs. Moldova; Oct 12, 2014; 1-1
After drawing with Sweden a few days earlier, Russia needed a win to stay in early contention. However, the team performed poorly and were unable to maintain a lead. It’s safe to say this match foreshadowed the problems that would transpire later in the campaign. One month later Russia would lose to Austria in Vienna before eventually losing the return fixture at home.
Russia vs. Austria; Jun 14, 2015; 0-1
The final straw for Fabio Capello came after losing to Austria in Moscow. Although Vasiliy Berezutskiy and Sergei Ignashevich were injured, the team failed to capitalize several clear opportunities to potentially level the match. The result left Russia in third place with a real possibility of another nervy play-off.
Best Three Players
Artyom Dzyuba
Dzyuba burst on to the scene of the Russian national team in 2011. However after being considered for Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup, he was omitted. In qualifying for Euro 2016, Dzyuba appeared to be in Fabio Capello’s plans but hardly left the bench. Leonid Slutsky decided to make Dzyuba the undisputed first choice striker for Russia; effectively replacing old guard target man Aleksandr Kerzhakov. Along with Kokorin and Smolov, Dzyuba is likely to be the key man for goals in France next summer.
Oleg Kuzmin
For several years, the Rubin fullback has been one of the underrated and underused talents in Russian football. Long considered a potential candidate for either left-back or right-back due to his strong club form, Guus Hiddink included him in qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup but he was unable to dislodge Yuri Zhirkov or Aleksandr Anyukov. Even with later fullbacks like Dmitri Kombarov, Georgi Schennikov, Igor Smolnikov and Aleksei Kozlov, Kuzmin was ignored by Fabio Capello. Slutski decided to trust the 34 year old by bringing him on against Sweden and Moldova. Kuzmin later made his main contribution by scoring the first a goal against Montenegro in Russia’s final qualifier.
Roman Shirokov
Shirokov has been Russia’s main playmaker since the start of Dick Advocaat’s tenure in 2010. Following a stint as a deep lying playmaker, Slutsky decided to utilize Shirokov’s strengths and inserted him into the attacking playmaking position. This move paid off as Shirokov markedly improved Russia’s attack and creative capability.
Worst Three Players
Aleksandr Kerzhakov
Once billed as one half Russia’s golden pair along with Andrey Arshavin, Aleksandr Kerzhakov has been under significant expectation to deliver on the international stage. After failing to deliver under Guus Hiddink and Dick Advocaat, Fabio Capello decided to give the Zenit striker an opportunity to do so at the 2014 World Cup. But after scoring against South Korea, Kerzhakov was unable to help the team and Russia were eliminated in another embarrassing group round exit. Kerzhakov remained in the squad for Euro 2016, but after ineffective performances and failing to score in Russia’s first six matches, incoming manager Leonid Slutsky decided to finally omit striker all together. As it stands, Kerzhakov is unlikely – barring major injury problems – to feature in the final tournament.
Oleg Ivanov
Ivanov was called up by Fabio Capello in June to augment an injury plagued midfield against the home match against Austria. In the attacking role, he performed poorly as he missed some clear chances and blundered several passes. That’s not to say Ivanov is a bad player, his particular performance in the crucial match was subpar and appears to have been excluded from Slutsky’s plans.
Ivan Novoseltsev
Like Ivanov, Novoseltsev was called up earlier this year to patch up the back line after injuries to Vasiliy Berezutskiy and Sergei Ignashevich. Novoseltsev’s performance was far from ideal as Russia lost a critical home match to Austria. Novoseltsev is a prime example of the lack of quality centre backs in Russia. One of Slutsky’s main jobs should be to develop quality central defenders who would be able to fully replace Sergei Ignashevich and the Berezutski brothers.
