Hiddink succeeds in his Russian revolution

Source: Agencies  |   2008-6-28  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

RUSSIA exceeded all expectations at Euro 2008 by reaching the semifinals and will go home confident that it can again grace the international arena with its thrilling style of play.

Guus Hiddink has agreed to coach the side until the end of the 2010 World Cup and he said the experience his young players had picked up in Austria and Switzerland would serve them well in their bid to qualify for the next major international event.

"The players have got a lot of confidence out of this contest. First, we're going to relax a bit and then we'll focus in September on a difficult qualification because we have Germany and other tough countries," said Hiddink.

"The squad has learnt a lot in this tournament which can be beneficial in the qualification," he added, but for now his men can bask in the satisfaction of being among the top four teams in Europe.

In just over two weeks Dutchman Hiddink transformed his side from what he called a naive team punished on the counter-attack by Spain in a 4-1 defeat in its opening group match into an exciting one that beat Netherlands at its own stylish game.

His previously little-known players, all but one of whom play their club football in Russia, have become transfer targets for bigger European teams.

Playmaker Andrei Arshavin has won many admirers for his quick and clever moves and looks likely to leave Zenit St. Petersburg in the very near future after they said they had received an offer for him from Barcelona.

Dangerous striker Roman Pavlyuchenko, who scored three times in the tournament, has also been reported by Russian media to have received offers, while left-sided utility player Yuri Zhirkov and goalkeeper Igor Akinfeyev have also shone.

Hiddink said the campaign was already a success when Russia reached the quarterfinals - its first appearance in the knockout rounds of a major championship since it was part of the Soviet Union side that reached the Euro 1988 final.

Hiddink hopes the national team's achievements will lead to investment in the football infrastructure and changes to training methods throughout Russia.

"This is the big moment for the country to develop itself," Hiddink said. "I hope that this huge country, with 140 million people, if you have organized things well in scouting and in youth development, then step by step it can be a powerhouse."