stonecrandall Chapter 686
Chapter 686
Russia, Moscow, national team training base.
An old friend we are familiar with is quietly studying the Croatian men's football team's European preliminaries roster and player information.
When the familiar name appeared in his field of vision.
He couldn't help but shudder.
He smiled bitterly.
"I knew that Croatia would definitely call this kid back in the second match in the group stage."
This old man with white hair and gold-rimmed glasses is the former Australian men's football coach, Gus Hiddink, who is known as the "Magic Hiddink".
After the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Hiddink resigned from the position of Australian men's football coach and accepted the invitation of the Russian Football Association to become the new head coach of the "Polar Bear Army".
As a man who holds 6 Eredivisie titles, 4 Dutch Cup titles, and 1 Champions League title, he successfully helped the Netherlands win the World Cup quarterfinals and the World Cup semifinals, helped the South Korean team create the semifinals miracle, and led the Australian men's football team to return to the World Cup finals after 32 years.
After Hiddink took over the Russian men's football team, he once again demonstrated his excellent coaching ability. In the group stage of this European qualifier, he played steadily and won successively against Israel, North Macedonia, Andorra, and Estonia, and successfully tied the opponent in the first away game against the newly crowned World Cup winner Croatia.
At present, there are still 4 games to play in the European qualifier group stage, and Russia is only 1 point behind England, which ranks second in the group. The situation of qualifying is very good.
For the Russian men's football team that failed to enter the finals of the 2006 World Cup in Germany, this is an unexpected result for all fans.
"If we can beat Croatia this time... we can surpass England..."
Hiddink muttered to himself, turning into a mathematician, repeatedly calculating the results of the remaining four games and the impact on the qualifying situation.
"The team is in very good shape now, and we are playing at home, so there may be a chance."
"That kid can't be so fierce in every game."
"And Croatia is in the period of transition between the old and the new, and there are many young players in the roster this time..."
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On September 8, Su Fei followed the Croatian men's football team to land in a Moscow hotel one day in advance, ready to face the Russian men's football team.
In the world football, the Russian men's football team is a typical player with more strength than fame.
In the 20th century, when the Russian men's football team was still called the Soviet team, it was a super team in the entire world football.
Since 1958, Russia has entered the World Cup finals 8 times, 4 times in the quarterfinals, and 1 time in the semifinals. They were also the champions of the first European Cup in 1960. In addition, they have won 3 European Cup runner-ups and 2 Olympic gold medals.
In the history of Russian men's football, there have also been several world-renowned superstars.
The most famous among them is the legendary goalkeeper Lev Yashin. He was the only goalkeeper to win the Ballon d'Or in 1963, and the World Cup Best Goalkeeper Award was named after him. These two honors alone are enough to prove Yashin's status.
Combined with his contribution to the development of modern football goalkeepers, he is a well-deserved goalkeeper in history.
In addition. At the 1994 World Cup in the United States, striker Oleg Salenko, who won the Golden Boot Award of the World Cup after only participating in the group stage and scored five goals in a single game, was also famous throughout the world football.
Finally, there is the star player in the current Russian men's football lineup, Andrei Arshavin, known as the "Tsar".
Born in 1981, the 26-year-old Russian striker now plays for Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Premier League, helping the club win the runner-up of the Russian Premier League in 2001, 2002 and 2004 respectively.
Although he is still in the Russian Premier League, he has successfully attracted the attention of major European clubs with his performance. In the original history, this year will be the year of his complete explosion. Not only will he help the club win the first Russian Premier League championship in team history, but he will also help the team win the Europa League championship and make his name appear in the sixth place in the Golden Ball ranking!
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September 9, 3 pm, CSKA Arena.
The appearance ceremony is about to begin.
Su Fei is also in the player tunnel, saw Arshavin, the new record holder in Arsenal's history who will be in Europe next summer.
Arshavin, who is only 1.72 meters tall, has pure Mao ancestry, a big nose, brown curly hair, and three-dimensional facial features.
His face is a little immature, not like a 26-year-old but more like a 16-year-old high school student.
In addition.
Su Fei also saw a player that Chinese Super League fans are very familiar with, Luneng's famous player Alexander Zivkovic who helped Shandong Luneng win the cup twice.
This guy just created the record of assists in the Chinese Super League with 16 assists in the 2005-06 season.
Russian Super League Golden Boot Scorer Pavlyuchenko, Europa League champion defender Ignashevich, the youngest talented goalkeeper in Russian history Akinfeev...
Su Fei knows very well that the strength of this Russian men's football team should not be underestimated.
In the original history, this Russian men's football team was the last glory of the Russian men's football team in the 21st century. In the final group stage, they defeated the defending champion Greece and Sweden to qualify, and in the knockout stage, they defeated the Netherlands 3:1 and successfully advanced to the semi-finals.
Judging from the results of the 2008 European Cup, Russia is much stronger than the Three Lions, which has a luxurious lineup.
This Russian men's football team is very similar to the Croatian men's football team in some ways, not only in terms of language and race, but more importantly in terms of unity and fighting spirit...
When Su Fei was quietly observing the players of the Russian men's football team.
As the world's number one, he was of course secretly watched by others.
Ignashevich and Akinfeev whispered.
"Igor, did you see that? That guy's muscles... are even more explosive than on TV."
"Not only did I see that, I also watched his game against Chelsea for Manchester City a few days ago. He kicked the ball to pieces."
"Wow, is that true? Are you kidding?"
As the starting goalkeeper of the Russian men's football team today, Akinfeev had a serious expression, but his eyes could not hide his excitement for the challenge.
"I will try to save his shot and see how strong he is!"
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