Russia keep faith with old guard for qualifiers
Reuters - Friday 19 August 2011, 13:50
MOSCOW - Russia coach Dick Advocaat stuck
to using experienced players for next month's Euro 2012
qualifiers at home to Macedonia and Ireland by naming an
unchanged 20-man squad on Friday.
"I just don't like to change players for the sake of making
a change," said the Dutchman, who has been criticised by Russian
media for overlooking talented young players in favour of the
old guard, many of whom had played at Euro 2008.
"Honestly, I don't think I should change anything especially
after a win," he said, referring to a 1-0 victory over Serbia in
last week's friendly.
Advocaat said he expected everyone to be in good physical
condition, including forwards Andriy Arshavin and Alexander
Kerzhakov, after they suffered injuries against the Serbs.
Arshavin suffered a cut above his eye following a clash of
heads with an opposing player while Kerzhakov had an ankle
injury.
"Injuries to [defender Alexander] Anyukov and Kerzhakov seem
to be minor and Arshavin should also be feeling fine," Advocaat
said. "I hope all our players will arrive match-fit."
Russia, level on points with Ireland and Slovakia at the top
of Group B, host Macedonia on September 2 before facing the Irish at
Moscow's Luzhniki stadium four days later.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeyev (CSKA Moscow), Vyacheslav
Malafeyev (Zenit St Petersburg)
Defenders: Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexei
Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Vasily Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Yuri
Zhirkov (Anzhi Makhachkala), Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St
Petersburg), Roman Shishkin (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Everton), Konstantin
Zyryanov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Zenit St
Petersburg), Igor Denisov (Zenit St Petersburg), Igor Semshov
(Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoyev (CSKA Moscow), Dmitry Torbinsky
(Lokomotiv Moscow), Denis Glushakov (Lokomotiv Moscow)
Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Arsenal), Roman Pavlyuchenko
(Tottenham Hotspur), Pavel Pogrebnyak (VfB Stuttgart), Alexander
Kerzhakov (Zenit St Petersburg).