| In the most gangster suburb of Paris, Karpin did not fare well “Now I understand: the Russians have one of the best teams in Europe. And we need to work seriously if we want to win the upcoming World Championships in Asia,” said Roger Lemerre, head coach of the world and European champions, after the meeting of the French and Russian national teams. The eminent mentor was forced to reconsider his views by a goalless draw at the Stade de France in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis, which in France was regarded as a defeat, and in Russia as a victory.
Despite the fact that in all the pre-match comments the players and coaching staff of the Russian national team constantly mentioned that the result of the meeting with the French was not the main thing, the game proved the opposite. From the first minutes, the Russians made it clear that their main task in this meeting was to keep their goal intact. And given the traditional problems of our team in defense, it was obvious that the Russians were going to solve this problem not with skill, but with numbers.
Only one football player - Vladimir Beschastnykh - was allowed not to run headlong towards his goal at the slightest danger. All the rest, including flank midfielders Izmailov and Karpin, as well as central midfielders Titov and Mostovoy, had to work in defense with at least five nominal defenders. The key role in such a game for the result was given not to the creator players, but to Alexei Smertin, who throughout the match did not leave a meter from the “conductor” of the French team, Zinedine Zidane. Smertin coped with his task. And the captain of the French national team, not accustomed to such close supervision, did not exactly get lost (Zidane, even tired from the long season, was the inspirer of almost all attacks), but he felt constrained.
For the time being, both hosts' forwards, Henri and Anelka, were not noticeable. By the way, after a meeting with the Russian national team in France, a dispute flared up whether it was worth taking Anelka to the World Cup. This striker is not very popular in his country anyway. The French cannot forget his dark past, when Anelka, who lived here in Saint-Denis, considered one of the most criminal suburbs of Paris, was engaged in petty theft, used drugs and even - which looks especially provocative today - was planning to convert to Islam. But before, all this was forgiven for the goal-scoring forward. Now, when there is no result, the French also remembered the moral character of the national team players.
However, once Anelka still managed to hit Nigmatullin’s goal: the ball, after Petit’s long-range shot, hit the post and bounced to the striker, who sent it into the net. However, a moment earlier the referee ruled it offside.
This was just one of many heated episodes in the Russian team's penalty area. Time after time, the same Anelka, Henry, Zidane, Desailly and Vieira missed their chances. Yes, almost every French football player, with the exception of goalkeeper Barthez, had the opportunity to score. But Ruslan Nigmatullin, sitting on the bench of the Italian Verona, did not lose his qualifications and constantly helped out the Russian team.
To be fair, it is worth noting that the Russian team also created a couple of dangerous moments. But in the first half, Beschastnykh failed to convert a one-on-one situation, and Titov’s shot was parried by Barthez in a beautiful throw. And after the break, the ball after Onopko’s shot went just centimeters from the post.
But the key episode of this meeting had only an indirect relation to football. In the middle of the second half, Karpin and Lizarazu came together in a clash that was too tough for a friendly match. The Russian immediately expressed everything he thought about the French in general, and about Lizarazu in particular. The hosts' defender also did not remain in debt. And, word for word, the football players moved on to sort things out in a boxing match.
This story was continued after the end of the match in the under-tribune room of the Stade de France. The French team, thirsting for revenge, specifically waited for Karpin to appear at the locker rooms. Vieira showed particular zeal, managing to hit the Russian football player several times, and later almost all the players of the French national team took part in the clash. The stadium security service behaved strangely in this situation. Ostensibly breaking up the fight, the guards grabbed the Russian players without risking touching the local stars, which they did not fail to take advantage of and delivered several more blows. Andrey VDOVIN, Paris |
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