Disciplinary miscalculation

Guus Hiddink almost lost because of "translators"

Exactly a year after Guus Hiddink took charge of the Russian national team, the Dutchman made it clear that he, too, is capable of making mistakes. Having expelled CSKA defender Sergei Ignashevich from the national team, albeit for just one game, the head coach of the Russians at one point in a friendly match with the Polish team was left with virtually no defense. The Russian team, which had confidently won by that time with a difference of two goals, gave the victory - 2:2.

Sergei Ignashevich did not explain to the public why he was late for the national team meeting - no one believed the weak version that he was prevented by traffic jams, which he invented three days before arriving at the national team. Ignashevich only promised to take up studying English, “in order to henceforth speak personally with Hiddink, and not through translators.” Igor Korneev and Alexander Borodyuk, through whom the Dutchman communicates with the team, should have understood the hint.

Hiddink, even having understood the situation and seemingly not having any special complaints against Ignashevich, did not cancel the decision to expel him. At the same time, the Dutch coach had to come up with schemes in which the absence of the main defensive player would not be so noticeable. Hiddink settled on 3--4--3: the three defenders were made up of the Berezutsky brothers and Denis Kolodin, Ivan Saenko and Yuri Zhirkov were placed on the midfield flanks, and Igor Semshov and Diniyar Bilyaletdinov took control of the center of the field. The attacking trio consisted of Dmitry Sychev, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrei Arshavin, who was located a little deeper.

The scheme turned out to be viable, although it suffered a little in the attack on the right flank - it was there that Ivan Saenko settled, who took an active part in the creative activities of the team. It was from his pass that the scoring was opened: having received the ball sent across the entire penalty area by Arshavin, the Russian legionary of the German Nuremberg made a hard cross along the goal, which Sychev put his head under - 1:0. The Russians, as if preparing for an imminent confrontation with the British, again scored the second goal with their heads. This time it was Pavlyuchenko who distinguished himself, calmly finishing at the far post after Alexey Berezutsky's discount.

In short, the first half was a success for Hiddink and his team. The Poles' forays into the opposing half of the field were rare and harmless, and Vladimir Gabulov, who defended the Russian goal in the first half, had almost no work to do. The problems started after the break. At the beginning of the second half, Alexey Berezutsky was injured. His brother Vasily had been replaced by that time, and only two nominal defenders remained on the field - Anyukov and Kolodin. Their colleagues in the role were no longer left on the bench either.

Hiddink did not seem to appreciate the danger of the situation and did not actively rebuild the game. Only Saenko and Bilyaletdinov, who by this time were playing on the flanks, “sat down” a little deeper. But they also did not take their new defensive responsibilities very responsibly. The Poles did not fail to take advantage of this and immediately created several chances. One of them was crowned with a deadly accurate strike from Kshinuvnik right in the top nine. Two defenders of the national team in this episode were busy with other things, and no one from their partners could help them - 2:1. Four minutes later the score became even - now the Russian national team’s defense had cracked on the left flank, and Blaszczykowski, who had fallen onto the goal, calmly rolled the ball past Anton Shunin, who came on as a substitute after the break.

And after a couple of minutes, Hiddink’s team was left with only one defender. Anyukov, having received an injury, was forced to ask for a replacement. And the nominal forward Saenko was forced to keep Kolodin company in the center of defense. The two of them, with the languid help of their partners, fought back until the final whistle. And the end of the match, which threatened to turn into a defeat for the Poles, forced the coaching staff of the Russian national team to think about the benefits and harms of disciplinary action.

Andrey VDOVIN