We deserved to go out, says Russian coach

Russia fitness coach Raymond Verheijen believes his side deserved to bow out of Euro 2012 after the surprise 1-0 defeat by Greece in the final Group A clash on Saturday ended their involvement.

The 40-year-old Verheijen was appointed fitness coach of the Russian side by his countryman Dick Advocaat after working as assistant manager for the Wales national team until February of this year. Minutes after Russia’s defeat against Greece in Warsaw’s National Stadium, he tweeted his congratulations to the two teams who went through to the quarter-finals.

“Russia out. Totally deserved. In second-half 80% possession but no creativity so no scoring chances. Congratulations to Greece & Czech Republic.” Verheijen wrote on his Twitter account.

Advocaat’s side saw most of the ball in the second period after conceding a goal to Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis in first-half injury time. However, their domination and scoring chanced were not converted into goals despite Russia tallying up five times as many shots as the Greeks over the course of the match, and the fitness coach bemoaned his side’s failure to find the back of the net.

“Football is a simple game. If you score more goals than your opponent you deserve to win, no matter the amount of possession or number of chances,” Verheijen wrote.

Head coach Dick Advocaat struggled to come to terms with what was his final game in charge being branded a failure, reacting angrily to suggestions his side played badly.

The PSV Eindhoven-bound boss said: “I think we played quite well. We went forward and the other team just defended. So, don’t say that we didn’t play well today. It’s true we conceded a goal and we simply didn’t put away our chances. But in the first-half I think we played really well. And, in the second-half, against a team like Greece, with all respect, it was hard to play against.”

Asked how he thought Russia fans would remember his two years in charge, he said: “I’m not really too interested in what others say about me. We were undefeated for 16 games and it was unfortunate. We should’ve won but that wasn’t the case.

“They were leading 1-0 after the half and they are just masters at doing what they did today.”

The Greek economy has been in turmoil for some time and Karagounis said: “When we left Greece, we all said in one voice, ’We will give everything’. I believe this, puts a smile on their faces.

“It’s not just about qualifying, it’s about the way you get this qualification.

“We’re happy we managed to do that for the Greeks, for our country, for the Greeks all over the world.”