I think that Andrei Arshavin’s now catchphrase has spread all over the Internet - “the fact that we lost is not our problem. These are your problems."
But few people know that Arshavin said these words, addressed to all fans it seems, to me.
Here is the original video:
I, like thousands of Russian fans, came to support my favorite team. There is no point in talking about the disappointment from the game, but I want to say one thing - we, the fans, came to the Bristol Hotel, where the team was staying, not to criticize the team, but to support it after the defeat, because we sincerely believed that our favorite team was so just like us, he is experiencing failure. But it looks like we were wrong.
Fans were not allowed into the hotel, which was cordoned off by police. Me and several other comrades managed to pass only because our friends lived in Bristol and we had booked a table in advance, planning to celebrate the victory with our favorite team. Unwittingly, we became participants in the farce of complacency and contempt on the part of the “Russian team,” which, unfortunately, was intended for the entire country.
Yes, there were players who sincerely experienced defeat - Alan Dzagoev did (Alan, you’re great, you really played for the country. Don’t look at your “older comrades” - they are a bad example to follow). There was no face on Malafeev, Sharonov, Semshov, but our “super-stars” behaved differently. Zhirkov, Lawyer and Shirokov went to the restaurant, snapping at the fans who tried to support them. And if Advokat and Shirokov quickly retreated, then Zhirkov, passing by us, who were still waiting for the command, said quite loudly: “Shut your......mouths..., ye... (I’m giving a synonym, because I can’t stand swearing).”
He said this to people who were much older than him in age and said this to self-respecting men who were not used to letting such things go. The situation became tense, a verbal altercation began, and the fans demanded an apology from Zhirkov, who, hiding behind the guards, left the hotel lobby.
And then Arshavin came down into the hall. Lounging in his chair and throwing his leg over the armrest, he looked with contempt at the fans crowding around. I tried to resolve the conflict that occurred with Zhirkov and explain to Arshavin that the fans want to see the bitterness of defeat on the faces of the team, and not contempt for their own country. The answer to me was the famous phrase - “if we did not live up to your expectations, that’s your problem.”
After that I simply had nothing to add. What else can you say when the whole country has been spat in the face.
After that, information appeared in the press that I fought with Arshavin. No, I didn’t fight, the video I shot confirms this. Now I’m thinking, maybe I should have kicked him?
P.S. It is symbolic that today is international children's football day. It is now obvious that the football future of our country can be saved if only football functionaries, after the collapse of the national team, turn their complacent gaze to children's football. We must admit that our team has outlived its usefulness - not so much physically, not so much technically, but morally and spiritually. After all, a team is not a collection of football units, a team is a spirit, it is cohesion, it is the common joy of victory and the common bitterness of defeat.
We need to raise new football players, those who will fight for their country, and not for dollars, those who will “die” on the field for the sake of the country and their fans, and those who will find the strength and courage to admit that they do not want to play more, but just want to live well and star in commercials for chips and Pepsi, and will be able to give way in time and with dignity to new young players, with sparkling eyes and faith in their country and team.
Arshavin and “your expectations”. Career of an ex-Zenit player through the prism famous phrase
Arshavin leaves. So far only from Zenit, but probably the brightest milestones of the player’s career are already behind him anyway. the site, despite the main phrase of Andrei’s life “your expectations are your problems,” decided to find out whether Arshavin’s career met the expectations of the fans and the football player himself.Arshavin leaves. So far only from Zenit, but probably the brightest milestones of the player’s career are already behind him anyway. the site, despite the main phrase of Andrei’s life “your expectations are your problems,” decided to find out whether Arshavin’s career met the expectations of the fans and the football player himself.
Russian national team: “This is all that will remain after me”
In 2008, Arshavin was 27 years old - no longer a boy, without world and European championships under his belt, two matches of disqualification in the Euro group, doubts about whether he should even be taken to the tournament. The beginning of a cinematic drama. Arshavin went through all the trials and used the chance to give himself and his fans significant victories. We can talk for a long time about luck Hiddink, two offensive “clicks” from the Spaniards (in the group and semi-finals with a general verdict of 1:7), but the Euro bronze and the best national team will remain in history. There has never been such a feeling of celebration and unity around the national team and will not happen soon. Arshavin was a key player in that team. The man who provided the spark needed to big victories.
Arshavin, not inclined to attach great importance to other people's expectations, at least once, lived up to these same expectations. Yes, then there was a defeat from Greece at Euro 2012, but that’s a different story. History of the fall. The essence is the same - Arshavin, together with the team, being the leader of his generation, even if only once, brought a holiday for the team and its fans. For the country.
Zenit: Rescue in Marseille
St. Petersburg loves football and lives it like no other city in Russia. Fans have always expected victories from their favorites, including in Europe, reflecting their desire in the club anthem: “Our Zenit will take the UEFA Cup. And he will sing a victory song!” And he sang. Again Arshavin is at the center of events and again not without drama. After the enchanting victory over Bayern (4:0) (but Andrey missed this match due to disqualification), it might have seemed that it was possible to compete in the final without Shava, but Advocate I acted differently and was right. Arshavin became best player decisive match.
However, the most difficult moment in that campaign of the St. Petersburg team was, of course, “Marseille”. "Velodrome", 3:0 and the complete superiority of the French during the game. But even here Arshavin’s spark did its job, creating a goal out of nothing. As an advertisement. Hulk and Witsel - 100 million, Zenit Arena - 34 billion, Arshavin's Marseille pass with a huge defender on his shoulders and a magnificent finishing blow - priceless. And after the home 2:0, Peter finally believed in the possibility of winning the UEFA Cup. As a result, Arshavin and Co. made Zenit the top club in Russia and met the expectations of their city.
Europe: A year and a half of magic
Euro bronze, UEFA Cup, place in the top ten in the Golden Ball nomination (!) - good baggage for a trip to Europe. But with what difficulty did Arshavin’s transfer move: they delayed it until the last minute, and time passed by minutes. When everything happened, how Arshavin began to play! It was a magical year and a half, exceeding all our wildest expectations: goals, fan recognition, captain’s armband. In April 2009, Arshavin repeated the achievement of the ex-midfielder at Manchester United Andrey Kanchelskis, becoming the best player of the month in the English Championship. We are unlikely to know what happened at the end of 2010, but after that autumn Arshavin’s career began to decline sharply: he lost his place in the team’s starting position Wenger, lackluster performance for the national team. And the bottom of this fall is the Euro 2012 match with the Greeks, in which Arshavin was unable to make a result.
Ironically, the decline of the English stage of Arshavin’s career occurred during the season when a free Russian channel bought the rights to show Premier League matches. Yes, only a year and a half of magic, and then a broken pumpkin, but almost none of ours had more than that. Arshavin showed and reminded after a long break that ours can play in Europe, and T-shirts Russian players may be needed by European boys. The ending blurred the impression, but it would be wrong to completely erase all the good things that happened in Andrei’s English trip. Were your expectations met, especially considering how it all started? Probably not.
Arshavin's expectations
No matter how cynical it may be, Arshavin’s Warsaw phrase “your expectations are your problems” addressed to the deputy is the truth. You cannot live by other people's expectations, and no one has the right to demand that others fulfill their desires. Salaries, hookahs, weak-willed defeats - this is all their business, the football players. Their lives, not the fans who, after a lost match, return to their world, their goals and forget about injuries and mistakes. And the players are left with their dark days alone. The choice of a fan is to support the team or not. That's all. No need to speculate on salaries! This is not a problem for the players, but for those who pay money.
Another thing is expectations from oneself, self-realization. This is more important. Is Arshavin satisfied with his career? Probably not completely. Andrey is an ambitious person, and anyone else would not have reached the heights that Arshavin conquered. But something was missing. Maybe family troubles and mentality influenced it. He did a lot for domestic football and met the expectations necessary to become Russian star. Now, I just can’t shake the feeling that everything could have been a level higher. Yes, it definitely could. But now it’s too late, and there are no expectations left.
source: “Soviet Sport”
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Four years after his brilliant performance at Euro 2008, Arshavin was again chosen as captain national team, which, under the leadership of Dutch specialist Dick Advocaat, went to the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. The group was easy, but the team failed miserably, unexpectedly losing in the decisive match to an outsider team - the Greek team. Taking third place in the group, final part the team didn't get in. The disappointment of Russian fans knew no bounds.
However, what caused the greatest resonance was not even the shocking departure of Russia from the Euro, which failed to overcome group stage, and a scandalous video of a clash between high-ranking fans Russian team and the national team players in the hotel lobby, which appeared on the Internet the very next day.
In the video, lounging in a chair, he harshly responded to the words of a disappointed fan who accused the national team players of not living up to the expectations of one hundred million Russian fans. “Whose expectations were these? Ours or yours? If we didn’t live up to your expectations, that’s your problem!” said Arshavin. And he added that he sees no reason why he should apologize to the fans.
Roman Pavlyuchenko and Roman Shirokov immediately stood up for their captain. “What are you pushing against him?” he asked especially ardent fan Pavlyuchenko. “Are you trying to say that we lost on purpose?” Shirokov was indignant at the fans’ questions. Passions were running high, and only a member of the national team's security service arrived to calm the players and fans.
Arshavin’s scandalous phrase instantly became the “hottest” topic in the media, and society’s attitude towards the popular football player changed to sharply negative. There have been calls to deprive the renowned midfielder Russian citizenship and expelled from the country. Later, Arshavin nevertheless apologized for the team’s disastrous performance at the European Championships, but, according to many, he did so clearly reluctantly.
How Andrei Arshavin, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov and other Euro 2008 stars managed to slide to the very bottom...
The most successful in the history of the Russian national football team international tournament Euro 2008 gave the world many new stars. But just a couple of years later, all these stars went out as quickly as they lit up. At the same time, most of the heroes of that Euro still continue their playing careers. We tell you where they are now and how they got to this life.
Andrey Arshavin
After the triumphant Euro 2008, where the Russians for the first time in modern history conquered bronze medals, it seemed that the team leader Andrei Arshavin was about to turn into not only a Russian, but also a world star.
From Zenit he moved to London Arsenal and at first demonstrated incredible results- just two weeks after his debut in England, Arshavin scored his first goal, and a month later he scored a poker goal against his principal rival, Liverpool. That same year, Arshavin entered the field wearing the captain's armband - no one expected such rapid growth.
However, after a bright start, a series of failures followed. Andrei has ceased to evoke sympathy among the British, both with his actions on the field and beyond. Arshavin has repeatedly stated that he does not like the climate, the people, or England as a whole. The Russian also failed to make friends with his club partners; colleagues noted the striker’s arrogance.
Photo: Ilya SMIRNOV / Komsomolskaya Pravda
In 2012, Russians were also convinced of Arshavin’s arrogance. After the disastrous Euro 2012, Andrei, who acted as captain of the Russian national team, became a catchphrase: “Your expectations are not our problems. These are your problems." After this, not only the whole of England, but also the whole of Russia took up arms against Arshavin.
This reckless phrase played a cruel joke on Arshavin, because after the Euro he had to return to Russia, where he was not particularly welcome. Over the next three years at Zenit, Arshavin scored only three goals, and in another year at Kuban, none at all.
Now Arshavin is defending the colors of the Kazakh “Kairat”, and things are going much better for him there. He scores again and is the leader of the team, but it is unlikely that a football player who not so long ago was the captain of a top club of the strongest was counting on this football league peace.
Pavel Pogrebnyak
Tall and combative forward Pavel Pogrebnyak has been knocking around top clubs for many years, and only in 2007 was he noticed by Zenit. Pogrebnyak did not miss his chance, began to score regularly and as a result was called up to the national team. Despite the fact that the striker did not show any effective actions at Euro 2008, he was appreciated in Europe and a year later he set off to conquer Germany.
Photo: Ilya SMIRNOV / Komsomolskaya Pravda The fate of Pogrebnyak in Europe practically repeats the story of Arshavin: a successful start, followed by an ongoing decline. The footballer lasted a little over two years in the German Stuttgart, but after the expiration of the contract, the club did not want to sign a new one. Moreover, in Germany there were no people willing not only to outbid the football player, but even to take him for free.
Pogrebnyak’s only option was the modest English “Reading”, which was relegated from the Premier League that same year. Although the Russian managed to score there, the team still languished in the second division, and in 2015 Pogrebnyak was forced to return ingloriously to Russia. Since then, he has been registered with Dynamo Moscow, but in three years he scored only one goal.
Roman Pavlyuchenko
The most productive Russian at Euro 2008, Roman Pavlyuchenko, was signed immediately after the tournament by Tottenham, one of the top clubs. English Premier League. Much was expected from the Russian, but the first games showed that Pavlyuchenko lacked dynamics, because the game in England is played at completely different speeds than in Russia. And the striker himself complained that the training system used by the head coach did not suit him.
Photo: globallookpress.com As a result, Pavlyuchenko sat tightly on the bench, appearing on the field only as a substitute. The Russian has more than once had the opportunity to move to another European club- in 2010, Liverpool wanted to buy the forward, and in 2011, Espanyol. Perhaps if Pavlyuchenko had made a different decision then, his career would have turned out differently, but for some reason the striker refused the offers.
With the arrival of Emmanuel Adebayor at Tottenham, Pavlyuchenko became a reserve player and soon left the team, but went not to another European club, but back to Russia. For the next five years, Pavlyuchenko’s career went downward: from Lokomotiv to Kuban, from Kuban to Ural, and from Ural to the newly formed Moscow club Ararat, which plays not even in the second, but in the third league. Just today Pavlyuchenko broke his contract with this club, but the footballer is unlikely to find options to continue his career.
Diniyar Bilyaletdinov
The last of the failed “conquerors of Europe” is Lokomotiv graduate Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. They fought for him for a whole year after Euro 2008 best clubs Old World. As a result, the Russian went to the English Everton. At his new club, Bilyaletdinov quickly became the best passer, surpassing everyone in the number of assists. However, due to high competition, even these successes did not give the Russian a place in starting lineup.
Photo: globallookpress.com
Gradually coming to terms with his reserve status, Diniyar lost his form and interest in the game. Therefore, when Bilyaletdinov’s competitor for a place in the starting lineup, Leon Osman, was injured and the Russian had a chance to gain a foothold in the base, he was unable to use it. Critics noted Bilyaletdinov's passivity, and he soon returned to the bench.
In 2012, following the rest of the cohort of Russians, Bilyaletdinov returned to his homeland, to Spartak. However, an injury prevented him from playing at the same level - during his absence, the midfielder lost his place in the lineup and continued, as in England, to marinate on the bench.
This is where Bilyaletdinov’s career actually ended - he changed three more clubs, but did not take root anywhere. This season there was no place in Russia for the footballer, and Bilyaletdinov again went to play abroad, only not in England, but in the small Lithuanian club Trakai. There Bilyaletdinov, although he does not flatter himself with hopes for great results, but can feel like a real star.
This was to be expected, of course. That dissatisfied fans will go to showdown with the players, that the players will definitely say something stupid in response, which will only increase the general temperature. He said nonsense. “The fact that we did not live up to your expectations is not our problem,” said the national team captain. “It’s your problem.” And immediately the conversation took a different turn. In a raised voice.
“We don’t owe anyone anything,” this was before the Euro, now this is Arshavin’s phrase. But you can fly out completely differently. The Swedish coach, after his team put on a performance in the match with the British but lost, joked at the post-match press conference. The Irish simply apologized for the poor game and poor results.
Our people don’t think anything out of the ordinary happened. Just think, they flew out of the group, which they themselves called “kindergarten”, “yard teams” and so on. It didn't work. Happens.
But to apologize, well, or just say some normal human words to people who spent money, vacation time and endured Polish antics to cheer for the Russian national team - it’s so simple. “I have nothing to reproach myself and the players for,” said the English team coach after the failure at Euro 2000 Kevin Keegan. “We just didn’t fit into the turn, beyond which there was a straight line where everyone was equal. We are very sorry." And the fans simply applauded the man who found the courage to admit that his team lost to a weaker opponent in football.
I agree with Arshavin that our high expectations are our problems. The main one is that we consider our team strong, while it is no different from Poland, the Czech Republic or Greece. We also get to major tournaments two times on the third time, and we also consider it lucky to reach the playoffs, which has happened only once in our entire Russian history.
Arshavin's generation is the most stellar in Russian history. The core of the current team consists of CSKA players who won the UEFA Cup in 2005, and Zenit players who won the UEFA Cup and European Super Cup in 2008. The quintessence of this team was its successful performance at Euro 2008, where the Russian team reached the semi-finals and eventually shared third place with the Turks.
Few people, of course, want to remember that in five matches at Euro 2008, the Russian team lost twice with a large score. Then there were failures to qualify for the 2010 World Cup and failure at the current Euro. The failure to get into South Africa after the hookah story eventually acquired a scandalous connotation; there will probably be something from the same series this time. We don't know how to do it otherwise.
For Arshavin himself, this European Championship seems to have become the last major tournament as part of the national team. The captain of the Russian national team is not young, and good physics was never one of his main advantages. Andrey was never able to play more than two matches in a row at high level, in essence, this is exactly what happened at Euro 2008. Due to a child's red card, the leader of the Russian team missed the first two matches in the group, then played well against Holland and could barely move around the field in the semi-finals against the Spaniards. Note that in the iconic UEFA Cup semi-final against Bayern, won with a score of 4:0, Andrei also served a suspension.
And at this championship, in the third match, Arshavin clearly got tired ahead of time. Although it was he who had to lead his partners. I had to shout, swear in the locker room, stamp my foot. However, this would all look too comical, try to imagine Arshavin yelling at Alexey Berezutsky.
35 year old Georgios Karagounis He showed us very well in contrast what a national team captain should be like. And like any football player in general, he must devote himself to the game. The Greek, like the Russian, also has problems with physics, but he has so much passion and charisma! Even on the bench, he brought more benefit to his team than Arshavin on the field.
Dick Lawyer, like its predecessor Guus Hiddink, believed in Arshavin unconditionally. Both Dutchmen, it seems to me, saw pure and great talent in the player without numerous impurities. So, probably, a gold digger looks at a huge nugget and sees in it only what he wants to see. Andrey is really capable of making a goal out of nothing, as the now former coach of the Russian team put it, but I would change the time: he was capable. Previously, Arshavin constantly climbed forward, tried to beat, aggravated. In London all this has disappeared somewhere. And the Lawyer was still waiting for this nothing, from which his captain would make a goal. Didn't wait.
Both foreign trainer(even three, let's count some more Arsene Wenger) due to their ignorance of our realities, they did not want to see in Arshavin a capricious player, showered with money to the very ears, who does not like to work too much and does not have any leadership qualities. Remember how Andrey moved from Zenit to Arsenal. Complaining that St. Petersburg club in fact, he enslaved him, although shortly before that he himself signed a five-year contract on very favorable terms for himself. Then he bargained with the “gunners” for a long time, trying to bring his salary into at least some correspondence with Zenit’s. This whole “Arshaviniad”, which continued around Andrei’s move to London, now looks especially comical, because the Russian only lasted a year in England.
Deep down, of course, we knew that everything had to end this way. A weak-willed game against an average team, to which we lost not in football, but in desire and passion. And we knew that after the match our “collectors” would definitely say something like that. About who owes whom and how much. And in general, we have already managed to understand that we all owe this to the players of the Russian national team in general and Andrei Arshavin in particular. It will be necessary to propose to Zenit to urgently increase the salary of the captain of the Russian national team. Maybe even the whole world will chip in if they refuse.
But this team had everything to go down in history, and not remain a team that once played good football and defeated the Dutch. It looks like it’s really time for us to build a completely new team for the 2018 World Cup. In which there will no longer be a place for Andrei Arshavin.
