Russia's historic win over England makes Hiddink proud
Updated: 2007-10-18 08:58
MOSCOW - Russia coach Guus Hiddink took pride and personal satisfaction in a historic 2-1 win over England in their Euro 2008 Group E qualifier on Wednesday.
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Neither Russia nor the Soviet Union had beaten England at home until Roman Pavlyuchenko's second-half double at a sold-out 84,000 Luzhniki Stadium clinched the come-from-behind win that put them on a brink of reaching next year's finals.
"Oh, I didn't know that Russia had never beaten England before," the Dutch coach told Reuters after being informed of his team's history-making performance.
"Then, it must feel twice as sweet for me and the team."
Ahead of the match, British media made a lot of noise about the fact Hiddink had not won a match against an English team as a coach in nine attempts at club and international level.
"Well, I don't care so much about the British media," he said with a smile. "Besides, it's not an issue any more."
"But I'm very proud of tonight's win. Not so much for myself but for the team and my staff," added Hiddink, who has just agreed a new two-year contract with Russia until 2010.
"They all did a great job in preparing the team for this crucial game and then doing the little things, correcting some mistakes we have made in the past, and that was the key to our victory."
Hiddink singled out substitute Pavlyuchenko, who scored two goals in four minutes shortly after coming on in the second half to turn the game around after Wayne Rooney put England ahead.
Earlier this week, Hiddink called the lanky Spartak Moscow striker a "sleeping giant. He has world-class potential but has a tendency to drift away in some matches," he said.
After the match he added: "Well, he's got the message. He is a good guy and we can expect good things from him."
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