Will Valery Gazzaev have water-melons in his vegetable garden?

Soon, August 21, Russian Football team will carry its first match under the leadership of the new trainer – Valery Gazzaev.

According to Gazzaev, in the game with Swedish team, all 22 declared football players will participate (the number of replacements is unrestricted), which will allow to try the players in practice. This match is in fact the only serious rehearsal before the start meeting of the elimination Euro-2004 tournament with Irishmen in Moscow, on September 7. The names of the players will be called by Gazzaev already August 14, at a press conference.

Today, many fans connect their hopes for revival of national team with Valery Gazzaev. Of course, an individual also could do much, if he is a professional and if he is talented. All the more, if the whole trainer headquarters is kept under his thumb and is a team of like-minded persons.

After the Russian football team bad play in Japan and Korea, votes started to sound that the reason of it is the state of Russian sport: the lack of money and the lack of young reserves. Football is the reverberation of the whole state, so when disorder rages in the state… But we should ask ourselves: with what could successes of Bulgarian, Croatian, Senegalese players be explained? (Especially, taking into account that in Croatia, war is raging?) These states are not football superpowers at all. According to football observer Vasily Utkin, the main reason is the serious view on football in these countries. The question is about clever leaders of the team, who should know weak and strong sides of the players, unite them, to make them win. It is possible in Russia, too. Though, it looks more like a roulette wheel: will we win or not? Though, at the moment, there are no players of world class in Russia. Sport should be developed in Russia. The only hope is for Fetisov, the chairman of State Committee on Sport.

As an example of state programme of football development, Utkin gives Turkish and Korean football teams. In Turkey and in South Korea, great trainers from different countries came, they work with teams, occupies themselves with establishing staff, educational, and other processes. As a result these countries have good football teams. While Bulgaria, according to Utkin, is a “vegetable garden where in a productive year water-melons grew, while in fact pumpkins were planted.”

Well, on the threshold of the start of the elimination matches, we wish to Valery Gazzaev success and good luck on his new post. And, especially, to gather a good harvest of water-melons in his vegetable garden!

Sergei Stefanov PRAVDA.Ru

Photograph: Valery Gazzaev

Translated by Vera Solovieva

Read the original in Russian: http://www.pravda.ru/main/2002/08/12/45524.html