Zlatko Dedic scores for Slovenia and sends them to South Africa, defeating Russia 1-0
An uncharacteristically undisciplined and frustrated Russian national team faced defeat at the hands of a well-organized, confident Slovenia on Wednesday night. In the end, the playoff would be decided by the vital away goal that Slovenia scored in the last minutes of the first leg. Finishing Wednesday night’s match in Maribor with a 1-0 victory, Slovenia have earned a trip to South Africa for the World Cup.
Before the start, there was already news from the Russians, the effect of Guus Hiddink’s squad selection. While only making one change, it would prove to be a pivotal decision. By subbing out Sergei Semak and including Renat Yanbaev, Hiddink introduced a Tetris-like shift: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov would be moved right into the central midfield and Yuri Zhirkov advanced forward into the left wing spot. Yanbaev, of course, would take left back duties over from Zhirkov.
With this new look for Russia in place it was clear before the whistle even blew that much would hang on which team could control the midfield.
Early on, Hiddink would realize how grave a task his squad would be faced with in. Also evidenced early on would be Slovenia’s eagerness, willing to directly attack the center of Russia’s defense.
In the fourth minute, whether or not it was the result of a lack of focus on Russia’s part, an inconspicuous through-ball from Valter Birsa would evade Russia’s central defense, landing straight to Milivoje Novakovic. Left unabated, Novakovic was unlucky not to finish what looked like a sure goal, striking it directly at Igor Akinfeev.
Soon thereafter, the midfield battle would produce its first yellow card. Zhirkov would be the recipient, after a hard, misplaced challenge on Marko Suler.
Slovenia’s advance would continue. This time, with Andraz Kirm sending in a cross from the left of the attack that would almost be headed in by Sergei Ignashevich for an own goal. But, it would strike the post and be cleared away.
Russia's squad looking on during Wednesday's match in Maribor
Zlatko Dedic would then connect on a cross from Novakovic, beating Yanbaev in the air. Luckily, for the Russians, Dedic was unable to fully connect and the shot was saved easily. However, Slovenia would continue to show a relentlessness that put the Russian players on their heels.
Still only to the 18’, Russia would receive yet another scare when Robert Koren would send in a dangerous pass that would trickle all the way through a cluster of players in the box, ending up out of play.
Midway through the half it looked as though Russia would slow the tempo down and concentrate on maintaining possession, shifting their offensive movement from the left to the right side of the pitch. But regardless of the shift, the midfield struggle would continue to see Slovenia pushing Russia back, forcing them to play deep and, as a consequence, thwarting Russia’s ability to create quality chances.
Bilyaletdinov, seeming out of sorts, would be booked after a challenge on Birsa. That would then be followed by Kirm—now having temporarily moved to the right—getting off a shot that would take a deflection and be smothered by Akinfeev.
Birsa would continue to show quality, helping Slovenia’s cause by feeding Novakovic in the middle just inside the box. Left with a lot of space, Novakovic would get a shot off that would not be struck hard enough.
Three minutes later, a poor clearing header from Vasili Berezutski would give the ball to Novakovic and left out of position. Novokovic would again fail to capitalize, missing the goal from outside the box.
After Russia would squander a couple of chances from set pieces, Slovenia would finally break through.
Zlatko Dedic celebrating with the Slovene fans
In the 44 minute Birsa, after again finding space on the right, would take advantage of Bilyaletdinov and Zhirkov conceding space. After flipping in a cross, a four-man tangle in the center of Russia’s defense would result in Dedic, slipping past his two markers, connecting with his right foot, scoring to the left of Akinfeev. The greatest goal in Slovenia’s short football history would end with a stunned Akinfeev unable to clear the ball from the net.
With his squad down a goal, Hiddink would make two changes at the half, reinstating Semak in the midfield and brining Aleksandr Kerzhakov in for Roman Pavlyuchenko. With Yanbaev departing, Zhirkov would go to left back, and Bilyaletidinov would move to the wing.
Despite an early run from Kerzhakov and Konstantin Zyryanov, the second half would again see Slovenia the more aggressive side. At the 50 minute mark Novokovic would be taken down deep inside the box by the left leg of Berezutski. Russia would only be saved by the referee, who denied what looked like a clear penalty.
Zhirkov would lead the Russian response. After a nice touch from the all-but-invisible Andrei Arshavin, Zhirkov moved forward with his best run of the night. In the end, the ball would be just outside of Zhirkov’s reach and cleared away.
At 60’ an already frustrated Russia seemed to come undone. While in the attack, Russia would be called for an uncharacteristic offside in the box. Semak would then earn a free kick on the right that would amount to naught.
Moments later Zhirkov would send in a cross that would land just outside the reach of Kerzhakov and into the hands of Samir Handanovich. While still lying on the pitch, Kerzhakov’s emotion would take the better of him; kicking for the ball while it was still lying in Handonovich’s hands, a scuffle would ensue. After the dust cleared, Kerzhakov would been sent off with a straight red card.
It would take over 10 minutes, but Hiddink would finally bring on Pavel Pogrebnyak up front, coming on for Bilyaletdinov. Minutes after his coming on Pogrebnyak got on the tail end of a header, but Handanovich would be perfectly positioned to control it.
In the remaining 20 minutes the discipline of Slovenia outshone anything Russia could muster. Keeping immaculate shape, the Slovenes would be continue to quickly break down Russia’s advances, and with Dedic perfectly positioned they would clear the ball effectively and chew up the clock.
Zhirkov again would prove Russia’s best hope. Receiving a flick on from Arshavin, Zhrikov ran deep into the penalty box. But, pushed to a tight angle by Brecko, Zhirkov’s shot woud by swept aside by Handanovich. The ball would then be immediately pushed up the pitch to Dedic, who had an open counterattack opportunity that was driven out of play.
In the dying seconds Berezutski would have the closest chance for an equaliser for Russia, lifting a shot over the net from close range after Sergei Ignashevich’s flick.
Russia’s frustration would reach a feverish level when, in stoppage time, Zhirkov received his second yellow card after an altercation with a Slovene substitute on the by-line.
The 9-man Russian squad, seconds from the end, would barely avoid a goal from Novakovic. But, it was no matter, and Russia would be left dumbfounded. Slovenia saw out the remaining time and rejoiced in a historic victory that sees them advance to the World Cup in South Africa.
One thing that was on my mind but failed to squeeze into the overinflated recap was the slippery pitch. I don’t think it helped Slovenia, but it should at least be noted. Players on both sides were slipping throughout. Obviously Dedic’s goal can’t be blamed on the surface being slippery. It was a result of poor marking and the confusion of Russia’s midfield players who gave Birsa the time to let the cross in. It looked like the defenders slipped, but they did only because they were scrambling to recover after being out of position.
Anyways. There is so much more to discuss, but just wanted to quickly point to that.
Thanks for a great writeup. I wasn’t able to watch the match, but I was disappointed when I saw the result on my phone. Slovenia scored their goals right before a break in the match, could they be a result of Russia not playing a full 45 minutes? That they were ready to get back to the locker room and halted their focus on the match? It’s unfortunate that the Russian team released their frustrations the way they did. Obviously I didn’t get to see the circumstances that led to both the ejections but its a lousy way to end your qualification run.
Brad,
Thanks for the nice comments! An utter disappointment, I know. Lots of credit, though, to Slovenia, who have shown repeatedly in qualifying that they can play a really sound, efficient style of football. While it was painful to watch Russia self-destruct, especially with those red cards, given how Slovenia play I can understand the desperation. Sadly, that despair came out in the worst, most unproductive, sort of way.
About the 44 minute goal. You are right, perhaps Russia were just expecting to get to the locker room and lick their already visible wounds. They let their guard down and suffered a big lapse in concentration. And, weirdly, it mirrors the end of the second half at Luzhniki. It certainly shows a recent failure to close-out–and I’ll leave others to point specific blame for that pattern.
But the specific problems that led to the goal, I think, Russia had been suffering from the entire match. That is, they were having lapses on defense in the midfield and the back from the start. It just got to the breaking point before the half. Slovenia was really aggressive, and executed well enough to capitalize on Russia’s fatigue and/or loss of focus.
Hiddink seems to think otherwise. In an interview directly following the match he claimed the turning point was Kerzhakov’s dismissal. If you go back and watch the match, his comment will seem utterly baffling. Yes, Kerzhakov’s red card was a huge moment, but there was a reason he lashed out in the first place. Hiddink seems to have overlooked Slovenia having already scored a goal and had Russia on the ropes for much of the match, and would not account for that.
Thanks again Brad.
cheers.
Firstly, thanks for a great blog! I’ve only just found it recently and will be making penty of return visits!
I think the overall feeling from last nights game was frustration. Frustration to see such talented players fail to get into the game and frustration to see a mediocre Slovenia team clearly out-fight Russia.
I feel that the first sending off was harsh but as you rightly pointed out, it clearly wasn’t a turning point (although Russia did play better after!).
I was a little disappointed with Hiddink’s changes during the game. With the midfield so congested and Slovenia’s two center halves so dominant, I thought the game was crying out for width.
For all his problems domestically, I would have liked to have seen Bystrov on for Zyryanov to try and stretch the game.
All in all, a very disappointing night.
Hey Andy,
Thanks for visiting the site and for your comments. It’s always a great feeling to hear the thoughts of fans of the Russian game, regardless of the circumstance.
Yep. Kerzhakov’s red card was harsh, but given all of the frustration that you mention was present from the beginning (I’m thinking now even of Pavlyuchenko’s harsh challenge that was looked over early on) I think it was not hard for the referee to make too much of the infraction.
You’re also spot on about the midfield. It was a real horror show. The guys do a nice job on the podcast talking about the advantage of having Bystrov or Dzagoev coming on, as well as the questionable benching of Semak.
In the end, extremely disappointing. Martyn Hindley, in his guest spot on the podcast with Chris and Richard, had a nice turn-of-phrase: the Russians “were weighed down by the pressure of expectation.” Maybe they don’t know how to play as favorites. Obviously it is not the only problem. But, it is as if the Russian footballing psyche is nearing a bad parody of a Dostoevsky’s novel, as though some ineradicable component of their consciousness is preventing their progression!
What is interesting, though, is that the expectations for the Russian national team were not necessarily internal–that is, from Russian fans. They also don’t know how to be favorites. Many in Russia put their odds of beating Slovenia, before Saturday’s result, at 50-50! Really remarkable, but in the end sadly accurate.
I can’t be Russian or Ukrainian today so I’ve gone for a Georgian…..
Hiddink’s luck as a manager finally ran out that’s all. It had to happen someday and, unfortunately, it happened whilst he was in charge of my favourite team. Hiddink without luck is a very poor manager. I’ve never been one to praise him to the high heavens.
He switched from 3-5-2 (with BOTH Berezutsky’s playing – as if one’s not bad enough) to 4-4-2 for the first game of Euro 2008 against the Spanish and played two centre-halves (Kolodin and Shirokov) who’d never played together before! The result? Calamitous euro 2008 campaign with both Berezutsky’s and then a hammering by Spain in the first game. Hiddink, of course, accepted none of the blame for this defeat instead blaming Shirokov – who he never caled-up again. To be fair to him, the 4-4-2 worked well after that and the obvious (to many) benefits of playing Zhirkov and Anyukov as wing-backs and removing the Berezutsky liability served Russia well for the rest of the tournament apart from when Kolodin was suspended for the semi and Berezutsky was called-up again….
Anyway, an era is over now. Russia were very lucky to qualify for euro 2008 and I was hoping that they’d be lucky again. Kerzhakov should not even have been booked for his foul. He was PERFECTLY RIGHT to go for the ball that WAS NOT in both hands of the keeper. Saying that, Russia only finally started to play when they were beginning to look like underdogs again (with 10 men) so this is no excuse of course.
The players I feel most sorry for are Alexander Anyukov, Igor Akinfeev, Yuri Zhirkov, Sergei Ignashevitch (who has always been comfortable when Kolodin was playing alongside him), Sergei Semak, Konstantin Zyrianov (who was the only player who looked anywhere near like a captain. Arshavin had the captains arm band but Zyrianov was the one with the orders and the passion and the organisational/motivational acumen) Vladimir Bystrov (treated with contempt by Guus) Alan Dzagoev (3 top quality goals in 4 champions league games and no playing time?!).
In fact my list goes on. I should have just said the player who I’m most angry with but, I suppose, that’s obvious – Andrei Arshavin! Where was he???
From Andrew (#1)
It was a result of poor marking and the confusion of Russia’s midfield players who gave Birsa the time to let the cross in.
Birsa? Damn. I knew I got that wrong on the podcast. My notes weren’t good enough, so I took a guess. I thought I remembered it being #18 that played it in.
Andrew: Your article is top-shelf.
From Andrew (#5)
“What is interesting, though, is that the expectations for the Russian national team were not necessarily internal–that is, from Russian fans. They also don’t know how to be favorites. Many in Russia put their odds of beating Slovenia, before Saturday’s result, at 50-50! Really remarkable, but in the end sadly accurate.”
Great observations, Andrew, on the Russian state-of-mind. Unfortunately, I can’t agree on 50-50. Just because Russia didn’t win doesn’t mean they weren’t heavy favorites. They were. They should have been. They lost.
I looked at so much tape for this match-up and picked each game close to the result, but I didn’t anticipate Hiddink would make such inexplicable lineup decisions, irrelevant tactical choices, and fail to have his team ready to play in the second leg.
Martyn and Chris won’t agree. Their views are definitely worth considering and are possibly closer to the truth. However, in my opinion, part of the coach’s responsibility is getting his players ready to play – particularly when you clearly have the most talented team.
I’ve said Slovenia does not have a player that would start for Russia. Any arguments? How many of the Slovenes would even DRESS?
Hiddink is getting a ridiculously and inexplicably easy right. Yes, the players have to share the blame, but if Hiddink couldn’t get this talent to play, then he shouldn’t have been coaching the team.
Hindsight is always 20-20, so allow me some foresight: One of the top 6-8 most talented teams in the world will not be in South Africa next summer.
It’s a failure that stops just shot of van Gaal not getting the Dutch to Japan/Korea.
From Ramaz (#6)
“In fact my list goes on. I should have just said the player who I’m most angry with but, I suppose, that’s obvious – Andrei Arshavin! Where was he???”
I’m willing to give credit to the Slovenes on this one. Some. And I also think the tactical failing for which I’m criticizing Hiddink apply to his inability to utilized Arshavin better. It would have been nice to see what a partnership between Alan Dzagoev and Arshavin could have done to disorganized that spectacular defense of Slovenia, but that was never going to happen, as Hiddink was going to be loyal to the players that have been there since before Euro 2008.
There are a lot of places to criticize. Should we keep going? I think it could be helpful, but it also is like picking at a wound, for some.
Serious question, guys: I was going to write a series of short pieces detailing the failures I saw over the two legs, but if you guys thing we should just move on, I understand. Let me know if you’re interested in the constantly exploited gap between Anyukov and whomever Hiddink had at RCB at a given time.
Hey Richard,
While I think pieces detailing Russia’s (or Hiddink’s) failings would absolutely be useful, I’m going to leave it up to others to call upon your duties. The hurt could be too much to bear for some readers. But I hesitate primarily for your sake Richard; at the moment, your time may be spent more wisely elsewhere.
But the issues are not going away, and it will be important to understand how the national team moves forward, with or without Hiddink. And I’m not sure that the Slovenia matches should be our litmus test. They are of huge importance, and indicative of Russia’s greatest weaknesses, but we can’t forget the matches with Germany, etc. Reevaluating the friendly against Argentina, and even the second match against Wales (who had them desperate at points) could prove instructive.
So, maybe a longer-term approach is needed. Perhaps a series of pieces over time focusing on areas of weakness and how to improve. I’d be interested to hear from everyone about this.
On the 50-50 odds issue, yeah I can’t agree either! Maybe my thought got lost in the wording, but what I meant was that the Russian fans’ skeptical, pessimistic attitude turned out, retrospectively, to be legitimate. Perhaps they and the players willed it so. Their attitude was completely wrong. Of course, the Russian team was undoubtedly the heaviest favorite of the four qualification playoffs in Europe. The should have won handily, actually. Maybe we could say that Russian fans, knowing they were the heavy favorites, compensated by deflating that expectation in advance. Freud could have a go with that one.
I completely agree that so much of Russia’s collapse hangs on Hiddink. There have been many many questions surrounding Russia’s arrogance and its effects (lack of focus) that at a certain point you have to put it on Hiddink for not correcting. He didn’t motivate his players, and he placed them in tactical situations that they were not comfortable with, exasperating the problems. We as fans (and some analysts) can always blame individual player performances after such monstrous defeats, but the coach who has laid the groundwork for those mistakes should be held just as accountable if not more so, no?
Interesting observation with van Gaal’s Dutch squad. Completely agree. Some have pointed out how disappointing it is not to have Croatia in this World Cup (and even the Czech Republic), but the demise of those squads can in no way match the disappointment of not having Russia competing in South Africa. That’s why its so painful.
The squad needed freshening-up and Hiddink didn’t do it. Usually he’s quite good in this department and he lets form players play as well as calling-up high performance level youngsters without hesitation. This time though he was complacent and I wonder whether his time at Chelsea could be to blame for this? He has been criticised for not spending enough time in Russia and I can see why he would be criticised for this. I think a motivated, present and focused Hiddink would have called-up Ryazantsev, Sharanov, Kaleshin, Yakovlev, Gatagov, Shirokov et al and realised that the likes of Zyrianov, Berezutsky, Pavyluchenko and Pogrebnyak were a bit jaded or out of form for various reasons….