The Spartak Moscow player has reflected his thoughts upon who will start for the Russian national team in the opening Euro 2012 game against Czech Republic
Lokomotiv Moscow assistant manager, Boris Ignatyev, has conceded that the Russian national team manager, d**k Advocaat, will play http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pavel-Pogrebnyak-c29501 in Euro 2012.
d**k Advocaat, the manager, has included the star duo in the final 23-man squad for the European tournament. The Dutch tactician has decided not to take Spartak Moscow’s http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Dmitri-Sychev-c11421 in order to play Pavlyuchenko
and Pogrebnyak.
The 64-year-old has made some other questionable additions and deletions as well. Advocaat has excluded Lokomotiv’s Magomed Ozdoyev and included uncapped CSKA Moscow defender, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Kirill-Nababkin-c21144, in the squad.
There is little arguing that Pavlyuchenko and Pogrebnyak are struggling to rediscover their old form.
However, Ignatyev is of the belief that Pavlyuchenko, who has returned to Russia from Tottenham Hotspur in January, deserves to get more playing action as compared to Pogrebnyak, who is currently on-loan at Craven Cottage.
"Pogrebnyak has excellent physique. The guy is powerful, fast and selects marvellous position on the pitch. To some extent, he lacks coordination but otherwise he looks ready for the role of a lone striker on the cutting edge.”
“What impresses me personally in Pogrebnyak is that he works hard in the middle of the field. I do not know whether it will be appropriate to play Pogrebnyak.”
“I think Advocaat will prefer to use Pavlyuchenko more than Pogrebnyak because Pavlyuchenko is more experienced on European front.” The Saturn Moscow Oblast manager was quoted as saying.
Pavlyuchenko is somehow able to find his old goal-scoring form that has made him a cult hero at Luzhniki stadium. His rich form has seen him score three goals from nine Russian Premier League performances last season.
The 30-year-old prolific forward, who impressed at Euro 2008, has scored twenty goals from 47 national appearances.
Pogrebnyak, on the other hand, despite a decent season with the London club, has struggled to make at the international stage. The 28-year-old striker has scored just eight goals from 32 national appearances.
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