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ADVOCAAT FAILED TO GUESS RIGHT
'Zenit will win 1:0'- assumed Dick Advocaat ahead of the match against
Juventus. Woe, but the prediction of the head coach of Zenit did not spring
into life though there were chances.
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Zenit vs. Juventus Photo SPORT
EXPRESS
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Zenit vs. Juventus - 0:0
Yesterday St. Petersburg did not just plated Juventus but said farewell
to the wonderful season, as the fifth place in the national championship
and a fairytale are to poles apart.
The supporters were wonderful, they sang and shouted. One could see that
the hope to get through to the round of sixteen of the Champions League
has not yet died.
There were rumors that Claudio Ranieri would keep his key players on the
bench as Juventus has already secured themselves a place in the next stage.
But predictions were not right and even the harsh weather in the northern
capital did not prevent del Piero, Nedved and also just recovered Camoranesi
from running around the pitch.
Zenit tried but unsuccessfully, one can again speak about the game without
a goal. In the middle of the second half when Juventus was masterfully
controlling the ball, the stands began to whistle and seemed to wake the
players up.
On the 71st minute Petrovsky Stadium was struck dumb as Advocaat replaced
Arshavin. Many people understood that they probably looked the last moments
of one of the best players in the history of the club in the jersey of
Zenit.
"I saw two different teams on the pitch," said Advocaat after
the match. "Juventus has already got through to the next stage of
the Champions League. And we needed victory. One team could have defended
throughout the whole match, while the other must have attacked."
"The guests have created several good chances in both halves, but
we also had scoring opportunities. In general after two matches against
Juventus I can say that we looked quite decent comparing to that great
Italian club.'
"It is very difficult to enter such a serious game, that is why I
did not dare to let Fatih Tekke play though he have helped the team several
times this season. We could not risk, as a loss would be absolutely unacceptable
for us."
"I replaced Arshavin as he was losing the ball too often."
The standings of Group H with one match day left.
Sport
Express Daily, 26 Nov 2008
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