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Euro 2012

For sports enthusiasts, especially football fans, the first thing to pay attention to is, of course, the start of the Euro 2012 qualifying phase. On September 3rd, under the guidance of Dick Advokat, our national team played its first official match on the field of Andorra—a country that is far from being a traditional football nation. For context, in the FIFA rankings, Andorra is more than 900 points behind Russia. The two teams have met five times, and each time the Russians have won by at least two goals. This match was no exception: a 2-0 victory for Russia. Nevertheless, during the game, Andorra created several dangerous moments that put our defense under pressure. Overall, the match was sluggish and frankly boring, and such performance raises questions about the team’s future prospects. Next up is a match against Slovakia, which will take place in Moscow on September 7th at the Lokomotiv Stadium. The opponent is certainly formidable, as their squad includes players from top English and Italian clubs. On October 8th, our team will travel to Ireland for a match, and later they will face Macedonia again away from home. The return matches are scheduled for next year.

Champions League – Play-offs

On August 6th, the draw for the Champions League play-offs was held. Unfortunately, for Kazan’s Rubin, another challenging group was assigned. Their first match will be away against Danish team Copenhagen on September 14th. The two-time Russian champions will also try to achieve a miracle and beat Barcelona at their own stadium in Kazan on September 29th. Later, on October 20th, they will face Greek team Panathinaikos. The first round of play-offs will conclude with a match against Copenhagen on November 24th. Moscow’s Spartak has secured a spot in France to face Marseille on September 15th; later, they will host Slovakian team Zilina on September 28th. On October 19th, London’s Chelsea will visit Russia to compete against Valery Karpin’s team.

Handball – European Championship

From December 7th to 19th, Denmark and Norway will host the 2010 Women’s European Handball Championship. The Russian national team is considered one of the favorites, as our women have previously finished in third place (2000), second place (2006), and third place (2008). The team is full of confidence that they can win gold for us. For the players from Tolyatti, this championship is particularly important, as several members of the team come from GK Lada. You can watch all these matches via the broadcasts on the sports channels NTV+ and Russia 2.

Calendar:
September
26. Formula 1 – Singapore Grand Prix
27–30. October. Tennis – WTA Premier (Japan)

October
10. Formula 1 – Japanese Grand Prix
11–17. Tennis – ATP Masters (China)
11–17. Tennis – WTA Premier (China)
17–24. Gymnastics – World Championships (Netherlands)
18–24. Tennis – WTA Premier (Russia)
24. Formula 1 – Korean Grand Prix
25–31. Tennis – WTA Finals (Qatar)

November
6–7. Tennis – Fed Cup – World Group Final
7. Formula 1 – Brazilian Grand Prix
8–14. Tennis – ATP Masters (France)
14. Formula 1 – UAE Grand Prix
21–28. Tennis – ATP Finals (Great Britain)
25–28. Swimming – European Championships (25m)

December
3–5. Tennis – Davis Cup – World Group Final
15–19. Swimming – World Championships (25m) (UAE)

Andrey Makarov