Russian President, Vladimir Putin has reacted to his country’s 4-3 penalty loss to Croatia in the ongoing World Cup.
According to Russia’s coach, Stanislav Cherchesov, the president called in at the end of the game in Sochi to commend and congratulate the national team on their efforts.
Cherchesov quoted Putin as saying that “what they showed on the pitch was great”.
The Russian coach further disclosed that the prime minister, Dmitry Medvedev, was also with them in the changing room for morale boost while Putin called him twice.
He said at a press conference, “Our prime minister was in our changing room. Putin called me during the day and right now. He congratulated us on a very good game.
“He said that what we showed on the field was great. I told him we’re disappointed. But he said we should have our eyes open and make the next steps.”
On the future of the history-making squad, the coach said, “Let’s not forecast too far ahead. You see there are changes going on in the team. I won’t dare forecast too far ahead.
“We knew from the first second, I knew where we were heading. We succeeded but we have to keep going forward.
“You may be surprised but I try to get as much information as possible in football. There was not a single national team in the World Cup that had the complete trust of their country.”
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He also responded to a question on whether the team enjoyed the trust of the country.
Cherchesov noted, “Talking about criticism, if they trusted us or not, we trusted ourselves. To beg someone to trust in you, we didn’t want to do that. We can only prove our worth by working hard.
“People didn’t only start trusting, but loving us. They have fallen in love with us. They know what the national team is worth. We hope we turned the situation around for the better.”