On October 7, Guus Hiddink’s wards will play against the Israeli team in Moscow, and on October 11 they will receive the Estonian team in St. Petersburg. Hiddink once again demonstrates his liberality: the Dutchman closed trainings practiced by previous coaches of the national team, the Dutchman is not honored. The current team will settle in the best hotels in Moscow and St. Petersburg and will be available daily for journalists and fans. Izvestia studied the prices and living conditions of the best Russian football players in preparation for crucial matches.
On his last trip, Hiddink was already transporting the national team from a Moscow-based base to a Moscow hotel. It cannot be said that this measure immediately yielded phenomenal results - the home match with Croatia ended in a goalless draw. However, the national team players warmly approved and supported. This time, having gathered in the good old boarding house “Bor” (this will happen today), the players will leave from there on the evening of October 5 to settle in Moscow. The appetite for the month that has passed since the last match broke out: if in September Hiddink and his team stayed at the four-star Holiday Inn, now the Marriott Grand Hotel, located on Tverskaya, was chosen among all the Moscow hotels - one of the most expensive in the capital.
“As a rule, a 4-star team is enough for a football team,” Yop Alberda, general manager of the Russian national team, shared with “Izvestia.” After all, people gather there to work and not to relax. But this time, Vitaly Mutko (RFU President. - Izvestia) decided that players need to create the most comfortable conditions for training. Therefore, the team will live in Marriott. There are spacious rooms, and in addition, there is an opportunity for everyone to stay on the same floor. "
Another famous hotel is awaiting Russian football players in St. Petersburg - Astoria, located on St. Isaac's Square. The RFU does not disclose information about the category of rooms in which players will stay. "What does that matter?" - Alberda is perplexed. Nevertheless, according to Izvestia, the players will be lodged in the simplest double rooms - they do the same in clubs. Another thing is that the rooms in the hotels where the Russian team will stop are "simple" only in words. In "Marriott" prices start at 500 euros per day, and in "Astoria" - from 360. Breakfast, as we were able to find out, is included in the price, and for lunch and dinner you will have to pay extra.
Mr. Alberda explains the idea of living not on a base, but in hotels, for three reasons: “Firstly, traffic. The road from Bor to Dynamo stadium, where the game with Israel will take place and a few training sessions before the match, takes about two hours. This, of course, is very inconvenient. Secondly, the players are important to change the situation - otherwise they get tired. And thirdly, this was the wish not only of Guus Hiddink, but also of Vitaly Mutko: he said that the team does not have its own modern base, but players should still feel comfortable. "
Football players are particularly pushing for a second reason - a change of scenery. “At the base, you can extend a maximum of 2 days, then it becomes very boring,” Vladimir Bystrov admitted to Izvestia, who, by the way, only received a call to the national team on Monday evening. “And if you live in the center of Moscow, you always have the opportunity "meet friends or just go down the street and see people alive."
Chrmen DZGOEV