Sergei Semak is adamant that Russia have enough talent in their squad to spring a major surprise at Euro 2012.
The Zenit St Petersburg midfielder said their failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa will motivate the team to succeed in Poland and Ukraine.
Not making it to South Africa was a bitter blow. That said, the bitterness of the past serves as even greater motivation for a group of players who want to end their careers having lifted a major trophy, Semak told L Equipe magazine.
At Euro 2008, nobody believed we could defeat the Netherlands, but we still did. Today, this Russia is built not just on a very solid defence, but an aggressive emphasis on ball control that sees us adopt a very modern style of play. We can change tactics as we wish to set the pace of the game.
With players like Andrey Arshavin, Alan Dzagoev and Aleksandr Kerzhakov, we have a team that knows how to win, built on a framework of a wealth of international experience.
Russia open their Euro 2012 campaign against Czech Republic on June 8.
