Russia’s coach came to a realization after losing to Wales: ‘We’re s--t’

Russian national team coach Leonid Slutsky resigned after losing to Wales, but not before reaching a profound realization.

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Russian national team coach Leonid Slutsky resigned after losing to Wales, but not before reaching a profound conclusion.

After Russia lost to Wales 3–0 in its final Euro 2016 group stage match, Slutsky and his players met to survey the damage. In an interview with Sports.ru, he said they spoke until 9 a.m. and proclaimed in unison: “We’re s--t.”

• Quiz: Can you pronounce these Euro 2016 players’ names correctly?

Slutsky likens the realization to a person at an AA meeting saying “I’m an alcoholic.” It’s the first step to fixing the problem, he says. 

But maybe they shouldn’t actually feel that bad about losing to Wales, the eventual semifinalists. On the other hand, Russia did lose 2–1 to Slovakia.