MOSCOW, February 7 Russian futsal team player Andrey Afanasiev brought apologies to the fans for the defeat from the Portuguese team in the final of the European Championship. On Sunday, the Russian team lost to the Portuguese (2:4) in the final of the tournament, which was held in the Netherlands. The Russian team lost the sixth final of the Euro. «Second place for all fans is already considered a failure. At the moment it is. We have not won gold medals for 23 years and wanted to break this tradition today. We lived with this thought for a month, worked hard. It was hard for me to roll into the tournament «We didn't have the strength for the first two games. We had strength for the semi-finals and the final. I just saw how the guys work, at what speeds. For me, it was unexpected from some side, but that's what it is. Thank you to all the fans, thank you for your support, I'm sorry that it happened, but at the moment it's like that. We tried and I repeat once again that the guys put everything they could, left themselves completely on this field, «Afanasyev quotes the website of the Russian Futsal Association. Athlete noted that in the first half the team completely controlled the game and had to win. «I will say this: I can’t make any claims against any of the guys who are in the team, because I saw how they work, how everyone gives, and all that they did, they left all their strength on the field. Yes, the Portuguese have been lucky somewhere, they have been lucky quite often lately,» Afanasiev added.
