Advocaat to quit as Russia coach after Euro 2012

Russia coach Dick Advocaat has revealed he will step down after the end of the European football championships to be co-hosted by Ukraine and Poland from June 8 to July 1. "It's true, I will resign after the end of the European championship," local media quoted Advocaat as saying. "I don't want to disclose the reasons for my decision but money wasn't the issue," he said. "I didn't tell the players that I'm going to resign but I'm confident it will not affect our preparations for the Euro. "We'll all do our best to perform well at the championships." The 64-year-old Dutchman took over in 2010 from compatriot Guus Hiddink, who led Russia to the Euro 2008 semi-finals. Advocaat had signed a two-year deal with an option to extend for another two years. Reports said that Advocaat has already received offers from clubs including Dutch league giants PSV Eindhoven, where he worked from 1995-98, and Russian top-flight side Dynamo Moscow, who are battling for a spot in the Champions League next year. Russian team skipper Andrei Arshavin said he was upset by Advocaat's decicion. "Speaking frankly I'm upset with his decision," Arshavin said. "There was good chemistry in our team and we achieved good results. I expected to be playing the next qualifying campaign under Advocaat. "Now I hope that the RFU will chose a top class coach for our squad." Sergei Kapkov, deputy president of the Russian Football Union (RFU), said he respected Advocaat's decision. "We should accept Advocaat's decision with all possible respect as he achieved good results with our team, winning our Euro-2012 qualifying group," Kapkov said. "It's very honest to announce his decision beforehand." "Now we will need to find the manager, who will coach the team for another four or five years. He will need to bring new names into the squad as its current line-up consists of many veterans."