Advocaat hails his 'deserved' winners and praises losers

DESPITE the feelings he still harbours for Rangers, Dick Advocaat had stressed he would not be troubled by the identity of the team which stood between him and European glory. And last night he was as good as his word as he revelled in the distinction of being only the second man to bring a European trophy back to Russia.

Even a former Prime Minister of Russia, Viktor Zubkov, joined the players and manager in the dressing room to celebrate. Advocaat has clearly relished his successes at FC Zenit, the cash-rich club now embarking on a new and exciting phase in its history. He is pleased to be along for the ride and last night, and with a financial backer like the Gazprom energy company, anything seems possible.

FC Zenit will now take their place in next season's Champions League as Uefa Cup winners. Porto, it was recalled last night, went straight on and won the European Cup after their 2003 win over Celtic in the Uefa Cup under Jose Mourinho.

"I have now almost won everything," the Zenit manager beamed in the post-match conference, throughout which he drank from a bottle of lime juice. Asked whether he was not tempted to drink champagne from the Uefa Cup, he admitted his jubilant players had tried to pour the drink over his head. "But I was too quick," he added.

It was classic Advocaat. He combined good grace with the self-confident assertions that often peppered his briefings when he ruled the roost at Ibrox.

For him it was a happy coincidence that Rangers were the ones to be met at the City of Manchester Stadium last night, but his feelings for the club were easily put aside. Rangers, who he managed between 1998 and 2001, were left in the tread of his ambition – another item of road-kill on his way to what he has already said he hopes will be the Premiership. He suggested that his status as manager of a Uefa Cup-winning side might have come earlier had it not been for his time in international management with Holland and South Korea.

"I am very happy after winning a prize like this," he added. "It does not come often in your life. So in that way I feel very proud Zenit have won tonight, and having seen the way we have played in this tournament I feel we really deserved it."

"First of all it was important to keep organised because they could score a goal out of nothing," he continued. "Especially in the second half, they saw openings, but we scored two brilliant goals. I think over the 90 minutes we were the better team and deserved to win tonight."

He did spare some thoughts for his old club, and said that he had hoped this might have happened when he was with Rangers. However, those big-spending days provided little success on the European front for the fans, and Advocaat left Ibrox an ultimately frustrated man.

"I was hoping I would do the same as I have done now with David Murray," he said. "I am still very close to Rangers. I think what they have done while playing in four different tournaments has been tremendous. They are still playing for the championship and the Scottish Cup and I hope they can do that. That they have got this far with a squad of 20 players says everything about Rangers."

One journalist commented on the fact that Russian teams managed by Dutchmen appear to have a hex over British sides. This was in reference to Russia's critical win against England in the qualifying group for Euro 2008, something which was master-minded by Guus Hiddink. Now Advocaat has helped cast a spell over Rangers. "Maybe it is the moment in England to try a Dutch coach. Maybe it helps a little bit."

He was proud for what this victory meant for Russia, and although he can give the impression of being in this game for himself sometimes, he did express the hope that Russian football can go and benefit from making its mark in Europe.

"I hope it is the start for Russian football to begin building new stadiums and creating good facilities for the kids," he said. "I think the money is there. So hopefully this prize gives them the reason to do this. Otherwise it will be incidental."

He hailed his players for triumphing in what were difficult circumstances. "It was not an easy game. This was more difficult than the semi-final against Bayern Munich. Then everyone expected us to lose. The way we played in that game was unbelievable. But today was more difficult. The expectation was more on our side, but I think the players handled that well."