| Mo | Tu | We | Th | Fr | Sa | Su |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 |
| 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| 28 | 29 | 30 |
By Chris Wathan
WHEN Wales’ last trip to Moscow ended in agonising defeat inside the final ten minutes, it came as no real surprise. Because followers of Welsh football have become all too accustomed to becoming the nearly men of the international scene.
Whether it was Pavel Pogrebnyak’s late strike at the Lokomotiv Stadium last year after a rousing Welsh performance, or the undeserved defeat to Germany courtesy of Piotr Trochowski’s wonder-goal a month later, it’s not a modern problem.
In fact, Wales’ 50-year effort to break a qualifying jinx and make it to a major finals have been littered with such examples of glorious failure.
A ghost handball in 1978, floodlights failing in 1982, a poor penalty call in 1985, a penalty miss in 1994, and of course Russia’s Euro 2004 play-off victory against the backdrop of the Egor Titov scandal . . . all hard luck stories with nothing to show for it.
And being brave but beaten in both Moscow and Moenchengladbach has meant this latest qualifying campaign pretty much ended before it began.
But while South Africa may be out of reach, Wales have found hope from within. While only Craig Bellamy can be considered an established star, John Toshack has pushed through many stars in the making.
And his plan to begin this process less than a year after his appointment in 2004 has seen several young Dragons earn valuable experience and plenty of caps despite their tender age.
In truth there has been little choice with the lack of quality and quantity around and it has seen Toshack field sides with an average age of just 22 at times.
And with their collective prime still to come, there is genuine optimism that the hard luck stories will be over.
In particular, West Ham’s Jack Collison is a shining light in the centre of midfield, Wolverhampton’s Wayne Hennessey is a goalkeeper who will frustrate even the best strikers and, as shown in Russia, Gareth Bale is one of the best full-backs around - if only he could take a penalty. But the real gem in this golden generation is playmaker Aaron Ramsey, Arsenal team-mate of Andrey Arshavin.
One of the youngest players ever to score a Champions League goal, 18-year-old Ramsey is being groomed as Cesc Fabregas’ natural replacement by Arsene Wenger, but his vision and tenacity could see him become an Emirates regular much sooner than that.
He missed the match in Moscow for Under 21 duty, but is now slotting into the middle of Toshack’s team to ready him for the next campaign, his ability important to Wales' eagerness to play a passing game, not typical of traditional British style.
And with seedings important for the European Championships, Russia will not find victory easy in Cardiff.
Wales are determined to finish third ahead of Finland and are looking for the big scalp to boost confidence that beating Russia would bring.
And the side is now taking shape with senior defenders Danny Gabbidon and James Collins back after long-term injury.
However, Bale will miss the Millennium Stadium meeting with a knee problem he developed while playing in his back garden during the summer and Collison is a doubt following the recent death of his father.
Midfielder Jason Koumas retired from international football last week after being forced out of squads by the youngsters, proving there always seems to be problems to follow former Real Madrid manager Toshack.
He has come under pressure during his reign, especially after fans grew frustrated following the poor 2-0 defeat to Finland in March that really ended qualification hopes for the World Cup.
But with patience given to the players of the golden generation, fans are looking for a big result before the start of the next campaign to prove these boys can end the days of the nearly men.
