Russian Coach drops experienced players

Russia coach Valeri Gazzaev has responded to last month's 1-0 defeat in Georgia by dropping the experienced trio of Egor Titov, Marat Izmailov and Dmitri Alenichev for the UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifier against Switzerland. The loss in Tblisi left Russia two points behind Switzerland, the Group 10 leaders, and has also prompted Gazzaev to recall Yuri Kovtun for the match in Basel on 7 June. Alenichev is arguably the most surprising absentee following his goal in FC Porto's UEFA Cup triumph last week, but he misses out along with FC Spartak Moskva midfield player Titov - the national team captain - and FC Lokomotiv Moskva midfield player Marat Izmailov.:ball: