Russian Football Players' Wives Strip for Euro 2004

News and
photos from the Moscow
News (11/06/2004)

The
Russian team at Euro 2004 has been given a welcome boost before
the side kicks off on Saturday after getting a lucky strip — a
nude photo-shoot by their wives, Reuters reported.

Tatyana Evseyeva, photo by Svetlana Yeriklintseva World Football magazine

Nine wives and girlfriends of the national team’s players
undressed for the cameras to encourage their men to win at the
tournament being hosted by Portugal. Only a strategically placed
placard featuring a photo of their partners offered some cover.

Daily newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda is printing one of the photos
on a full page every day hoping they will inspire the players
to go all the way in Portugal.



“The wives have done their part, now it’s the men’s
turn,” said freelance photographer Svetlana Yeriklintseva,
who came up with the idea for the pictures when the women told
her they wanted to lift the team’s spirits after a bad
result against Norway in April.



“Our press publishes a lot of pictures of wives but not
of (those married to) Russian soccer players. Most often it’s
(England captain David’s wife) Victoria Beckham...,” she
said. “I
believe that our girls are considerably more striking and I wanted
this to be reflected in the photographs.”

Yeriklintseva said the women, who have been allowed to travel
to Portugal to watch their partners play, needed a little persuasion.
Some had worked as models and were used to being photographed
but for others it was their first time.



The women are pictured in graceful black and white poses, with
nothing but their man’s picture to protect their modesty.



“They cover up more than a mini-dress,” said Yeriklintseva.



Among those taking part were Russian captain Alexei Smertin’s
wife Larisa, goalkeeper Sergei Ovchinnikov’s wife Inga
and defender Vadim Yevseyev’s wife Tatyana.



Komsomolskaya Pravda correspondent Svetlana Khrustaleva said
some players were reluctant for their partners to pose. But striker
Dmitry Bulykin could barely wait for his girlfriend Oksana Kuptsova
to strip. “He was really keen — he gave a white
toothy grin and said: ’Please, Oksana, it will really warm
me up.’,” Khrustaleva said.



Russia play Spain in their opening Group A game on Saturday in
Faro and will also face hosts Portugal and Greece at the tournament
that runs until July 4.

Relevant
Links:



Komsomolskaya
Pravda photo gallery (all the photos of the Russian football
players wives posing to support their husbands in Euro 2004)



Young Russian
women article on Way to Russia.