Never before had so much been expected of a Russia side entering a major tournament.
Coming into Euro 2012 on the back of a 14-match unbeaten run and with the experience of getting into the semifinals four years earlier, suits from the Russian FA and the Sports Ministry gleefully bandied around forecasts of similar, if not greater, success this time around.
The first game, a 4-1 thumping of the Czech Republic, appeared to vindicate their predictions and led pundits to label the Russians dark horses for the title.
But it wasn't to be.
A cagey 1-1 draw against co-hosts Poland followed by a juddering 1-0 defeat to the Greeks cured these officials of their amnesia over Russia's capacity to capitulate against meager opposition, and, just as it was after the country's failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup, they are left with an aging team that is drifting in no particular direction.
So, with qualifying for the 2014 World Cup starting in just two months' time, where does the country go from here?
The coaching problem is already half-solved, with Dick Advocaat, who took over in 2009, returning to PSV Eindhoven.
Well before Euro 2012, when it became clear Advocaat would step down after it, the clamor grew for FA chief Sergei Fursenko to revert to a Russian coach after six collective years of Advocaat and his countryman Guus Hiddink.
On the face of it, however, there are few candidates with a pedegree even approaching that of the Dutch duo.
Some are mooting the return of Valery Gazzaev, who replaced Oleg Romantsev in 2002 after Romantsev's Russia finished third in their group at that year's World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Gazzaev, 57, was fired after putting Russia's Euro 2004 qualification in jeopardy, but restored his reputation by leading CSKA Moscow to three league titles and the 2005 UEFA Cup.
Rubin Kazan coach Kurban Berdyev is another domestic possibility, though the plaudits he gained after two league crowns and admirable runs in the Champions League have fallen away with a sixth-placed finish this term.
Another candidate put forward in Russian reports is national youth team coach Nikolai Pisarev. The 43-year-old has never held a head coach post, but impressed in roles as the coach of Russia's national beach football team before taking the youth role in 2010.
Turning to foreign options, Zenit St. Petersburg coach Luciano Spalletti has spoken, albeit cryptically, of the pride he'd feel in being considered for the job, though his club, whom he has taken to back-to-back titles, has warned it will not let him go without a fight.
With half of the national team made up of his players, Spalletti's appointment might be seen as one of the smoothest.
Time is of the essence if the FA wants a coach in place for an August 15th friendly, the opponents not yet clear, ahead of the Brazil qualifying campaign.
On the pitch, the appetite for a resounding overhaul of the squad has never been greater.
Too long, say the critics, has the country depended on the increasingly undependable core of forwards Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Alexander Kerzhakov; midfielders Konstantin Zyryanov and Igor Denisov and defenders Sergei Ignashevich and the Berezutsky twins.
But however great the potential of rookies Kirill Nababkin, Alexander Kokorin, Magomed Ozdoev and countless other fledgling stars, the shoes of their senior colleagues cannot be filled quickly enough to avert an ever greater collapse in qualifying.
Like it or not, many of the older faces are set to stay well into the new campaign, which will feature clashes against Portgual, Northern Ireland, Israel and others; the undisputed talents of Alan Dzagoev are insufficient to carry the team through that minefield alone.
But whether Fursenko, and Russia's notoriously influential fan club, have the patience for an incremental overhaul of the squad is another question; the answer may well determine the fate of Advocaat's successor.
