Tottenham striker Roman Pavlyuchenko changed flights and delayed joining up with the Russia squad to impress Harry Redknapp and challenge Peter Crouch for a starting place at White Hart Lane.
Pavlyuchenko stayed in England to play in the pre-season friendly over Olympiacos, with the 27-year-old scoring one and setting another up.
"Taking a night flight to arrive in Moscow on the first day of training is of course very inconvenient," he said on dailymail.co.uk.
"But after talking to the manager I realised I must stay with the team and changed tickets.
"In the end, I played and even scored. Now I will arrive in Moscow in an even better mood."
Crouch, following his £9million arrival from Portsmouth, made his debut against the Greek champions and is still likely to start against Liverpool when the Barclays Premier League season gets under way at the weekend.
"Crouchy won every header and will be a threat," Redknapp said.
Crouch is determined to make an impression at the club.
"Hopefully I can pay them back and score goals to put the club back where they should be," he said.
"With the squad and the ability in the dressing room, there is no end to what we can achieve."
Redknapp is happy with having Crouch, Pavlyuchenko, Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane fighting for starting positions.
"It's nice options to have," he said. "If two are not doing it, you can bring on another two. It's better than sitting on the bench thinking you have no options."
