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| Euro 2008- Group D (R); GRE, SWE, ESP, RUS | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: May 22 2008, 10:55 AM (984 Views) | |
| shelsoccer | Jun 18 2008, 01:19 PM Post #61 |
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A well-deserved win for Russia. Their youth, pace and the addition of Arshavin made a big difference against an aging Swedish side. Sweden obviously needs to make some changes if they expect to qualify for 2010. I think they may have gotten past this game with a healthy Edberg, Linderoth and Zlatan, but regardless changes are needed. I guess the big question is whether those changes need to include Lagerback. I have no problem with his coaching, but I come down on the side of change. You hear the same message from the same coach for this long, and it gets stale. Some new blood and some new ideas are needed. |
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| Merengue | Jun 18 2008, 02:26 PM Post #62 |
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That was an impressive display by Russia. Great speed in moving from defense to attack and as noted their one touch passing was a killer for the Swedish defense which had previously looked so strong. Maybe shelsoccer is right and it was the age factor, Russia had the quickness while Sweden did show their age in this game. Russia's two fullbacks, Anyukov and Zhirkov play like midfielders and they really put Sweden under a lot of pressure, Semak does a good job protecting the defenders and as we all saw Arshavin is quite a player. This is the Hiddink coached passing game which both Korea and Australia played too but I don't think either were able to move the ball quite as effectively as Russia did today. I now am really looking forward to the Russia-Holland game on Saturday. Spain with a nice fightback to win the game against Greece. Not bad considering there were 10 subs out there and 11 once Cazorla, the only sub used, came on for Iniesta. I don't see any of these players, other than Iniesta of course and possibly Xabi Alonso and Cesc having a chance at starting on Sunday versus Italy but it should give Aragones some confidence if he does need to use his bench that there is ability there. Xabi Alonso and de la Red made a good central midfield combo, Sergio Garcia worked hard and showed plenty of speed and a willingness to pass. Dani Guiza worked hard without much success until late in the game when he took advanatge of a Greek defender's slip and headed in the game winning goal. His ability in the air could make him a late game option if Spain are in search of goals. Overall, a pretty good training match for Spain which gave the subs some needed game time. |
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| El Profe | Jun 18 2008, 03:17 PM Post #63 |
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I didn't think Russia had it in them after seeing their first two games but against Sweden they did put on a class on how to run a counter attack. Just beautiful football with their buildup play leading to both goals. It is the way I like to see this sport played. It almost is a shame they'll have to play Holland, another team who play a similar style as I'd like to see both countries continue in this competition. |
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| historyman | Jun 18 2008, 09:45 PM Post #64 |
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A wonderful performance from Arshavin last night, and I can't help thinking that had he been available from the start of the tournament, then Russia's opening game against Spain would have finished with an entirely different scoreline. I read this blog on the BBC site (ignore the usual Premier League hype). Interestingly, it described Arshavin as a 'classic no.10 playing just off the front man'. Now that is an exciting development, since the modern pressing game has all too often squeezed the traditional 'no.10' out of exsistence. England's defeat in Moscow back in October doesn't look so surprising now. Well, I thought it was unexpected anyhow. Should be a classic q/f on Saturday against Holland. |
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| Mr. Pither | Jun 18 2008, 11:26 PM Post #65 |
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I too really enjoyed watching Russia play last night, their movement and one touch passing was a real treat. Arshavin was excellent but don't forget Zhirkov too, I particularly liked how he intercepted a pass in his own half then sprinted 50 meters forward to set Arshavin up for that 2nd goal. Hopefully the matchup of two counter attacking teams in Holland and Russia proves a good one and both don't wait for the other to blink first. The speed and precision of both clubs could make their game a classic. You have to admire Hiddink, he is the Midas of international football. But most important he achieves success while also having his teams play attractive football. Although I must comment that after seeing Croatia and Russia both impress in this tournament, England's elimination by those two doesn't look quite as bad now. It is like in World Cup 1974 when England were knocked out by Poland in qualifying, a Polish team which eventually finished third. That may be little consolation to some but better to be eliminated from Euro 2008 by teams of this class than by say Greece or Poland. |
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P-I-T-H-E-R ...as in Brotherhood, but with PI instead of the BRO and no HOOD | |
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| Simon | Jun 19 2008, 02:40 AM Post #66 |
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Yes, that's probably true about England, and the comparison with Poland 74 is a good one. I've seen many teams in this tournament who look worse than England, but in the final analysis those teams put the points on the board in qualification that we didn't. At least we're rid of Steve McClaren! This has been a pretty dull last few days at these championships as several qualifiers/eliminations were decided after two games and, with the exception of Turkey-Czech Republic (and perhaps Russia-Sweden, though I didn't see that one), the final group games were real anti-climaxes. Still, all that is done with and we now have four very enticing quarter-final matches. As others have said, it will be interesting indeed to see how Russia fare against Holland. |
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5:04 PM Jul 10