Euro 2008 Preview: Russia - Spain

Spain and Russia are one step away from an historic appearance in the European Championships final and for both teams it would see them cause a huge surprise in their homeland.

Luis Aragonés' are always tipped as dark horses as pundits try to make this the year that they spot something in la Furia Roja that they think nobody else has and for so many years they have been left shrugging their shoulders after another early exit.

But in Spain itself, the prospects of the national team are always looked upon with a large dose of scepticism despite the litany of talented and technical players available.

The coach may have some of the world's most famous names to choose from and some of the most creative stars in the game, but still those doubts are there to nag away at the reality of Spain falling short.

All that, and more, came out all too clearly in the build-up to the quarter final against Italy as all of the country's and national team's dark side came out.

A phrase dreamed up to attract tourists to the country in the 1960's has been turned into the side's catchphrase as 'Spain is different' summed everything about la Selección.

From the abundant talent to the stuttering confidence and mentality, the Spanish are different because they have underachieved to such an extent that reaching the final this time would constitute a huge step forward.

Surprise, Surprise

Given the players available it should not be a surprise, but it is and while they will be deemed as clear favourites to beat the Russians, realistically they should probably not be.

Neither team will be complaining, but given the new system in place for Euro 2008, it was always likely that there were going to be repeat games at the semi final stage from those witnessed in the group section.

Few would have suspected that the Spanish would playing Guus Hiddink's Russian side again after the demolition job that Aragonés' team carried out, but that has only added to the intrigue.

Andrei Arshavin may not be short of confidence, but the weight of expectation placed on his shoulders now outweighs anything that is being expected of any particular Spaniard.

The Zenit St. Petersburg forward did not play in the opening encounter against Spain and that, if you would believe all the critics, was the crucial difference.

His return did indeed signal a new and improved Russia and Holland were not prepared for what came at them in the quarter finals as Hiddink's system kicked in and everything worked.

Looking Back

But the Spanish will realise that while their defence will have to be tighter to cope with the highly-rated Arshavin, the defence that they scored four against will basically be the same.

Denis Kolodin was turned backwards and forwards by Fernando Torres run and while he has a good shot on him, the central defender's positional sense at the back could have been exposed but he is suspended and his replacement will have to improve.

In midfield, the Russians will no doubt tighten up because Aragonés is being tipped to name the same team that played the same opponents last time out, so there will be few surprises.

For Russia, they stand one game away from history as well because since the fall of the Berlin Wall, they have not made the same impression as they did when they were able to call upon the services of the rest of the Soviet Union.

After the USSR were the first winners of the tournament in 1960, they were beaten by the Spanish in Madrid four years later and were also defeated by Holland in 1988.

But as Russia, Euro 2008 is the first competition in which they have qualified past the group stages after falling short at the World Cup Finals in 1994 and 2002 and the European Championships in 1996 and 2004.

Spain have never lost a semi final, but then they have only played in two, and will hope to progress on Thursday wearing what the local media call yellow, and Adidas politely call gold, shirts.

RECENT FORM

Russia

21/06 N (EC) Netherlands 3-1
18/06 N (EC) Sweden 2-0
14/08 N (EC) Greece 1-0
10/06 N (EC) Spain 1-4
04/06 N (Fr) Lithuania 4-1
28/05 N (Fr) Serbia 2-1

Spain

22/06 N (EC) Italy 0-0 (won on penalties)
17/06 N (EC) Greece 2-1
14/06 N (EC) Sweden 2-1
10/06 N (EC) Russia 4-1
04/06 H (Fr) United States 1-0
31/05 H (Fr) Peru 2-1

TEAM NEWS


Pirés: Raúl-Aragonés Is Like Me And Domenech
Spanish PM: We Will Beat Italy
Alonso impressed by Juve
Spain B beat Greece