Euro 2008: Russia fire shock warning to Holland
Published 20 June, 2008, 08:59
Russia have warned their Euro 2008 opponents Holland not to expect an easy ride in Saturday’s crunch quarter final. The Dutch have been the team of the tournament so far, emerging from the so-called ‘Group of Death’ with stylish defeats of Italy, France and Romania.
But Russia’s 2-0 defeat of Sweden has made people sit up and take note – with the performance inviting praise from around the world.
British newspaper the Times said Russia’s play was “a minor masterpiece” and claimed that Russia played more ‘Total Football’ than the modern Dutch side themselves.
The game has given the Russian squad confidence and star player Andrey Arshavin believes there could be more to come.
“I don't think we needed to score that many goals in the Swedish game,” he said. “We need to save them for the next games and I hope we will score a few against the Netherlands.”
Russia’s squad trained at their camp in the Austrian Alps on Thursday and all of the players came through unscathed.
Russia’s coach, Guus Hiddink, says he is relishing the task of facing his countrymen. He knows about how the inner-workings of the Dutch set-up, having previously having coached them himself, and is hoping to use that inside knowledge to his advantage.
“It’s going to be an interesting match,” he said, “because we know Holland well and what kind of players they are. Hopefully it’s going to be a clash between two nations who like to play football. The Dutch have a bit of an advantage – four or five days of recovery, while we have had just two days. That’s an advantage for Holland but nevertheless we’ll try to manage it.”
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