Euro 2008 - Day 8: Greece Can't Keep Up with Russia's Youth
June 14th 2008 22:12
Watching this game, I realized one thing – Greece doesn't know how to play after conceding the first goal. Once Russia got ahead at the 33th minute, it was complete chaos among the Greek players as they couldn't seem to figure out whether to keep playing as they were or to accelerate the pace of game and push forward. Fortunately for them, the half-time break wasn't too far ahead so they could take that opportunity to regroup and calm down.
True to his word, Otto Rehhagel set up a more attack-minded formation after critics denounced his extremely defensive formation (five-man backline, three/four midfielders) of the previous game. This time he opted for a more reasonable 4-3-3 while Russia displayed a 4-1-4-1 formation. Both teams displayed attractive football. The match was fairly balanced compared to Spain's lopsided victory over Russia in their first game. One mistake shifted the balance in Russia's favor as it proved to be a fatal one. Greece's goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis made a risky exit from his net, chasing a Russian cross. Russian captain Sergei Semak immediately sent the ball back to center of the box where Konstantin Zyryanov simply tapped the ball into the empty net.
The Greeks to a while to find their groove after that goal. Here they were, in the uncomfortable situation of trailing by a goal. They came back stronger in the second half but couldn't seem to find their finishing touches. They also had to deal with Russia's counterattacks since the young team wasn't going to sit back and defend when they had the opportunity to run the Greeks to the ground with their blistering pace. Russia's striker Roman Pavlyuchenko was the leader of those attacks. Using his formidable speed and strength, he was able to keep the ball up the field long enough for support to arrive. He could've put his team ahead by several more goals but, like Greece, the finishing touch just wasn't there.
In the end, the defending champions were eliminated from the tournament without scoring a single goal. They still have to play against Spain but that game will be meaningless for them. Russia, on the hand, can still dream of going through to the quarterfinals if they manage to beat Sweden, a team which is slowly collapsing due several injuries.
My man of the match: Roman Pavlyuchenko. Although he didn't score, the Russian striker was a constant threat to the Greek defense.
True to his word, Otto Rehhagel set up a more attack-minded formation after critics denounced his extremely defensive formation (five-man backline, three/four midfielders) of the previous game. This time he opted for a more reasonable 4-3-3 while Russia displayed a 4-1-4-1 formation. Both teams displayed attractive football. The match was fairly balanced compared to Spain's lopsided victory over Russia in their first game. One mistake shifted the balance in Russia's favor as it proved to be a fatal one. Greece's goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis made a risky exit from his net, chasing a Russian cross. Russian captain Sergei Semak immediately sent the ball back to center of the box where Konstantin Zyryanov simply tapped the ball into the empty net.
The Greeks to a while to find their groove after that goal. Here they were, in the uncomfortable situation of trailing by a goal. They came back stronger in the second half but couldn't seem to find their finishing touches. They also had to deal with Russia's counterattacks since the young team wasn't going to sit back and defend when they had the opportunity to run the Greeks to the ground with their blistering pace. Russia's striker Roman Pavlyuchenko was the leader of those attacks. Using his formidable speed and strength, he was able to keep the ball up the field long enough for support to arrive. He could've put his team ahead by several more goals but, like Greece, the finishing touch just wasn't there.
In the end, the defending champions were eliminated from the tournament without scoring a single goal. They still have to play against Spain but that game will be meaningless for them. Russia, on the hand, can still dream of going through to the quarterfinals if they manage to beat Sweden, a team which is slowly collapsing due several injuries.
My man of the match: Roman Pavlyuchenko. Although he didn't score, the Russian striker was a constant threat to the Greek defense.
| 43 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
