Euro 2008 - Semifinals: Flawless Team Performance Sends Spain to Euro Cup Final
June 27th 2008 19:03
Football at its finest. The Spaniards took Russia to school yesterday and showed them what it's all about. This is how football should be played - great passing, opportunistic midfielders, support from the side-backs, solid defending, and last but not least, patience and concentration. I'd say that the most recent team who offered a similar performance is Argentina when they faced Serbia & Montenegro at the 2006 World Cup.
From the starting whistle to the end, the Spaniards had complete control of the ball. Russia's first opportunity on goal came on a free-kick at the 16th minute. After that, it was Spain who were the most menacing as both Torres and Villa couldn't capitalize on their opportunities because of the weather's effect on the ball and field. In fact, it was the terrible weather that forced Spain to use their first substitution at the half hour mark. David Villa had injured himself after taking a free-kick and was promptly replaced by Cesc Fabregas. Now, I said that the weather was behind the change because, in my opinion, that was the real cause of the injury. If anyone watched the game closely, you would have seen that Villa slipped outside of the field of play when he was getting the ball for a throw-in five or ten minutes before the free-kick. It wasn't an obvious slip since he didn't fall down or anything but it was enough to (very) slightly twist his ankle. This kind of injury isn't really noticeable at first - it feels like a cramp and you can quickly walk it off. But once he took the free-kick, with the power he gave to that shot, I'm really not surprised that he couldn't continue anymore. So, this is where Fabregas came in. It took a moment for the Spanish team to adjust as they not only had to play with five midfielders and one striker but Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez also had to find a way to split the playmaking duties between the two them. They were never on the field at the same time in previous matches, and so they had to agree on who would lead the midfield. Finally, Fabregas was asked to play slightly behind Torres as some sort of secondary forward, if such things exist. And both teams ended the half tied at 0-0 with Russia having four chances of goal – none of them hit the target – while Spain's strikers couldn't capitalize on their chances with the rain affecting their first touch.
Five minutes into the second half, the Spaniards scored the first goal of the match after a nice run from Xavi Hernandez. The midfielder passed the ball to Iniesta inside of the box. The threat of Iniesta quickly took the attention of the Russian defense who didn't notice Xavi making a run to the front of the goal. Iniesta unleashed a shot/cross that Xavi nicely deflected in the back of the net. At the 56th minute, Guus Hiddink decided to bring some fresh legs to the middle of the park along with some offense, replacing Semshov by Bilyaletdinov and Saenko by Sychev. Those changes would bring nothing new to the table as the Russians were simply unable to do more than three passes before losing possession. At the 69th minute, Aragonés used his last substitutions replacing Xavi and Torres by Xabi Alonso and Daniel Güiza. Xavi's absence would provide a more central role for Fabregas in midfield while Güiza could be reached by long balls. The tactical change quickly brought positive results as Spain had four chances on goal after the substitutions and scored their second goal at the 73rd minute after an elegant pass from Fabregas sent Güiza to an one-on-one against Akinfeev. The Russians couldn't touch after that as Spain linked up one pass after the other almost on a walking pace. Spain looked like they were on a training ground as Russia helplessly ran after the ball without being able to touch it. The final blow came at the 82nd minute when Fabregas delivered a nice pass to David Silva who had all the time in the world to control the ball with his right foot and then kick it with his left. Up 3-0 with less than ten minutes left to play, victory was assured for Spain as they slowed the game to a leisurely pace. The Russian players simply didn't have their legs at the end and I bet that the final whistle was a welcomed relief for them. Still, they can go home with their head high and hope for a similar run in the 2010 World Cup. Spain, arguably the best team of the tournament, have a date with Germany in Sunday's final where they'll look to end 44 years of misery on the international stage.
My man of the match: Cesc Fabregas. The young midfielder showed why he is Arsenal's maestro. His smart passing led to two goals and several scoring chances.
Honorable mentions:
- Sergio Ramos. The defender played his best game of the tournament so far, completely neutralizing Russia's left-back Sergei Zhirkov and making offensive rushes himself.
- Marcos Senna. The midfielder was huge in this game as he covered his teammates when they were attacking and took care of Arshavin.
- Carles Puyol. Once again, the rock in defense. He stopped every Russian attack that Senna and/or Ramos couldn't neutralize.
From the starting whistle to the end, the Spaniards had complete control of the ball. Russia's first opportunity on goal came on a free-kick at the 16th minute. After that, it was Spain who were the most menacing as both Torres and Villa couldn't capitalize on their opportunities because of the weather's effect on the ball and field. In fact, it was the terrible weather that forced Spain to use their first substitution at the half hour mark. David Villa had injured himself after taking a free-kick and was promptly replaced by Cesc Fabregas. Now, I said that the weather was behind the change because, in my opinion, that was the real cause of the injury. If anyone watched the game closely, you would have seen that Villa slipped outside of the field of play when he was getting the ball for a throw-in five or ten minutes before the free-kick. It wasn't an obvious slip since he didn't fall down or anything but it was enough to (very) slightly twist his ankle. This kind of injury isn't really noticeable at first - it feels like a cramp and you can quickly walk it off. But once he took the free-kick, with the power he gave to that shot, I'm really not surprised that he couldn't continue anymore. So, this is where Fabregas came in. It took a moment for the Spanish team to adjust as they not only had to play with five midfielders and one striker but Fabregas and Xavi Hernandez also had to find a way to split the playmaking duties between the two them. They were never on the field at the same time in previous matches, and so they had to agree on who would lead the midfield. Finally, Fabregas was asked to play slightly behind Torres as some sort of secondary forward, if such things exist. And both teams ended the half tied at 0-0 with Russia having four chances of goal – none of them hit the target – while Spain's strikers couldn't capitalize on their chances with the rain affecting their first touch.
Five minutes into the second half, the Spaniards scored the first goal of the match after a nice run from Xavi Hernandez. The midfielder passed the ball to Iniesta inside of the box. The threat of Iniesta quickly took the attention of the Russian defense who didn't notice Xavi making a run to the front of the goal. Iniesta unleashed a shot/cross that Xavi nicely deflected in the back of the net. At the 56th minute, Guus Hiddink decided to bring some fresh legs to the middle of the park along with some offense, replacing Semshov by Bilyaletdinov and Saenko by Sychev. Those changes would bring nothing new to the table as the Russians were simply unable to do more than three passes before losing possession. At the 69th minute, Aragonés used his last substitutions replacing Xavi and Torres by Xabi Alonso and Daniel Güiza. Xavi's absence would provide a more central role for Fabregas in midfield while Güiza could be reached by long balls. The tactical change quickly brought positive results as Spain had four chances on goal after the substitutions and scored their second goal at the 73rd minute after an elegant pass from Fabregas sent Güiza to an one-on-one against Akinfeev. The Russians couldn't touch after that as Spain linked up one pass after the other almost on a walking pace. Spain looked like they were on a training ground as Russia helplessly ran after the ball without being able to touch it. The final blow came at the 82nd minute when Fabregas delivered a nice pass to David Silva who had all the time in the world to control the ball with his right foot and then kick it with his left. Up 3-0 with less than ten minutes left to play, victory was assured for Spain as they slowed the game to a leisurely pace. The Russian players simply didn't have their legs at the end and I bet that the final whistle was a welcomed relief for them. Still, they can go home with their head high and hope for a similar run in the 2010 World Cup. Spain, arguably the best team of the tournament, have a date with Germany in Sunday's final where they'll look to end 44 years of misery on the international stage.
My man of the match: Cesc Fabregas. The young midfielder showed why he is Arsenal's maestro. His smart passing led to two goals and several scoring chances.
Honorable mentions:
- Sergio Ramos. The defender played his best game of the tournament so far, completely neutralizing Russia's left-back Sergei Zhirkov and making offensive rushes himself.
- Marcos Senna. The midfielder was huge in this game as he covered his teammates when they were attacking and took care of Arshavin.
- Carles Puyol. Once again, the rock in defense. He stopped every Russian attack that Senna and/or Ramos couldn't neutralize.
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