Euro 2008 Team Profile: Russia

June 5th, 2008 | By: chris | No Comments »

Group: D; Greece, Spain, Sweden.

Nickname: None, so they need one. Something intimidating involving vodka, perhaps?

Jerseys: All white home, all red away, right down to the socks.

FIFA World Ranking: 24th (and rising)

Fixtures:

10/06/2008 v Spain 18:00
14/06/2008 v Greece 20:45
18/06/2008 v Sweden 20:45

Captain: Andrei Arshavin, FW/AM, Zenit St. Petersburg (33 caps)

Coach: Guus Hiddink
Guus is one of the premier coaches on the planet, and has gained a reputation as something of a specialist in the world of international tournaments recently. In 2002 he (and a plethora of suspicious refereeing decisions) took South Korea into the semi-finals of the World Cup they were hosting, then in 2006 he guided an Australian team without many expectations past Croatia and Japan into the knockout rounds before going out to the eventual champions. Russia was not a favorite to make the Euros, despite being an up and coming footballing nation. Taking underdogs to new heights is simply what Guus does, so Russia is certainly a team to watch.

Expectations: A tale of two stories. Russia’s captain and best player, Andrei Arshavin, is suspended for the first two games of the tournament. That in itself is a major blow, because he’s not a player easily replaced right now considering his magic during Zenit’s UEFA Cup run. Then, of course, there’s Guus. His World Cup track record looks something like this….

1998: Semi-finals
2002: Semi-finals
2006: Second round

….with Netherlands, South Korea and Australia. And the Euros, wonderful as they may be, are simply not on the stage of the World Cup. Much greater pressure.

And of course the team is more than just Arshavin and Hiddink. They’ve got genuine quality about them and, though you may not know their names (yet), have a few players who will probably highlight the transfer season announcement list this season.

The group is not easy, but it’s not the Group O’Death (C), either. Greece will certainly not be underestimated again and Sweden has not been impressive whatsoever in friendlies and just snuck into the summer’s big continental block party. Then there’s Spain. Underachievers they may be, but they arguably have the most dynamic talent at this tournament. So logic would say they go through, but one never knows.

All in all the group seems to be something of a toss up, and form is going to count for a lot. But, once again, Guus Hiddink seems to have that magical touch. There’s a good chance they wind up in the knockout rounds.

Key Player: Normally this would be Arshavin, but since he’s missing for 2 of 3 group stage games which could prove decisive, it’s impossible to slot him in here. Perhaps more than any other team it’s difficult to pick a key player for Russia, simply because it’s hard to tell what Guus will do. Though they have some premier talents desired in the west, talent doesn’t automatically spell a starting spot.

So, despite spending a long spell out through injury last year and missing much of the latter stages with qualifying, you can point to goalkeeping phenomenon Igor Akinfeev. Only 22, he’s already being favorably compared to late comrade Yev Lashin, one of the greatest keepers of all time. Russia has a shaky back, so they’ll need his talent between the sticks.

Other Key Players: The back is steady if unspectacular, featuring Sergei Ignashevich and the Berezutski brothers, Aleksei and Vasili, in Hiddink’s favored 3-5-2. After that is where it gets tricky as Guus likes to rotate a bit. Yuri Zhirkov is one of the more underrated wingers at the tournament, Diniyar Bilyaletdinov are extremely gifted and linked nonstop with Chelsea, and Arshavin will eventually be a playmaker in the attack. Then there’s Konstantin Zyrianov, RPL Player of the Year in 2007, and the man who helped lead Zenit to country and UEFA Cup glory, a late-blooming holding midfielder with one of the most tragic personal stories in this tournament. Up top the hugely gifted duo of Pavel Progrebnyak and Dimitry Sychev provide the youth while Roman Pavluchenko is a bit more experienced big man.

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeyev (CSKA Moscow), Vyacheslav Malafeyev (Zenit St Petersburg), Vladimir Gabulov (Amkar Perm)

Defenders: Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Alexei Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Vasily Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Alexander Anyukov (Zenit St Petersburg), Denis Kolodin (Dynamo Moscow), Renat Yanbayev (Lokomotiv Moscow)

Midfielders: Diniyar Bilyaletdinov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Yuri Zhirkov (CSKA Moscow), Igor Semshov (Dynamo Moscow), Dmitry Torbinsky (Lokomotiv Moscow), Vladimir Bystrov (Spartak Moscow), Konstantin Zyryanov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (Zenit St Petersburg), Sergei Semak (Rubin Kazan)

Forwards: Andrei Arshavin (Zenit St Petersburg), Pavel Pogrebnyak (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Pavlyuchenko (Spartak Moscow), Dmitry Sychev (Lokomotiv Moscow), Roman Adamov (FK Moscow), Ivan Saenko (Nuremberg).

Complete Euro 2008 squads here.

Random International Moments:

Pavluchenko’s second half double against England in Moscow to win 2-1.