Andrei The Giant

2009-09-05T15:34:11-04:00

Andrei The Giant

2008-06-18T17:57:39-04:00

2008-09-10T06:38:33-04:00

2008-06-19T18:05:03-04:00

bobbydutch

Tallahassee 443036

10 reasons why Holland will become European champions: 1# Van Basten has shown to be human 2# Edwin van der Sar 3# We actually have a bench for once 4# Our players haven't won anything with their clubs (Feyenoord '70 and Ajax '71,'72,'73 vs Holland '74...Ajax '95 vs Holland '98) 5# Our players can actually spelll the word "team" 6# For the first time ever, the jerseys are custom fit, as the Italian jerseys have been for years now. 7# Our star players Seedorf, van Bommel, Davids and Makaay know their place (behind the tv) 8# History can't repeat itself for ever... 9# Sneijder, van der Vaart, van Persie, Robben, Kuyt, van Nistelrooy, Huntelaar, Affelay, you can stop one of them, but all? 10# the Germans might have learned how to put together an attack, but we have mastered the art of the counter attack... 2020698

2008-06-19T18:00:47-04:00

bobbydutch

Tallahassee 443036

2008-06-19T13:32:54-04:00

amerinfrance

No City 439801

I also think the Holland-Russia match-up will be a lot of fun. Let's not forget however, that Van Nistelrooy, Schneider, Van der Vaart, and Van Bronkhorst rested on the bench during Holland's entire last match, whereas Russia will be playing on two days' rest. Although the Russians have young legs, I think this could give Holland a boost, providing them with a two goal, instead of a one goal victory. 2017365

2008-06-19T12:21:52-04:00

ExMax

Big northern country 442690

The only omen of misfortune for Russia is the fact that the broadcasting of the game with Holland is scheduled in "1st Channel" in Russia. Russia traditionally wins when the event gets into the headlines of Russian TV "RTR", and loses when the broadcaster is "1st Channel". Otherwise, we need to get satisfaction after EURO-88 Final 2016341

2008-06-19T11:49:25-04:00

hupholland

San Luis Obispo 441045

Larsson is old and Zlatan is hurt. Imagine this game being played four years ago, and it would have been exciting. Still, Russia looked electrifying. Russia vs. Holland in the next round should be quite a match...Speed vs. Speed, Guus vs. Van Basten, a rematch of the '88 finals...can't wait. 2015848

2008-06-19T11:36:00-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/756/6/thumb/DTOM-Red-White-Snake.jpg 27 NY

DrewVT6

Rochester 7586

I'm seeing schedules saying that Russia vs Netherland will be on ABC saturday! What a great game to showcase this tournament. Hopefully it turns out just as good as it looks on paper. 2015584

2008-06-19T08:09:20-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/439/601/thumb/NL11.jpg 21 TN

Millen

Church Hill 440041

this wasn;t a stunning match, not compared to Czech Rep. - Turkey, or how the Romanian acted against the Dutch, by winning they would go to the quarters, but they played like chickens!!! Maybe the swedes do have the same problem as the french, they're too old!? With Guus to lead the russians, will make it hard for the Dutch to win, he knows all about Dutch soccer, which might be in advantage of the russian, but probably the Dutch will outscore them... 2013036

2008-06-19T05:24:44-04:00

ExMax

Big northern country 442690

Guys, the fact is that Russian team is under an obligation to Croatians, and the only way to pay off debt is the Final Game with them. That is my predication: Croatia ??? Russia 1:0 2012884

2008-06-19T04:20:18-04:00

http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/439/849/thumb/michael_ballack_tn.jpg 8 CA

PowerStats Online

San Diego 440289

Great analysis. By my count Russia had over twice as many chances to score in the penalty area than Sweden (41 to 18), just insane. Sweden seemed to be playing back, expecting to get a win or a tie. That second goal woke them up but at that point it was just too little too late. It will be interesting to see how Russia matches up with against Holland. As good as Russia seemed today I think Sweden's half-hearted effort had a lot to do with it. 2012777

2008-06-19T03:11:37-04:00

El Pedro

Mandeville 373790

Grant, as a Yankee who's lived in Europe for the past 8 years (mostly in Holland), it's great to see an American like you writing well-informed, enthusiastic articles about soccer/football events such as Euro 2008. Keep up the great work! While you are normally spot on, I have to agree with Sushant's comment on Pavlyuchenko. Despite the goal, he was still too erratic and selfish with the ball for me to think that he's arrived as a high-caliber striker. Arshakin and Zhirkov will be the ones who'll have me sweating more when they play the Netherlands:) The guy who poses the greatest threat, however, is Hiddink. Leave it to him to come up with a strategy that'll give the new-fangled 'Orange Machine' fits. Still, I like Holland's chances moving forward. They're faster and younger than the Swedes and I think their midfield will dominate. 2-1 for the Dutch seems like a possible outcome for me, factoring in NL having an off-day (relatively speaking in this tourney) and the Russians playing with reckless abandon. Whatever the case, you're right to expect it to be an entertaining--perhaps exhilarating--match. My dream scenario would be to see a Netherlands-Portugal final, with the Dutch taking revenge for their elimination to Scolari's side at both the Euro '04 and World Cup '06. 2012745

Three thoughts after Russia’s 2-0 win over Sweden sends the Russians into the quarterfinals from Group D behind Spain (a 2-1 winner over Greece): • It’s amazing how much of a difference one player can make. I knew Russia’s Andrei Arshavin could make an impact after missing the last two games to suspension, but I had no idea he would absolutely take over the match. Not only did Arshavin score one goal and provide the key through-ball on the other, but he showed another quality that defines superstars: He made his teammates better. It was as if forward Roman Pavlyuchenko was a completely different player against the Swedes, finishing his goal with a cold-blooded efficiency that he’d been missing in the first two group games. I’ll tell you something: Arshavin and attacking left back Yuri Zhirkov are a gas to watch, and I can’t wait to see Guus Hiddink’s relentless Russians take on the Netherlands in the quarters. • For me, this game was the most stunning of Euro 2008 so far. Reasonable minds can disagree, but the Russian attack completely dominated an experienced Swedish team that probably should have tied Spain. Think about it: Sweden only had one decent chance on goal in the entire game, and that came out of a half-chance header from Henrik Larsson that struck the crossbar. Otherwise the Swedes were impotent. For its part Russia created chance after chance—and, not coincidentally, two of the best goals of the tournament, clinics in teamwork, speed and skill. I just didn’t think they had it in them to blow out Sweden like this, which is why I’d say this game was more stunning than (in order) Croatia over Germany (we at least knew the Croats were capable of this despite their opening-game issues); the Netherlands over France (in which the French had chances and went toe-to-toe with the Dutch); and the Netherlands over Italy (in which Italy had chances of its own). Sweden had no chances—and, it became increasingly clear, no chance to survive the Russian onslaught. • Guus Hiddink is a rich man’s Bora Milutinovic. What more can you say about the Dutchman’s ability to get the most out of an upstart team? Hiddink has never failed to advance to the knockout rounds of a major tournament, and his recent resume looks like this: Holland (1998 World Cup semis); South Korea (2002 World Cup semis); Australia (2006 World Cup second round); Russia (Euro 2008 second round). (And we’re not even counting the PSV Eindhoven team he took to the 2005 Champions League semis.) Hiddink has mastered how to motivate players in short-term tournaments, but he also knows how to build teams over the longer haul, identifying talent (especially young talent), keeping one or two older players for leadership and experience and installing a balls-out attacking style. Bottom line: the man gets results when it counts. Through-balls: Blog whipping-boy Olof Mellberg got absolutely roasted on the Russians’ second goal ... You got a sense Arshavin might have a blinder when his first touch was an inch-perfect 70-yard diagonal ball to Pavlyuchenko in the third minute. Insane ... Can you imagine the fireworks that we’re going to see when Russia meets the Netherlands? Hiddink knows the Dutch as well as anyone, and you can be certain the Russians will meet attacking firepower with attacking firepower. Who needs defense when you can have a 5-3 game? ... Nice to see the classic Samba E Go! being revived as the in-stadium soundtrack of choice whenever a Euro 2008 goal is scored. You might recall the same thing being done during the 1999 Women’s World Cup in the U.S. ... From the How Soccer Explains the World file: Does anyone else wonder if the rise of Russian soccer has some direct links to the rise in world oil prices? One, the Russians can afford Hiddink, and two, the Russian league has been able to buy some high-priced talent for the young Russian players to play (and learn) alongside ... Swedish coach Lars Lagerbäck looks a lot like any mid-level engineer at Saab or Volvo—who, come to think of it, probably would have done just as good a job preparing Sweden for this game. The Swedes had no fire at all from the opening whistle ... Gotta say I miss the comedy that came with the Swedes having co-head coaches a few years ago. How come no American sports teams have tried that one? ... From the Dept. of Immaturity: the Blog wife laughed hysterically when I got excited about the Russian left back. "The guy's name is Zhirkov???" ... I’m trying to figure out why I picked Sweden to win this game when my pre-tournament picks had Russia getting to the quarterfinals instead. Dumb dumb dumb. Do you think this was the most stunning game of Euro 2008? Can the Russian defense cope with the Netherlands? How many of you are doubling up with Argentina-Brazil tonight? Please post your comments below, and check back tomorrow for the latest edition of the Euro 2008 Blog ...  http://img.fannation.com/upload/user_profile/image/194/315/thumb/wahl_grant.jpg 11 MD

Grant Wahl

Baltimore 194615 1323