|
Inspirational Arshavin lost for words
by Barry Johnston from St. Jakob-Park
| |
|
|
Arshavin produced a Man of the Match display
to help Russia reach the semi-finals. (¿Getty Images)
|
Andrei Arshavin was, as he himself admitted, left lost
for words by his country's 3-1 win over the Netherlands. However, as the
realities of Russia's breathtaking extra-time victory sunk in, the 27-year-old
summoned the composure to share his reaction with euro2008.com and commend
his coach, Guus Hiddink, for masterminding an against-the-odds success.
'Brilliant' night
"This is brilliant for me, for Russia, for my family. To be honest,
I don't know what to say - all I can say is that we won," the Carlsberg
Man of the Match said. "At times, it was a difficult game, physically,
but no one should worry about that. The main thing is that we won. To
be quite honest, I expected more from them [the Netherlands]. I thought
they would play more aggressively. But it looked like they lost a lot
of their energy before us and one brilliant coach beat eleven excellent
players. When you play under such a great manager, we play a totally different
game."
Dramatic impact
Suspended for his side's first two matches at UEFA EURO 2008T, Arshavin's
impressive finals debut - in Russia's 2-0 success against Sweden - resulted
in him being named Carlsberg Man of the Match for that game too. Then
he created the first goal and netted the second. Tonight, against the
Netherlands, he delivered once again by doubling his tournament goals
and assists tallies after laying the ball on to Dmitri Torbinski to make
it 2-1 before insuring the victory with Russia's third goal in the 116th
minute.
Vintage year
It is fair to say 2008 has already been quite a year for the dynamic forward.
He produced another Man of the Match display in the UEFA Cup final in
May to help his club, FC Zenit St. Petersburg, beat Rangers FC to lift
their first piece of continental silverware. And on the night he won his
36th cap for Russia, he played an instrumental role in their securing
a place in the UEFA European Championship semi-finals.
'Tactically aware'
Morten Olsen, part of the UEFA Technical Team, explained why they singled
out Arshavin as a memorable game's best performer. "His team performed
very well and he, in particular, was fantastic," the Denmark boss
and former AFC Ajax coach said. "Not only did he score the third
goal, but his assist also made the second. His movement throughout was
brilliant, technically he was outstanding, and tactically he was very
aware."
Euro2008.com,
21 June 2008
|
|
