BASEL, June 23 (Reuters) - Russia striker Roman Pavlyuchenko
has woken from a footballing slumber to score three times and become one
of the Euro 2008 semi-finalists' best assets.
Described as a "sleeping giant" by coach Guus Hiddink, who told
him to wake up and get fit or risk missing the finals, the promising but
sometimes frustrating 26-year-old has clearly been aroused by that alarm
bell.
Having convinced Hiddink to include him in the squad, he lost weight and
sharpened his game during an intense pre-tournament training programme.
When striker Pavel Pogrebnyak pulled out injured days before the start,
he was ready to take over in the starting line-up.
Even his team mates seem surprised at the impact their number 19 has had.
"I think Roman is the biggest revelation so far. He has always played
well in the Russian league and was top scorer for the last two seasons,
but I think nobody expected him to play like he is at the European Championship,"
Russia captain Sergei Semak told uefa.com.
"Pavlyuchenko, it seems, has become one of the leaders of this side."
His ability to score has always been evident, the double against England
in a 2-1 qualifying win last October in Moscow is a case in point, and
he has found the net a respectable nine times in 19 appearances.
FRUSTRATING ATTITUDE
It is the striker's attitude that has appeared to frustrate Hiddink, who
admits he gets annoyed with players who do not perform to their full potential.
Pavlyuchenko's laid-back manner is both his friend and enemy, allowing
him to drift unnoticed despite his height (1.88 metres) into dangerous
spaces but it can also try the patience of his coaches.
His performance against England made him an overnight hero at home and
the media attention the usually shy player received seemed to send him
on a downward spiral.
He featured on television talk shows, which led him to occasionally miss
training. The goals started to dry up and he was dropped to the reserves
by Spartak Moscow after being red-carded for dissent in a defeat by city
rivals Dinamo in April.
Those days are now forgotten and Pavlyuchenko has a new swagger before
Thursday's semi-final with Spain in Vienna.
Having the hugely talented playmaker Andrei Arshavin lurking just behind
him has clearly helped and he has also been fed some excellent passes
from midfielder Konstantin Zyryanov that have given him a clear shot at
goal.
If Pavlyuchenko works out how to convert more of those chances as effectively
as he has sorted out his other problems, Spain could have trouble on their
hands.
