The Netherlands were completely useless in the first half, finally stepped it up in the end, but obviously it was too late by then. Great playing by the Russians, I haven't been paying much attention to them in the group stages and I really regret that

Awesome game today. Only downside is that I recorded this to watch later and it cut off at about 115 mins lol

___________________

Arshavin played great. Congrats to the Russians

WOW !!!! what a great match

Russia was just AWESOME !!!! Finaly they bring what I've expected from them ... even more than I could ever have expected. A well deserved win against a weak Holland. I thought especially Arshavin and Pavlutchenko played a great match

I hope they can repeat this performance in their next match(es)

that game was incredible!

I told you Russia will win, you did not believe me

The next match is between Russia and Italy for sure

___________________


160k
32k

quote:

Originally posted by denys envy I only wish this was the final. both teams played such beatiful football.

If this was the final, it would have destroyed the essence of the tournament which has primarily seen end to end stuff from both teams.

Today there was only one team that displayed any ambition to win and it definitely wasn't the Netherlands. Better rested and having epitomized attack minded football so far in the tournament, they displayed exactly the opposite symptoms of both benefits by appearing tired and being pinned down in their own half by Russia for large periods of the game - even after they fell behind in the second half.

Sneijder looked like he wanted to leave Real Madrid for the New York Giants given his constant impressions of trying to kick field goals from insane distances.No 800 pound gorilla is going to try to break you in half in this version of football you idiot , try to dribble through the defence and then shoot when you are closer to goal. Sad part is, he looked the only dutch player likely to score.

Im convinced that currently Guus Hiddink is currently the best coach in the world and Russia would be extremely fortunate if they can keep him till atleast the next world cup.

Currently between Italy and Spain, I think Russia would prefer to play Spain in the Semis. Besides their reputation for being big stage chokers, Spain are also an attacking team leaving them vulnerable at their back which would give Russia a good chance to exploit their sometimes vulnerable defense. Italy would probably knock them out with their tactical superiority and solidity at the back.

Shaped out to be quite a great tournament so far. And to think, I believed it would lose some of the big tournament magic with England not participating. After seeing the team responsible for them not making it today, I think it was for the better. Well done Russia.

quote:

Originally posted by smuncky

___________________
Deviant Art - Smuncky
My Photos on Flickr
If anyone wants to share their clubbing/nightlife pics go to Toronto Nightlife
"The best car-related innovation we have is not to improve the car, but eliminate the need to drive it everywhere we go.” -Alex Steffen

quote:

Originally posted by pierre_escargot That's why I'm converting, I love to glory-hunt. The Chinese and Russians are the way to go man, that's why I always don my chinese football strip when the table tennis is on.

lol

Russia just keep on getting better, from being hammered by Spain, to narrowly beating Greece, to convincingly dominating Sweden, to eliminating the tournament favourites. Arshavin made the difference in the last 2 games, but they're playing awesome as a team.

Russia didn't surprise me that much, what surprised me is how dull Holland looked all of a sudden. Their creativity was gone. It would've been an epic match if Holland were at their best again.

Great work by Hiddink, the traitor.

___________________
sempre contra a corrente do jogo

Holland got totally outplayed. Russia deserved this victory for the full 100%.

I'm disappointed, but it could have been much worse. They could have lost when in fact they were the better team. Though, this wasn't the case, so I'm okay with it now.

edit: forgot to mention: congrats Russia! I hope you win the tournament now. Looking at the last couple of matches, you deserve it the most

I was getting my hair cut while i was watching, I forget how much I love soccer. I thought Netherlands had it though! But then again it was still 0-0 when I was in the chair...

quote:

Originally posted by Fibonacci I was getting my hair cut while i was watching, I forget how much I love soccer. I thought Netherlands had it though! But then again it was still 0-0 when I was in the chair...

___________________