Open Thread

I am still not feeling terrific but wanted to put up an open thread so that we could begin a little chat about this game. 

You have to start with the star man for the Russian side -  Arshavin. This BBC blog posthas a nice profile of him with a bit of info on the back story of why he has broken out now. For me the money quote from Phil Gordos is this:

Recognising he was a rough diamond in need of a little polishing, Advocaat made sure Arshavin got the TLC he required. Then he let Hiddink know just how good Arshavin was, too.

"Hiddink has a close relationship with Advocaat, and Advocaat told him Arshavin was the best," said Kleshchev. "Hiddink, who we call the magician in Russia, trusts Advocaat."

With the backing of Advocaat and Hiddink, Arshavin began doing what he does best - terrorising defences. It's not quite a licence to roam but he certainly pops up in all kinds of places, his close control and quick feet making any defender wary of diving in.

You should read the full piece because it also looks at Zyryanov.

I think that the match up between Senna of Spain and Arshavin will be critical and Pat Nevin at the BBC agrees:

Senna will take care of Arshavin when he goes into his area in front of the Spain back four, but otherwise the other Spanish defenders will have to deal with him.

Another key aspect of this game is whether the dynamic Spanish strikers Villa and Torres can use their speed and skill against the Russian defensive line; and do so in a way that gets goals and creates constant pressure.

Interestingly Russian coach Guus Hiddink wanted to face Italy:

"I watched (the Spain-Italy quarter-final) and you think, I'd really like the Italians because tactically you can work against them.

What do you guys think about this one? I have a funny feeling that Russia could sneak it 2-1.