Over at what is only the best annual summer tournament action, LDU Quito has mounted a 4-2 first-aggregate lead on Fluminense in the Copa Libertadores final. Round two is July 2. And here’s 101SL’s European Championships 10-point outlook with no chronological significance for today’s Spain-Russia semifinal (enjoy the show and check back later for some antidigestion):
1. By now, the Spanish have to be feeling destiny has arrived and a few more obvious signals certainly would be nice. A 3-0 win is never so much destiny as it dominance. Not that the Spanish were dominant — “their better is better than the Russians’ better.”
2. That the Spanish haven’t grooved offensively anywhere close to the way they handled Russia in the opener hasn’t been helped by Fernando Torres’ enigmatic status in the team’s plans. Spain continues to be effective when Torres isn’t, which is a sign of the team’s depth and n0t his shortcomings in this setting. Once he really gets involved, soon it has to be hoped, the team enters an even higher dimension.
3. There’s still far too many names to learn in the Russian lineup besides Guus Hiddink, who rumor has it coaches pretty well too. Not a whole lot of standouts today either. Russia was effective of that all tournament long, remaining solid at the core and exuding that feel on the field. The big names that will come loose now that there has been elimination will likely be Arshavin, Akinfeev and Torbinsky. By the way, one headline about the game read ‘Hiddink’s Dream Is Over.’ The Russians winning this tournament would be just that – a dream. Hiddink is far from crushed. The only despair for him is that now he might actually be forced to go out and coach a bonafide winner.
4. Call it an Orange (jersey) alert — Russia is capable of manhandling the back lines for teams that like to take their offenses to Disneyland. Spain’s defense didn’t need to do too much with the team’s 65-35 advantage in possession. Had the Dutch been able to do the same, they might have bopped Russia 6-0.
5. Andrei Arshivin wants to play forward at Barcelona, so indoctrination for now comes in the form trying to beat the pants off of the two stalwart Catalans in the Spain lineup, Carlos Puyol and Xavi. Arshavin never quite got the wheels traction and the La Liga verdict lies in the hands of Barcelona management.
6. Spanish fans need to push for Cesc Fabregas to make the starting 11. Fabregas hasn’t been in the starting lineup and Spain hasn’t lost. It’s a simple equation for Luis Aragones. With Fabregas, however, it’s just that novelty act that just looks appealing to the boss. It might be wondered if he is a little bit hung up on enforcing Fabregas as the spark, when in instances like today’s early entry there is the obvious notion of how effective a weapon he can become over a longer stretch of time.
7. A reminder that Roman Abramovich will be watching, and David Villa is technically still available, and that Benny Hill should be playing his theme song about now. So that’s it for Villa, a big-time start and crash-land finish. Now it should become very apparent the extent of his impact up front, namely whether Guiza can contribute in the same way.
8. As usual, set pieces are an attractive option for underdogs like Russia. Russia was afforded just three corner kicks and not much else around the field with Spain’s mere 17 fouls. That sums up the day right there, Spain doing everything in reverse than the Russians needed them to.
9. It’s down to two games left and there still hasn’t been a goal highlight to define the tournament, though an early favorite might be Nihat’s top of the penalty box, right-to-left net drill in Turkey’s comeback against the Czech Republic. Nothing compelling, nor majestic on the highlight front. The goals tend to be more of the business variety with so much on the line, although the Spanish advancing and being able to force a pace against Germany might make for some of the eye candy everyone has been tuning in for. It certainly hasn’t been the audio. Long before yesterday’s screen troubles, ESPN had already been forced to grapple with the world satellite feed’s occasional sound glitches, exposing the commentators in Adam and Eve-like fashion when the natural audio was stripped.
10. How quickly the Russians made everyone forget they were the England replacement; is it conceivable to guarantee the Three Lions would have made it this far? England probably would have welcomed two matchups with Spain. Because of the constant battles in recent Champions League tournaments and the integration of the Spanish into the Premier League, England wouldn’t be overmanned by a lonhshot. Then comes all the other intangibles, which are minor in most competitive situations but always where England falls woefully short. For not being here and not allowing us to know for sure, give Spain the nod to prevail in the semifinal after getting a draw in the opener. Here’s the full look at an England hunch … Spain (draw), Greece (win), Sweden (win) and Netherlands (loss). In closing, that once again shows where the Russians made their money at the tournament, running the Dutch circus right off the summer circuit.
