Russia vs. Holland (3-1, Pavlyuchenko, 56′, van Nistelrooy, 86′, Torbinsky, 112′, Arshavin, 116′)
I’m just gonna put this out thre – Guus Hiddink is one of the greatest international managers in history. He took Australia to the round of 16 in the World Cup, he took the South Koreans to fourth place in WC 2002, and now, he’s led the Russians to the semi-finals in a stunning performance. His team’s performance was nothing short of spectacular today, as they took the game to the Dutch. He even said the best defense is offense, and he proved it today by pushing all his players forward. It was a weird first half for the Dutch because they seemed to be playing mostly out of their midfield, but their midfielders weren’t even involved in the match. They left van Nistelrooy up front by himself, and when that proved to be a flaw, they moved right-back/right-holding midfielder/right midfielder Dirk Kuyt to striker. The match was going entirely towards the right hand side, and by halftime, Kuyt already seemed totally out of it for all the running that was required of him. Sneijder and van der Vaart just couldn’t inject themselves into the match, while de Jong and Engelaar were playing almost as central defenders, with their back ineptness. Without prior knowledge regarding Arjen Robben’s apparent groin injury, I had predicted van Basten would sub Engelaar and Kuyt for van Persie and Robben. Ibrahim Afalay was instead substituted for Engelaar, and without the match experience necessary for this type of international, he just looked lost in the wilderness. As time went on, Sneijder tried to interject himself as got the ball and shot from all angles (even though it was less than advantageous). It wasn’t working and while the Dutch were shooting, the Russians were creating. A move on the left resulted in a cross into the feet of Pavlyuchenko for an early 1-0 lead in the second half. Things weren’t working for the Dutch and inexplicably, they kept shooting from distance to no avail. Luckily for them, they were able to force extra time on a set piece in which van Nistelrooy headed in a Sneijder cross. Undeserved, but that’s football for you. The first half of extra time was a bore, and then Arshvin took over. He beat his marker Ooijer on the left and crossed it into the feet of Dmitri Torbinsky for an easy tap and a 2-1 lead. He ended the scoring a few minutes later with a great indivdual effort off a throw, beating his marker (Ooijer again) and slotting it past van der Saar for a 3-1 lead. The Dutch shot themselves in the feet, I thought by subbing Heitinga for Boulahrouz. Boulahrouz was playing a decent match, and apart from the tragic death of his daughter or his yellow, shouldn’t have been taken off. That one reserve could’ve helped the Dutch get an equalizer, someone like a Klaas Jan Huntaelaar who could’ve given the Dutch three attackers. But by the same token, they would’ve had to switch to 3-4-3 and with that defense, who knows. Despite all this, a wonderful match again.
Goalkeepers – Edwin van der Saar solidified his place in my book as one of the great goalkeepers in the World with his performance today. His saves were impeccable, and he established his terratory well, even though his players just flat out sucked. Akinfeev made all the saves he needed to, and really, you can’t blame van Nistelrooy’s goal on him. I’m extremely surprised he’s recovered so well after the 4-1 drubbing at the hands of Spain, but with his performances, he might be looking at a transfer to Western Europe after the tournament concludes.
Defenders – Zhirkov had another great performance at left back, but I’m concerned mostly with the Russians and set pieces. van der Vaart served up at least 3 perfect set pieces that luckily weren’t met by the Dutch. If they’ll want to get past the winner of Spain/Italy, they’ll need to improve. I don’t know what was in Kolodin’s water today, but his shots, even from distances were being rocketed on goal and if not for van der Saar’s many saves, it could’ve been a drubbing. The Dutch defense, in a word, was horrible. They were terribly exposed everywhere on the back line, and when John Heitinga is their best defender, there are bigger problems for the Dutch in the near future.
Midfielders - In one word, the Dutch midfield was disappointing. First of all, it was tough luck Robben was injured throughout, and a groin injury (apparently) kept him out of today’s match. But van der Vaart and Sneijder, the two playmakers showed no creativity and really didn’t run the midfield. Engelaar had a modest match and Kuyt was playing confused (he had no definite position – right back, right midfield striker?), but Nigel de Jong did play well. If he had been a few inches taller, he would’ve gotten a few goals courtesy of van der Vaart’s set pieces, his only contribution to the match. For the Russians, not the best performance in the midfield, but then again, who needs a great performance from them when you have Arshavin everywhere on the pitch? Semak is a perfect holding midfielder for the Russians, but Zurianov and Semshov were nothing special.
Attackers – van Nistelrooy needed a partner up front, and that was evidenced by his lackluster display in the first half. When he did get support in the form of Robin van Persie, he played a bit better, although van Persie wasn’t all too great himself. He did get the tying goal, but otherwise, had a less than stellar performance. The Russians, on the other hand were once again in unison up front. Pavlyuchenko and Arshavin worked well together, and even though sub Torbinsky blew numerous chances, he finally converted in the extra frame on a ridiculous ball by Arshavin, who beat Ooijer on the left. If Torbinsky would’ve missed that, it would’ve been of Mario Gomez proportions. Luckily for him, he converted. Oh, and props to Ivan Saneko, the only foreign-based player in the squad for his play against van Bronckhorst. As a forward, he kept attacking and kept the former Barcelona fullback at bay.
Man of the Match – Andrei Arshavin. Even though Arshavin played well throughout, he really turned it on in extra time. For the first 90, van der Saar was my man of the match, saving some ridiculous shots by Denis Kolodin and Arshavin, but during the extra frame, Arshavin turned it on. When the Dutch looked like they were playing for the draw, Arshavin kept on running, and continued to show the creativity which has jettisoned Russia through this tournament. He set up Torbinsky perfectly for the go-ahead goal, and created and scored the clincher, getting a little bit of help from John Heitinga’s deflection. Who knew one player could make so much of a difference for the Russians? (Ok, maybe I did – check my key players!)
Dud of the Match – The Dutch defense. Ok, so the back four were solid for the first half, but then they went into a bit of a funk. Boulahrouz and van Bronckhorst never had the chance to go forward, and they’re really not the best defenders in the world, so there were problems on the left and right for the Dutch. Then, when you stick to less-than-stellar central defenders in the middle in Oojer and Mathijsen, trouble is expected. The Russians had so many chances in the box and if not for Torbinksy’s ineptness (he missed seriously like 5 easy chances between the time he came on until the time he scored) and van der Saar’s ridiculous goalkeeping, the Dutch defense would be much maligned forever. They are missing the one commanding figure in the middle, a la Jaap Stam. Mathijsen and Ooijer are decent, but you’re not going to find Stam out of them.
