If the Spanish were good enough to beat Russia 4-1 in the group stages surely the punting logic is to go back to the well and drink again with Luis Aragones’s in-form side?
A quarter-final win against Italy is enough to send the confidence and morale of any side soaring so it is easy to see why totesport make the Spanish such strong favourites for Thursday’s Vienna showdown.
But anyone who witnessed the display of Gus Hiddink’s Russians in defeating Holland will know that the Spanish are no certainties to win this game. Physically, technically and tactically the Eastern Europeans were superior to Holland in every department.
Hiddink’s side have come on leaps and bounds since their opening defeat to Spain with victories against Sweden, Greece and then the Dutch.
The key has been the return of Andrei Arshavin. Suspended for Russia’s opening two games versus Spain and Greece he is fast becoming the player of the tournament. Surely it can’t be a coincidence that Hiddink’s men are now starting to look the real deal with Arshavin in the side.
And in Hiddink they have arguably the best coach at the finals. The Dutch maestro took Netherlands to the 1998 World Cup semi-finals and then South Korea to the 2002 World Cup semis. Don’t be surprised if he leads his latest charges to the final of Euro 2008.
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