OT: Who Is Andrei Arshavin? (EURO)

by ursula on Jun 21, 2008 8:32 PM EDT

Funny you asked about Russia's best soccer player and now one of the best soccer players in all the world. How did you like the way he beat the Dutch like a rented mule? How did you like the way he lifted Zenit St. Petersburg to the UEFA Cup title? Which team do you think is going to put up mucho euros to buy him?

Here's a nice highlight reel of Arshavin in action. Credit to Steven Goff of the Washington Post for digging it up.

Just think two big sporting events in Switzerland today. The first the coming out party for Roman Kreuzinger, the second for Andrei Arshavin. Cool.

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How does a guy continue to live up to that video?

Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. - G. Marx

by flying dog on Jun 21, 2008 9:54 PM EDT 0 recs

Damned if I know

by ursula on Jun 21, 2008 10:00 PM EDT 0 recs

Every team will offer mucho Euros

but if I understand correctly , russian soccerclubs are so rich on oilrubels that they may wery well match all offers and keep him in the domestic league.

by Jens on Jun 22, 2008 2:12 AM EDT 0 recs

Meh

what’s the level of play like? Plus, you can find Russian food in Madrid nowadays.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Jun 22, 2008 10:52 AM EDT up 0 recs

very true

no doubt Real is going after this kid..

by Bruce Suomi on Jun 22, 2008 11:29 AM EDT up 0 recs

Level is steadily rising

With plenty Rubels come plenty stars. They are getting better results every season and more and more foreign and domestic stars are accumulating in the russsian league. St Petersburg won the UEFA-cup this season. In five-ten years russian teams may very well be dominating the Champions League.

If The Little Zsar, as they call him, wants to be recognized as a major superstar he needs to go to ManU, Real ,AC Milan or another one of the classic clubs and win titles but financially he will do just as well in a domestic team.

by Jens on Jun 22, 2008 12:06 PM EDT up 0 recs

The portuguese commentators

say that guys like Zirkov, Ashavin,Pavlyuchenko receive a lot of euros in their clubs.

Zirkov in the league round, play very well with Spain,Sweden i think was the best player, at least for me was the guy who awakened my attention. But he from CSKA Moscov, and this team beat my (Sporting CP) in the final of UEFA CUP, in SCP’stadium and this guys already played very well. Ashavin was a unknown for me.

by semprenaroda on Jun 22, 2008 9:37 AM EDT 0 recs

Today

Perhaps we can have the same discussion about Alberto Aquilani later? He and De Rossi are like the Griffey/A-Rod combo back in the mid-90s in Seattle, young, devastatingly talented, and hard for their club to hold onto. Hopefully it turns out better.

I’ll be running about 3 hours behind the live Italia-Spain broadcast (gotta ride), so don’t look for me here til later.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Jun 22, 2008 10:55 AM EDT 0 recs

Sorry Chris

But Italy losing that game vs Spain was fitting.

by ursula on Jun 22, 2008 5:32 PM EDT 0 recs

Meh

They played a brilliant defense, not a catenaccio but just perfect execution and plan. If Luca Toni weren’t one of the four worst players on the planet (diasbled children included), we’d have totally won.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Jun 22, 2008 7:30 PM EDT up 0 recs

Toni is good

but not was in this Euro…

by semprenaroda on Jun 22, 2008 9:13 PM EDT up 0 recs

Yeah, riiight

and Sweden were unlucky against Russia too. If Russia hadn’t kept playing better and scoring all those goals we would have totally crushed them, we were so superior.

You have the makings of a true, one-eyed super-chauvinistic, euro-soccer fan. You are just one bad facepainting away from fullfledged membership. :-D

PS I believe one of those disabled children would have had little trouble saving DeRossis penalty kick…..

by Jens on Jun 23, 2008 3:27 AM EDT up 0 recs

Yes

on all counts.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Jun 23, 2008 10:56 AM EDT up 0 recs

Finishers

Crikey, if Italy had a single finisher, we’d have, you know, finished. I know Toni is good some of the time, but he really shrinks in international play. If Sweden would give us Ibra in exchange for a midfielder of your choice (except De Rossi, of course), we’d win it all. Ibra knows what to do when an Italian passes him the ball.

Actually scratch that, all his clubmates are South American.

"If writing too much about the Classics is wrong, I don't want to be right."

by Chris... on Jun 23, 2008 3:19 PM EDT up 0 recs

Ibrahimovic is better than Toni

but i like when he played in Ajax, we has so slim and have much more agility.

But today, mainly in Italy players are almost forced to gain muscle.

~I remember when Nani and Ronaldo plays in Sporting, and they are much more slym. They didn’t have muscles in harms in chest, nothing. Pass one year they are much more
muscled. But Ibra is the guy who i notice more diference, he was much more fast and there is some difference in the way of dribbling, i liked more before.

One thing more: Power kick. Nany this year shot with a lot, but a lot more power. I never saw him shot with that power!! Ronaldo was the same.

by semprenaroda on Jun 23, 2008 3:38 PM EDT 0 recs