Realistic Arshavin wants results

For many outside Russia, it seems striker Andrei Arshavin has just burst on to the scene. Stunning performances against Sweden then the Netherlands have propelled the 27-year-old into the limelight, but it is no more than fans of Russia and FC Zenit St. Petersburg expected. After missing Russia's opening two games through suspension, Arshavin quickly made up for lost time with a pair of goals and he is confident there is more to come in Thursday's semi-final against Spain.

euro2008.com: Russia lost their opening match to Spain 4-1. Are you thinking about revenge?

Andrei Arshavin: No, but possibly because I didn't take part in the first match. For me the first game has no meaning any more. This is a semi-final and things can be decided by a single mistake.

euro2008.com: What went wrong for Russia in that first match?

Arshavin: We committed tactical and individual mistakes. If you give a shadow of a chance to a striker like David Villa or Fernando Torres, they will put you in trouble. These guys can easily beat a defender one-on-one then score. That's exactly what they did.

euro2008.com: What can we expect against Spain?

Arshavin: Russia will play their normal way. We don't play defensive football, we like to attack. But it doesn't all depend on us. Let's see how the Spaniards do. Maybe it makes it harder for us that we play such an open kind of football, because our opponent knows how to counterattack and they have some fast players. But we need to play our way instead of adapting to the opposition.

euro2008.com: You were sent off in the 84th minute of your final qualifier against Andorra and were suspended for Russia's first two games here. How did you feel when you came to Austria?

Arshavin: I came here hoping I'd get a chance to play at such a big tournament. I've never been to an event like this before. We had some very tough training sessions and it was difficult for me to be training a lot knowing I wouldn't be playing. It was an unusual feeling. Even so I'm happy [coach] Guus Hiddink brought me here despite the ban and let me become a part of the tournament.

euro2008.com: Having served your ban, you grasped your chance in the third match. Be honest – did you expect yourself to do so well against Sweden and the Netherlands?

Arshavin: I've played better games, so many times. It's just that the team is winning. I'm not doing anything out of the ordinary. Sometimes I score, sometimes I provide a pass. When you do it in the [FIFA] World Cup or [UEFA] European Championship, in front of a lot of people, there are bigger repercussions, so to speak.

euro208.com: Yourself aside, which Russia players have impressed you here?

Arshavin: If we had Pavel Pogrebnyak [who was injured before the tournament started] and Igor Denisov [who was omitted from the squad], we would be much stronger. You should remember those names, although I think they're known already as they helped Zenit win the UEFA Cup. Who looks good here? Yuri Zhirkov and Igor Akinfeev are playing well and Roman Pavlyuchenko scores goals so they stand out a bit over the others.

euro208.com: You have made it clear you want to leave Zenit. What is the club of your dreams?

Arshavin: I have supported [FC] Barcelona all my life. Barcelona are my dream. I never thought I would have a genuine chance to play for the club. Let's see how the situation unfolds. For now I can't say anything for sure. At the moment I'm a player of team Russia and I'm only thinking about doing well in the semi-finals.

euro208.com: How important is Guus Hiddink to Russia's success?

Arshavin: When he came two years ago it was the most important decision made by our FA president [Football Union of Russia chief Vitaly Mutko]. Everyone in Russia is envious he makes so much money and enjoys so much power. But for him it's not as easy to work as it seems. This is a big event for us, the players. He gave us more freedom, he believes in us, he trusts us and that's why we play better. I'm very happy to work with one of the best coaches in the world. To be part of his team is a real pleasure.

euro2008.com: If someone had told you before the tournament that Russia would win three games in a row and outplay the opposition, would you have believed it?

Arshavin: To be honest, I wouldn't have believed it. I can't say we were playing good football in the friendlies, but things change quickly in life. Now we have beaten the Dutch, who were perhaps the strongest team in the tournament, so it's natural we are more confident.

euro2008.com: Are the suspended Denis Kolodin and Dmitri Torbinski big losses for the semi-final?

Arshavin: Any player, especially at this stage, is a big loss for us, but I hope the players who replace them will do well. I didn't play in the UEFA Cup semi-final against [FC] Bayern [Müchen] and everyone said it was a big loss, but Zenit won 4-0. You can always replace a player. Of course some are better than others, but I don't think we need to cry about it. We need to prepare with the players we have.

euro2008.com: Do you feel like a leader of this team?

Arshavin: I never think about titles, whether I am a leader or not. By helping my team-mates, I help myself. If there is good movement and they move the way I want them to, it makes it easier for me to play. I do it not to show I'm a leader, but to make sure we're quicker in achieving the result we need.

Xavi anticipating a 'different' Russia

Xavi Hernández came to UEFA EURO 2008™ well recognised, perhaps even pigeon-holed, as the pass-maker supreme but what the 28-year-old Catalan has always desired is to return from this tournament as a history-maker instead.

Barça role
Success blessed the head of this clever, mobile and talented footballer at a tantalisingly early age. In 1999 he was part of the Spain squad which won the FIFA U-20 World Cup and within a year he had followed that with an Olympic silver medal in Sydney. What is more, he shrugged off the pressure of succeeding FC Barcelona's totemic midfielder Josep 'Pep' Guardiola and won Spain's Primera División in his first full season. It looked that if anyone would make the step up in class from club leader to international winner it was Xavi. However, from then until now it has taken masses of introspection, heartache and critical analysis for Spain to get close to the summit of world or European football. Sunday's final is in sight but while Xavi is driven by the idea of winning the tournament, he is preparing for an intensely difficult challenge against Russia in Thursday's semi-final.

Confidence boost
"The boss has already pointed it out so I'm not shy of admitting that we had a couple of moments of luck at the beginning of our 4-1 win over Russia in the first match," said the midfielder. "They hit the post, we scored right on half-time and that blow to their rhythm helped us impose our game. Now they're facing us again with massively more self-belief and confidence thanks to three wins but also the fact that they've been better than their opponents in each of their matches since. I'm sure that this semi will be totally different from the first match for these reasons and the key will not only be who has the better possession but how that team uses it."

Ultimate goal
If the prospect of winning a tournament has united fans across all of Spain, as Xavi observed, the squad are similarly united by a desire to take fate by the scruff of the neck. "Getting through the quarter- finals was joyful and historic, but not nearly enough. We have to take this opportunity now, get through the semi-final and then win the entire tournament. We've had that as our aim for months and we've believed in it. You can feel the momentum. Not only are we playing well but cleverly too, and we are getting the little breaks like Russia hitting the post and Iker [Casillas] saving two penalties. I know we have a winning mentality and if we are properly mentally prepared for beating Russia in Vienna then we'll achieve it." With four goals in qualifying and the winner against the United States in Spain's final warm-up friendly, not to mention another eight for FC Barcelona last term, history may not be in Xavi's hands, but his boots instead. Cometh the hour, cometh the Catalan?