European Football Cup 2008’s Weblog

Forward Dmitri Sychev said “no additional wake-up calls are needed” for Russia as they prepare for Wednesday’s decider against Sweden.

Tennis stars
With two days to go before the Group D day of reckoning in Innsbruck, Guus Hiddink’s session at the training camp in Leogang was dedicated to recovery exercises, with a football tennis tournament keeping players busy after some light stretching and running. Konstantin Zyryanov, Vladimir Bystrov, Sychev and captain Sergei Semak proved to be the stars of the one-hour tournament, before the players were granted the afternoon off.

Harsh words
The Russia squad were in reticent mood as they begin focusing on the big game, but Sychev was willing to say a few words, underlining that there would be no need for Hiddink to repeat the uncompromising pre-match team talk he delivered before the 1-0 win against Greece. “Everyone knows what needs to happen and how to get a win. No additional wake-up calls are needed. We need them after we lose, when the mood hits rock bottom, but after a victory it’s different,” he said.

Arshavin hopeful
It should help morale that Andrei Arshavin is available again and the FC Zenit St. Petersburg striker told the Russian press that he was hopeful of being included in the starting lineup against Sweden, despite having missed the first two games of the tournament through suspension. Arshavin said: “Have I considered that Hiddink might not select me? Choosing a lineup is the exclusive right of the coach. Everything is possible, but to be honest I am preparing for the match and I hope to play from the start.”

Adamov move
Another of Russia’s forwards, Roman Adamov, has been making plans for after UEFA EURO 2008™, meanwhile, with news filtering through that the FC Moskva player – the 14-goal joint-top scorer in the Russian Premier-Liga in 2007 along with FC Spartak Moskva’s Roman Pavlyuchenko – has signed a four-year contract with surprise league leaders FC Rubin Kazan. Adamov’s only involvement in the tournament so far was a 24-minute appearance as a substitute in the 4-1 loss against Spain.