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St. Jakob-Park, Basel
Saturday 21 June 2008 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time)
Matchday 15

“I want to be the traitor of the year in Holland,” joked Guus Hiddink. For on Saturday evening in Basel, Russia’s Dutch coach will attempt to beat the Netherlands in the UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-finals.

Dutch fans

Contrasting form

The Netherlands sailed through the group stage with three wins and nine goals in Berne, while Russia, having lost their opener 4-1 to Spain, needed a last-day 2-0 defeat of Sweden to reach the last eight. That game was only on Wednesday, while the Oranje beat Romania by the same score the night before – when they were able to rest almost all their regular starters, having already clinched Group C. Despite laughing about knocking out the land of his birth, however, the man who led the Netherlands to the 1998 FIFA World Cup semi-finals knows Marco van Basten’s squad have the ability to advance themselves against a nation in their first major knockout phase since the end of the Soviet Union.

Attacking promise

“The Netherlands are far ahead in experience, in how to play a tournament,” Hiddink said, although the 61-year-old also emphasised that his attacking style will not change. “I am scared as well, that’s why I have to attack – if you drop back, you get even more scared. In recent months and weeks in Russia, we have tried to install the sort of play people love to watch. For Holland it is a brand, for Russia we had to impose it but we are on our way.”

Full rosters

Hiddink has a full-strength team to pick from in the first competitive game between the Netherlands and an independent Russia, including forward Andrei Arshavin who returned from a two-match ban with a goal against Sweden. The talisman, though, is a booking away from another suspension. The Netherlands also have come through their injury problems, with Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben starting against Romania and showing no ill-effects, giving the hero of the 1988 final victory over the USSR a wealth of options. Defender Khalid Boulahrouz has made himself available despite the death of his prematurely-born baby daughter. The Oranje will wear black armbands.

Improving Russia

Reflecting on his side’s campaign, Van Basten said: “We are satisfied up to now. But it is only the beginning and we have to play a few more games hopefully. We saw Russia play very well against Sweden but we also saw the matches against Greece and Spain. So it is our task to play like the Spain team did. [Russia] had problems with [Fernando] Torres and [David] Villa. But then they changed a few payers and became a better team, so that is what we are expecting.”

Positive approaches

The former striker, who was encouraged to go into coaching by Hiddink when the latter was in charge of the Netherlands, noted his compatriot’s vow to press forward, and mused: “I wish him good luck! These are two teams who try to attack. We have the same idea so we will see who is stronger.” But Van Basten, who masterminded a 4-1 friendly win against Hiddink’s Russia in February 2007, is not thinking of a certain encounter and goal in 1988. “That’s a long time ago. Doesn’t help me now.”

Van der Vaart hungry for seconds

Rafael van der Vaart was five years old when he first lifted the UEFA European Championship trophy. Now he says he has waited long enough to do it again.

Famous visit

The Netherlands playmaker first got to grips with the Henry Delaunay trophy after the national team’s triumph at EURO ‘88. The silverware made a tour of the country in the aftermath of the victory in Germany, including a visit to the amateur De Kennemers club where Van der Vaart was already playing. Because the boy was sick on the big day, De Kennemers arranged for the cup to be taken to Van der Vaart’s trailer-park home the next day. The Hamburger SV captain still remembers the special event. “It was 20 years ago, a long time ago,” he said. “It is time to do it again. Obviously we want to win this tournament.”

Nothing achieved

The side led by Marco van Basten – whose goal in the 1988 final was “a bit lucky”, according to a smiling Van der Vaart – have staked a strong claim as worthy successors to that vintage generation. However, the emphatic successes against Italy, France and Romania in Group C will count for nothing unless Russia go the same way in Saturday’s quarter-final at Basel’s St. Jakob-Park. Van der Vaart was adamant about this. “Until now, I think we have played a really good tournament, but if we lose this weekend, we are out,” he warned. “But at least we start with a lot of confidence.”

‘Really good football’

The former AFC Ajax starlet featured in the Netherlands’ opening two victories in Berne before being rested against Romania. That break might have given him a better chance of taking in Russia’s eye-catching Group D defeat of Sweden on Wednesday. He certainly sounded impressed when speaking about Guus Hiddink’s team: “Russia play really good football, unbelievably fast, and Andrei Arshavin is a really good player, a star. They attack very well so we really have to be careful.” Else Van der Vaart’s wait could run and run.

Semak sheds light on Russian recipe

Delight at securing qualification for the last eight has gone and, for Russia captain Sergei Semak, the focus is entirely on Saturday’s UEFA EURO 2008™ quarter-final against the Netherlands. Avoiding defensive mistakes will be crucial, he tells euro2008.com, although the first priority is to ensure a full recovery in the 72 hours between Wednesday’s 2-0 defeat of Sweden and the St. Jakob-Park showdown.

Impressive recovery

“We deserved to get to the quarter-finals, but now more than ever we need to show decent football against very strong opponents,” said the 32-year-old. “Our No1 task is to recover and prepare well, even though we have just two days.” With wins against Greece and Sweden, Russia have bounced back from their opening loss to Spain and, citing the reasons for their success, Semak continued: “First of all it’s our good physical condition. Second, we didn’t give up the style we adopted for the Spain match. In that game, we were unlucky. We committed a lot of mistakes. But we continued playing this way which exploits our strongest points of pace and quick transition.”

Captaincy

Semak has worn the captain’s armband in Austria/Switzerland, a decision by coach Guus Hiddink that surprised him, given he only returned to the squad in May after an absence of almost two years. The FC Rubin Kazan player said: “The trust of the coach – calling me into the team for a tournament like the EURO – is very pleasing. Not every player gets a chance like this. Even more of a surprise is that I became captain straight away.” However, he is happier praising the impact of others, notably the man who skippered the side before him – forward Andrei Arshavin, who shone on his comeback from suspension against the Swedes.

Pavlyuchenko praised

“This is a man who thinks outside the box, who can decide the outcome of a match on his own. I think there is no doubt he is a star of the Russia team. So is Yuri Zhirkov, whose displays here have been very impressive,” Semak continued. There is also special mention for striker Roman Pavlyuchenko. “I think Roman is the biggest revelation so far. He has always played well in the Russian league and was top scorer for the last two seasons, but I think nobody expected him to play like he is at the [UEFA] European Championship. I never doubted Zhirkov’s class, but Pavlyuchenko, it seems, has become one of the leaders of this side.”

Crucial ingredient

For all Russia’s attacking quality, Semak considers defensive solidity as the crucial ingredient for victory against the Netherlands. “We need to be very careful in defence. The Dutch front line is stronger than ever. I think Ruud van Nistelrooy, Rafael van der Vaart and Wesley Sneijder are having the tournament of their lives. Our full-backs Zhirkov and [Aleksandr] Anyukov like going forward and do it very well, but they need to remember their defensive duties and not get carried away”. That said, the No11 does not foresee a radical change in approach. “I don’t think we will drop our usual style of play – we will be as active up front as ever. If we can avoid mistakes at the back, we have a chance. Of course Holland are a very good team and have earned praise from everyone but this is football. When we step out there, anything can happen. We will create as many problems as possible for the Dutch.”