Euro 2008 Gambling: Quarterfinals Part 2
As the quarterfinals
get underway, only three undefeated
teams - Spain, Holland and Croatia
(Now Out) remain
Yesterday, we took
a look at the first
two 2008 European Championship quarterfinals.
Today, we break down the second pair:
Russia (+360)
vs. Holland (-150)
Through three games, the Dutch have proved the class of the tournament.
The Oranje have outscored the opposition 9-1 while recording a number
of highlight-reel goals (including
this Wesley Sneijder wonder strike).
You'd be hard pressed to pick a single catalyst for the white-hot
start. Liverpool workhorse Dirk Kuyt has been robust in the midfield.
Robin van Persie has played sparingly yet is tied with Sneijder for
the team lead in goals (2). Giovanni van Bronckhorst has emerged
as one of the finest attacking outside defenders in the world and
Edwin van der Sar remains one of the top five netminders in the game.
So yes, no real weaknesses in the Dutch squad.
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This is not to say, however, that it'll
be an orange crush for Russia in the
quarters. Despite a sloppy start to the
tourney with a 4-1 loss to Spain, coach
Guus Hiddink's men have been in fine
form since. The defense has tightened,
not allowing a goal over the last 180
minutes. And on offense, 26-year-old
Roman Pavlyuchenko is emerging as a bona
fide star.
The Spartak
Moscow frontrunner has been everything
for the Russians: He's taken the second-most
shots in the tournament (18) and leads
the team in tallies with two. His inspired
play has already started a bidding
war throughout Europe, as Scottish
giants Celtic F.C. have been informed
by Spartak that it'll cost "at least" 6
million pounds in transfer fees.
Pavlyuchenko might not be the only one
fleeing Moscow. 22-year-old netminder
Igor Akinfeev - who plays his club football
with CSKA - has burst onto the scene
and is now the hottest young goalkeeper
in Europe. After letting in four goals
in the opening match, Akinfeev regrouped
the Russian defense and held strong with
consecutive shutouts of Greece and Sweden.
A teenager when he helped CSKA win the
UEFA Cup, he has been the national team
No. 1 ever since - the game against Holland
will be his 24th cap.
Hiddink stressed that his young stars
needed to mature quickly if Russia had
any chance at Euro glory. It appears
as though they got the message. A dramatic
turnaround in the group pushed them into
the quarters ahead of favored Sweden.
Now, the Russians are a stereotypical
side playing with nothing to lose.
Will it be enough to upset the Dutch?
Probably not. The orange-clad set have
added inspiration now through Khalid
Boulahrouz, who just days ago lost his
prematurely born daughter. He's vowed
to return to the team, and the team has
vowed to win the title.
Pick: Holland
Spain (+150) vs. Italy (+180)
Spain loves to get forward and move
the ball with style and finesse.
Italy loves to defend and keep the ball
from going anywhere.
This clash of styles should be just
one of the numerous subplots emerging
from a potentially cracking quarterfinal.
Two of the powerhouses on the European
stage, Spain versus Italy is a salivating
matchup featuring some of the finest
footballers on the planet. But which
ones to feature?
If there is one tet-a-tet worth monitoring,
it could be the classic striker vs. netminder
battle. Spain's David Villa - the leading
scorer with four goals in three games
- is the best striker in the tournament.
That's impressive stuff considering how
well the likes of Ruud van Nistelrooy
and Lukas Podolski have played thus far.
Considering that Villa wasn't even tabbed
as the best striker on his team heading
into the tourney (that honor was bestowed
on Liverpool frontman Fernando Torres),
his ascension at Euro 2008 has been remarkable.
Villa will have to continue his solid
play in order to beat Italy's Gianluigi
Buffon on Sunday, however. Widely considered
to be the finest goalkeeper in the world,
Buffon has been the catalyst for Italy's
advancement to the quarterfinals. It
was his dazzling penalty save on Romania's
Adrian Mutu that kept Italy from crashing
out early. Buffon followed up that performance
with a clean sheet against France in
a must-win - heady stuff from the first-time
Azzuri captain.
The game will ultimately be more than
Villa vs. Buffon, though. The vast difference
in experience between the sides could
come shining through. Italy have returned
a good chunk of the team that captured
World Cup honors in 2006; Spain have
a relatively young squad that hasn't
advanced past the quarters of a major
competition.
The experience is a paradox to the team's
successes thus far. Inexperienced Spain
have aruguably been the class of the
tourney, running a perfect 3-0 record
while bagging eight goals in the process.
Experienced Italy, meanwhile, have been
consistently inconsistent and only have
one win - a bland 2-0 decision over France
- to their credit.
Still, it's hard not to like the Italians,
based solely on the fact they've proven
they can win when it matters. Spain have
a history steeped in failure and simply
can't be trusted against a cagey, veteran
squad like the Azzuri. Bettors should
jump at the chance of getting Italy at
+180 - ride them all the way into the
semifinals if you can.
Pick: Italy
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