Jun
10
It was quite a day for Spain as they thrashed their Russian counterparts in their Euro 2008 opener. The team was able to win with a nice margin of 4 to 1. The hero of the day was David Villa who amazingly got a hat trick. He scored twice in the first half, the first goal at 20 minutes and the second at 45. After the break he was right back at it, scoring on the 75th minute of the game. Russia was just stunned, although they did give it one last go late on. Roman Pavluchenko was able to break through in the 86th minute, but by then it was far too late.
Spain wasn’t done either, striking back once more after that (Cesc Fábregas was the scorer.) Spanish fans are excited due to the strong start as well as the team’s win streak which is now at 17, but management isn’t celebrating too much just yet. The memories from Euro 2004 are all too clear, and they want to remain focused so a repeat doesn’t happen. They had also beaten Russia in the 2004 opener, only to fail making the quarterfinals.
Today’s win really made it look easy though and it is hard not to celebrate at least a little due to the dominance the Spanish showed. Coach Luis Aragones says that the win looked easier than it was and that it in reality was a touch match. Whatever the story, the Spanish certainly look good this time around and as they approach their next match with caution they are going to be a tough team to beat.