Euro 2008 Blog

Russia: Sergei Semak Named in Russia’s 25-Man Squad for EURO 2008

Sergei Semak, 32 years old, was surprisingly included by coach Guus Hiddink in his draft 25-man squad for the finals of UEFA EURO 2008.

Although Semak had a total of 43 appearances for Russia and has scored four times for his county in different international tournaments, he hasn’t played for the national team since May 2006.

But Semak seems to have been lucky enough to have an extraordinary performance with Russian Premier-Liga leader FC Rubin Kazan this season, which drew coach Guus Hiddink’s attention. Thus, Hiddinks chose to include Sergei Semak in his 25-man squad for UEFA EURO 2008.

However, Hiddink did not recall Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Marat Izmailov or other well-known Russian football players.

On the other hand, he included three uncapped players for the provisional party; these are FC Lokomotiv Moskva’s Renat Yanbaev, FC Krylya Sovetov Samara’s Oleg Ivanov and FC Spartak Moskva’s Aleksander Pavlenko.

“Naturally, not all 25 players will make the cut - one or two are here for the future,” said coach Guus Hiddink. “I can’t know who will make it and surprises are possible,” he also added.

The coach will have to make the necessary cut down to 23 players by 28 May.

Tags: Euro 2008 News, Guus Hiddink, Russia, Sergei Semak