AndreiArshavinhad a year to remember in 2008 after he finished sixth in the Ballon d'Or rating for his numerous achievements for the Zenit Saint Petersburg in the Russian Premier League and the Russian national team.
Arshavin was one of the main actors when Zenit win the Russian Premier League title in 2007. In 2008, Andrei Arshavin was part of the Zenit team who won three titles namely the UEFA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and the Russian Super Cup.
In the 2008 Russian Super Cup, Andrei Arshavin scored the opener in the first half as Zenit beat Lokomotiv Moscow 2-1 to emerge as champions.Pavel Pogrebnyak scored the second and winning goal of the game for Zenit, while Rodolfo scored the lone goal for Lokomotiv either side of the Zenit goals.
For the 2008 UEFA Cup, Andrei Arshavin was part of the Zenit team that scored two late goals to beat Scottish Premiership giants Rangers 2-0 in the final to win the competition. Winning the competition gave Zenit the opportunity to face Manchester United in the 2008 UEFA Super Cup which ended in a 2-1 win for the Russians. Arshavin was in the Zenit team that beat Manchester United 2-1 to win the UEFA Super Cup.
Arshavin was a leading light for the Russian team at the Euro 2008 tournament in Austria and Switzerland. The petite player was suspended for the first two group games and he returned to lead Russian to the last four of the tournament thanks in part to the impressive 3-1 win over the Netherlands at the extra time when they met in the quarterfinals.
For the Ballon d'Or rating, Portugal international Cristiano Ronaldo won the first of his five accolades in 2008 shortly after leading Manchester United to the Champions League title. Manchester United had to beat Chelsea on penalties to win their final clash. Ronaldo was on target in regulation time, while Frank Lampard scored for Chelsea as the two teams settle for a draw.
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