Well well well Ru sia are, to say the least, a team you can never be sure of. After making themselves truly known with an extremely valiant performance at Euro 2008, where they were knocked out in the semi-finals to eventual winners Spain. They failed however to qualify for the 2010 world cup, after falling at the final Slovenian-built hurdle. A strong qualifying campaign, combined with a resurgence in the strength of their domestic league, could give the Ru sian team fresh hope going into the tournament, as they walk out onto the pitch in Wroclaw in a few hours time.The HistoryThe Ru sians are no strangers to European Competition. With the exception of Euro 2000, they have qualified for every European Championship since they actually became the Ru sian National Football Team after the break-up of the Soviet Union and the CIS. After a weak performance against strong opponents at the 1994 World Cup, Euro 96 brought the Ru sians entry into Euro competition in the harshest way po sible, being drawn in a group with Germany, Italy and the Czech Republic. Under the guidance of Oleg Romantsev, the squad, featuring many players from 1994, they mustered a single consellation point Anthony DeSclafani Jersey against the Czech, bowing out of the tournament in the group stage with a whimper. In the coming years, their fortunes didnt improve, as they failed altogether to qualify for both the 1998 World Cup and the aforementioned Euro 2000 in Belgium and Holland.With a new millenium came a new revival, and the Ru sians, once again under the stewardship of Romantsev, they placed first in their group to qualify directly for the 2002 world cup. They failed to progre s past the group stage and Romantsev was immediately replaced. They qualified once again for Euro 2004, and once again exited at the group stage, despite a stronger performance featuring a 2-1 victory over eventual champions Greece. Their qualifying campaign for the 2006 World Cup brought no succe s, and Ru sias football history hit a dark spot with a 1-1 draw at lowly Estonia and the sides biggest ever defeat: 7-1 at the hands of the Portuguese. A drastic overhaul was needed.Change, thy name is Guus.Ru sia cla sically knocked The Netherlands out of Euro 2008 3-1.Fresh off of helping the Australian National Team qualify for their first world cup since the Alex Wood Jersey 1970s and leading them to the round of 32 in the same tournament, Guus Hiddink was announced as the new manager for the Ru sian National Team, to spearhead their quest for succe s at Euro 2008. At the now infamous expense of the English, they squeezed into the tournament along with Croatia with a 1-0 win over Andorra. It was at this tournament where the Ru sian team began to shine. The talents of Roman Pavlyuchenko and Andrey Arshavin fired them into the semi finals, including a famous 3-1 victory over Tournament Favourites. Their resurgence was brought to a decisive and abrupt halt at the hands of eventual champions and still Number 1 in the FIFA Rankings, Spain. After failing to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Hiddinks contract expired and he departed. The Ru sian European campaign for 2012 looked uncertain.The Run InRu sias qualifying run for Euro 2012 went largely unhindered. Despite an early defeat at home to Slovakia, the Ru sians finished first in qualifying group B to advance directly into the tournament, 2 points ahead of future qualifiers the Republic of Ireland. It is testament to Ru sias unpredictability (and one could argue inconsistency), to look at their build up to Euro. This year has seen the Ru sians go without defeat, and they have actually gone without losing since February 2011, when they were upset by Iran. More recently, a strong performance in Denmark saw them prevail 2-0, yet they were only able to muster draws against both Uruguay and Lithuania. 2 days after their decidedly lacklustre performance in Nyon, they provided a hugely dominant display over Italy, inflicting a 3-0 defeat to provide the Italians with their third lo s in as many matches. Alexander Kerzhakov struck once and Roman Shirokov twice, ensuring the Ru sians enter the tournament on a confident note.The OppositionRu sia have been fortunate to be drawn in what many view as the weakest group of the entire tournament, Group A alongside 2004 champions Greece, The Czech Republic and hosts Poland.For a long time riding the wave of their succe s at Euro 2004, the Greeks were dealt a harsh reality check at both Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. They failed to win a game at Euro 2008 and only were able to produce one goal. South Africa didnt provide a ma sive change in their fortunes, and despite scoring their first goal and victory in a World Cup tournament against Nigeria, they failed to progre s past the group stage, being bottled out 2-0 at the hands of Argentina. Their qualifying campaign for Euro 2012 has been stronger however, and they were unbeaten in Group Billy Hamilton Jersey F, qualifying directly for the tournament. Also undefeated this year and ranked 15 in the world, they are hoping their combination of youth and experience will help see them through the group stage, and could provide stiff competition for the Ru sians if they perform at their full potential.Previous Champions: GreeceThe Czech have always been able to boast a strong squad with plenty of big names, but not the results to reflect it. After a uninspiring performance at Euro 2008, they failed altogether to qualify for South Africa Matt Kemp Jersey 2010. Now ranked 26th in the world, the Czech Republic qualified through the playoff stage, after being drawn in a Qualifying group with Spain. They defeated Montenegro 3-0 on aggregate to gain entry. With a squad including the likes of Petr ech, Tom Rosicky and Milan Baro, they could prove tough opponents also for the Ru sians, but a 2-1 defeat last week to Hungary mean they wont be starting the tournament on the firmest of footing.The Czech RepublicHosting the tournament along with Ukraine, Poland gained automatic qualification Euro 2012, and have seen a surprisingly strong run-in also. Polish football has seen something of a renai sance in the last decade, and they have made themselves far more known as a footballing nation than in previous times. They were able to muster a 0-0 draw with a Portugal in front of a home crowd in February this year, and are entering the tournament on the back of 3 succe sive wins against Latvia, Slovakia and Andorra. They sit 65th in the FIFA world Rankings.Hosts: PolandThe FixturesBased in Warsaw, the Ru sians start their Euro 2012 campaign today against the Czech Republic, at the Municipal Stadium in Wroclaw. They clash with the Polish in Warsaw in 4 days time in the Nations capital, and dont leave for their final match of the group stage with Greece on the 16th June. If they win their group, they face the Runners up of Group B and what will no doubt be a tough fixture, either against Portugal, Germany, The Netherlands or the rather unfortunate Danish. If they finish runner up, they face the winner of that group.The Line UpThe Ru sian Football Federation announced the 23 man Squad they would be taking to Poland and Ukraine last week. It is largely based on talent from their domestic league, and consists of the following:Manager: Dick AdvocaatThe StoppersIgor Akineev (Age 26) Zenit St. Petersburg: 52 Caps, 0 GoalsAnton Shunin ( Tucker Barnhart Jersey Age 25) Dynamo Moscow: 2 Caps, 0 GoalsVyacheslav Malafeev (Age 33) Zenit St. Petersburg: 26 Caps, 0 GoalsThe Back LineAleksandr Anyukov (Age 29) Zenit St. Petersburg: 65 Caps, 1 GoalRoman Sharonov (Age 35) Rubin Kazan: 8 Caps, 0 GoalsSergei Ignashevic (Age 32) CSKA Moscow: 75 Caps, 5 GoalsYuri Zhirkov (Age 28) Anzhi Makhachkala: 52 Caps, 0 GoalsAleksei Berezutskiy (Age 29) CSKA Moscow: 48 Caps, 0 GoalsDmitri Kombarov (Age 25) Spartak Moscow: 4 Caps, 0 GoalsVladimir Granat (Age 25) Dynamo Moscow: 0 Caps, 0 GoalsKirill Nababkin (Age 25) CSKA Moscow: 1 Cap, 0 GoalsThe MidfieldRoman Shirokov (Age 30) Zenit St. PetersburgIgor Denisov (Age 28) Zenit St. PetersburgKonstantin Zyryanov (Age 34) Zenit St. PetersburgMarat Izmailov (Age 29) SportingAlan Dzagoev (Age 21) CSKA MoscowDenis Glushakov (Age 25) Lokomotiv MoscowIgor Semshov (Age 34) Dynamo MoscowThe Strike ForceAndrei Arshavin (Age 31) Arsenal C Aleksandr Kerzhakov (Age 29) Zenit St. PetersburgRoman Pavlyuchenko (Age 30) Lokomotiv MoscowAleksandr Kokorin (Age 21) Dynamo MoscowPavel Pogrebnyak (Age 28) FulhamReady for action.And finally, The ClobberRu sias kits are produced by Adidas, and feature the teams national colours in a sash design, with Red as the primary colour.Home:Away:Ru sia vs. Czech Republic kicks off at 9:45PM local time.