WHEN DUTCH maestro Guus Hiddink arrived to meet the world's press minutes after his Russia side had just been emphatically beaten 3-0, the heavens erupted. So much so the rain drumming down on the press conference room roof drowned out everything and everyone, making it hard for the Dutchman to understand the questions addressed to him.

The heavens had opened up in a manner rather similar to his Russian defence which, after holding out the careful Spanish for an hour, was then ruthlessly finished off by the Red Devils. You could say the matador had worked the bull well before finishing it off but that was a cliché far removed from Hiddink's vision of the game.

"What happened here was that we came up against a very good team. Part of their plan was to play their possession game and to make us tired and they did that. I am always disappointed after a loss but we did well to get to the semi-final and that was a great result for Russian football. But this Spanish team is a very good team.

"Of course we're disappointed. We did well to hang on in there for an hour but their plan was to tire us out, then find space against us because our marking broke down and that's why they made it in the last half hour and it was an entirely deserved result. But we're very proud of the way my boys played in this tournament.

"I like teams that play attacking football and the Spanish team like to play good football and so they have a good chance against Germany. But mind you, the Germans have played well and badly in this tournament and they are are a big physical team against a very technical team. It could be a good final and I'm looking forward to it."

Hiddink's opposite number Spanish coach Luis Aragones was equally eloquent after the game. Aragones never looks hugely happy and he almost apologised for his understated style when saying: "We have a great team. I feel very happy inside, I am not an extrovert, I'm very happy for my players, for my family, I even have my grandson here and he moved me to tears tonight."

Asked about the fact he has already accepted a job with Turkish club Fenerbahce, starting after the tournament, Aragones was typically defensive. "I'm not going to talk about that tonight. I have a big game to prepare on Sunday against Germany and I'll talk about my future only after that."

Asked how come a Spanish team has finally defied that label of permanent under-achievers, Aragones was again matter of fact: "This team has been strong mentally for a long time, we learned a lot at the last World Cup. I have always said to the team it is not enough to play good football you have to learn to compete. What I like about this team is that a 21-year-old like Cesc Fabregas now has the experience of a 29-year-old and it shows"

Man of the match Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta was as understated as his coach: "We've made it to the final, we wanted it so much and this is not just one player but for the entire team."

Iniesta also refused to accept he had worked some kind of tactical masterclass in eliminating Russian star Andriy Arshavin almost entirely for the game, again hitting a matter-of-fact tone when saying: "We knew how Arshavin plays and we had it organised that in every area there would be a man to keep a tab on him - Senna, Xavi, whoever."

Hiddink did, however, have another explanation for the relative failure of the player who, until last night, had been considered the star of the tournament: "Arshavin did well against Sweden and Holland and that created a big fuss but that meant he got a lot of attention from Spain. It was good for him to learn from a match like this. However, he is still a quality player."

Perhaps, the real midfield star last night was not so much Arshavin, who was completely missing, as Arsenal ace Fabregas. For much of this tournament Aragones has been under pressure to name Fabregas in his starting line-up. Last night, he again left him on the bench but it is at least arguable that the Spanish success story began when Fabregas came on after half an hour to replace the injured David Villa. The point was not lost on Aragones.

"With Cesc we had another type of midfield and given that my boys are good on the ball, it was hard to get the ball off us. I'm looking forward to the final now"

So are we.