Spain lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy
Carl Kinsella
Staff Writer
Spain 4 – 0 Italy
It was Spain’s pièce de resistance, the crowning achievement of a team which has dominated the last four years of international football and players who have broken so many records that they’ve earned an author’s credit on Guinness’ next instalment. In Euro 2012’s grand finale last night, Vicente Del Bosque’s men turned their Italian co-stars into, at best, a sideshow. The reality to be faced by Gianluigi Buffon and his team-mates is that, for ninety minutes in Kiev’s Olympic Stadium, they were simply spectators left stranded on the stage.
It was a match made up of interesting individual battles not least in the middle of the pitch where the two eminent midfield maestros of the last decade, Xavi and Andrea Pirlo, were to match wits. Andrea Pirlo has had a remarkable run of form in this summer’s tournament, whereas Xavi has been relatively quiet – but the little man from Catalonia last night embodied Spain’s imperious footballing philosophy, with more than just a little help from his supporting cast.
The first chance of the game fell to Xavi within ten minutes, his looping volley dipping over Buffon’s head but onto the roof of the Italian goal. Sadly for the Cesare Prandelli’s side, it wouldn’t be long before their usually miserly defence was torn asunder by a header from the 5’7” David Silva. Iniesta threaded a pass in behind the Italian back line for Cesc Fabregas who chipped a cross onto Silva’s head, and Silva obligingly nodded the ball into top corner of the net. It seemed as though Italy had found the ‘On’ switch after conceding, winning three corners in quick succession, but their momentum was ruined when defensive colossus Giorgio Chiellini left the field with an injury, only twenty minutes into the game.
Only twice in this tournament had Spain scored more than one goal, conversely Italy were yet to concede more than one in a game. This very fixture resulted in a 1-1 draw when the two teams met in the group stages. However, when Jordi Alba’s immaculately timed run saw him get on the end of a razor sharp Xavi pass to slot home Spain’s second, it seemed as though Spain had just just waiting until they had everyone’s attention before they got that final cylinder firing. 2-0 up with half an hour gone and Italy yet to mount a challenge.
Prandelli made a second substitution at half time, replacing the ineffectual Antonio Cassano with Antonio Di Natale and the move almost paid dividends instantly. Iker Casillas was forced into making a great reaction stop from Di Natale’s snapshot on fifty minutes, but in that moment came Italy’s chance and in that moment Italy’s chance went begging. The Italian coach exhausted all his options before the hour mark, removing Ricardo Montolivo for Thiago Motta – a move borne of desperation – and disaster struck with twenty-five minutes to go as Motta had to be removed with a hamstring injury leaving Italy with ten men for the remainder of the final.
From then on Italy could do no more than watch as Xavi conducted the Spanish orchestra and defenders like Arbeloa and Pique were able to saunter through a tiring Pirlo and De Rossi into the Italian danger zone. It was all too easy for Spain and all too heart-breaking for Italy who, though clearly bested, did not have fortune smile upon them. The 75th minute saw the introduction of Fernando Torres who took less than ten minutes to nab himself a goal. A weary pass from the Italian defence was intercepted by Xavi who immediately fed Torres. Spain’s No. 9 slotted the ball around Gigi Buffon for his third of the tournament, and his second goal in a European Cup final.
The coup de grace was yet to come for an Italian side who spent the final twenty minutes of the game looking very much like they wanted to slump off home to throw darts at a photo of Andres Iniesta’s face. Torres was again played through on goal and in an undeniably admirable show of selfless play (had he scored he would have won the tournament’s Golden Boot), he slid the ball across the face of goal for his Chelsea team-mate Juan Mata to slot it into an empty net and round off the worst rout ever seen in the final of an international tournament.
The final whistle spelled yet another historic moment for Spain, who became the first team to retain the European Championship and the first team to win three consecutive international tournaments. Spanish football fans will not overlook the fact that this is the Spain’s first competitive win over Italy since 1920. Xavi became the first player ever to assist goals in separate European Championship finals (assisting Torres like he did against Germany in 2008). Spain are still yet to concede a goal in the knock-out stages of a tournament since 2006. We are privileged to watch this Spain team for their precision and their elegance, and watch the development of their shape and system as they pioneer their own style while conquering all before them. But if such less tangible things are lost upon you, Spain can demand the admiration of the entire footballing world by doing what nobody else has ever done, over and over, with no end in sight.
