The Euro 2012 comes to a climax today with two of the tournament’s favourite sides, Spain and Italy battling it out in the final in Kiev to decide who emerge as Europe’s best football country. Spain are the defending champions. The competition has been exciting just as it has been rubbished by racism.
Spain, perhaps just one victory away from making history as the greatest national side ever, laboured in a penalty shoot-out win over Portugal on Wednesday to reach Sunday’s final, where only Italy can stop stkeep it from winning a third straight major tournament — an unprecedented feat between World Cup and continental competitions.
The record run is on course even if Spain’s attack hasn’t exactly lived up to trademark expectations, with the team’s ability to grind out results.
Spain is the only side apart from West Germany to have reached three straight finals, and the team can go one better than that West German side from the 1970s with a victory in Kiev.
It is the culmination of a three week tournament held in Poland and Ukraine that occurs every four years.
Spain reached the final courtesy of a 4-2 penalty shootout win over Portugal on Wednesday in the semifinals while Italy advanced after a shock 2-1 victory against hitherto unbeaten Germany on Thursday.
Ironically, the two nations were in Group C together and their first encounter on June 8 ended in a 1-1 draw. Neither team has suffered a defeat yet as Spain went 2-1-0 in group play before beating France 2-0 in the quarter-finals. Italy had to scrape a bit more as they went 1-2-0 in group play then defeated England 4-2 in penalty kicks during the quarter-finals.
Spain have not really found a potent striker as Fernando Torres has been a shadow of his former self but team wins by dominating possession and stringing together passing sequences.
Italy’s run has been unexpected but they possess one of the most dangerous yet unpredictable strikers in the world — Mario Balotelli. He scored both goals against Germany and he has three for the tournament.
Midfielder Andrea Pirlo has been a rock in midfield. At 34-years-old, Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon is still regarded as the best and he proved it with a couple of vital saves against the Germans and he could again become Spain’s albatross.
Three’s magic number
Spain has already equaled the achievement of West Germany, which won the 1972 and 1974 European and World Cups respectively before falling just short in the 1976 European Championship, losing on penalties to Czech Republic in the final.
Now Spain are motivated to become the first nation to win three major tournaments in a row- at least in Europe. Uruguay won the 1924 and 1928 Olympics and the 1930 World Cup.
Italy, on the other hand, will be playing its third European Championship final, after winning in 1968 and losing in 2000. The surprise finalists have also not lost to Spain in normal time in its last three matches: a Euro 2008 quarter-final (0-0, Spain won on penalties), a 2-1 friendly win in August 2011 and its Group C opener in June which ended 1-1. Again, Spain haven’t beaten Italy in 90 minutes in more than 60 years.
Battle of coaches
Vicente del Bosque has been criticised heavily in Spain for his selections, but all of them, except one, have paid off handsomely. In game one, Del Bosque picked Cesc Fabregas as the false No. 9, and he scored the equaliser against Italy; game two, Fernando Torres started and scored twice against Ireland; game three, it was the substitutes who created the winner over Croatia, as Fabregas released Andrés Iniesta who crossed for Jesus Navas to score.
Del Bosque’s brilliance from the bench helped clinch the win over France, as Santi Cazorla set up Pedro Rodriguez to earn a late penalty for the second goal.
However, Del Bosque’s opposite number, Cesare Prandelli, has pulled off an even more impressive feat: while Germany has taken 12 years to introduce a new attractive playing style and a new generation of players, in Italy the change has taken only two years.
When he took over after the 2010 World Cup, Italy had finished bottom of a group that comprised Paraguay, Slovakia and New Zealand. With largely the same group of players, Prandelli has advocated an attacking philosophy, and the team has responded.
Prandelli has also not been afraid to change formation to suit the opponent: against Spain in the opener, he played a dynamic 3-5-2 system with Daniele De Rossi as the third center back. His substitutions have also paid off: Antonio di Natale scored against Spain, Mario Balotelli against Ireland and, decisively, Alessandro Diamanti hit the winning penalty against England.
Xavi Hernandez vs Andrea Pirlo
Xavi and Pirlo: Champions League winners, World Cup winners and, last season, the two players who passed the ball more than any other for their teams. Xavi averaged 94 passes and Pirlo 86. Both players were inspired by Pep Guardiola — who left Barcelona aged 31, and played for Brescia, as a replacement for Milan-bound Pirlo — and while it was his predecessor as Barcelona coach, Frank Rijkaard, who in 2007 pushed Xavi 20 yards further forward to make use of his vision and passing, it was under Guardiola that Xavi really blossomed.
Xavi may play further forward and prefer short passes, with Pirlo playing a deeper and longer game, but both are fundamental to their teams.
Mario Balotelli vs Sergio Ramos
Even before he scored the two brilliant goals that ended Germany’s 15-match winning run and earned Italy a surprise place in the final, Balotelli has had a superb tournament. Balotelli pressurised Ramos with strength and skill during both sides meeting in the group stage, leaving one of the tournament’s best centre halves red-faced and chasing in his wake.
Both players coming together again in the final will highlight the last game of the competition.
Against Germany, the Italian was in superb form first evading Holger Badstuber to powerfully head home Antonio Cassano’s cross and then, brilliantly beating the offside trap and running clear of Philipp Lahm to smash home a dramatic second from the edge of the area.
After the first, we saw something very rare from Balotelli: a smile and celebration after the ball went in. After the second goal, normal service was resumed: Balotelli took off his shirt, was booked and was subbed off early in the second half to prevent a red card. Now he needs just one more goal to win the Golden Boot.
Source:Punch Newspaper.