Spain rules supreme as Italians outclassed
Source: Agencies |
July 3, 2012, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SPAIN went into the European Championship as the best football team in the world. It emerged more than three weeks later brandishing the trophy as if to say "we told you so."
No team in history had ever completed the hat-trick of two continental championships and a World Cup in a row, and nobody had ever retained a European crown.
Even for such a gifted team, it was surely asking too much.
Sunday's result made Vicente del Bosque only the second coach to have won both the World Cup and the European Championship, after Helmut Schoen's twin successes with West Germany in the mid-1970s.
The 61-year-old former Real Madrid manager also became the first coach to hold titles from the World Cup, the European Championship and the Champions League.
What's more, critics had been queuing up at Euro 2012 to label the defending champion as boring. Predictions that teams featuring more direct tactics like Germany, and then Italy, would win the title soon followed.
They were all wrong.
A devastating show of possession football and finishing guided Spain to a 4-0 victory over Italy on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. Helped by its opponent being reduced to 10 men by injury after 64 minutes, the Spanish were just too good for a brave, but exhausted Italy side to handle.
First-half goals from David Silva and Jordi Alba put Spain 2-0 up at half-time, and Italy's hopes of a comeback were dashed just after the hour when Thiago Motta's injury-enforced exit left them with only 10 players.
Spain ran in two goals through substitutes Fernando Torres and Juan Mata in the final 10 minutes.
Spain started and finished Euro 2012 by playing Italy, though the tepid 1-1 draw on June 10 was nothing compared to Sunday's spectacular finish amid the goals, confetti and bottles of sparkling wine.
Fatigue, injuries finally caught up with Italy. Even "Super" Mario Balotelli couldn't break free to rescue the Azzurri this time.
Still, for a squad that entered this tournament without any big expectations and was hobbled by a match-fixing scandal, Italy can hardly be disappointed with a runner-up finish.
"This was a great European Championship for us," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "Really, the only regret is that we didn't have a few extra days to recuperate. You could tell right away that they were fresher physically."
Prandelli has preached an attack-at-all-costs mentality much like Spain, but after requiring 120 minutes and a shootout to beat England in the quarterfinals, then another physical victory over Germany in the semifinals, the strategy appeared to take its toll.
No team in history had ever completed the hat-trick of two continental championships and a World Cup in a row, and nobody had ever retained a European crown.
Even for such a gifted team, it was surely asking too much.
Sunday's result made Vicente del Bosque only the second coach to have won both the World Cup and the European Championship, after Helmut Schoen's twin successes with West Germany in the mid-1970s.
The 61-year-old former Real Madrid manager also became the first coach to hold titles from the World Cup, the European Championship and the Champions League.
What's more, critics had been queuing up at Euro 2012 to label the defending champion as boring. Predictions that teams featuring more direct tactics like Germany, and then Italy, would win the title soon followed.
They were all wrong.
A devastating show of possession football and finishing guided Spain to a 4-0 victory over Italy on Sunday at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev. Helped by its opponent being reduced to 10 men by injury after 64 minutes, the Spanish were just too good for a brave, but exhausted Italy side to handle.
First-half goals from David Silva and Jordi Alba put Spain 2-0 up at half-time, and Italy's hopes of a comeback were dashed just after the hour when Thiago Motta's injury-enforced exit left them with only 10 players.
Spain ran in two goals through substitutes Fernando Torres and Juan Mata in the final 10 minutes.
Spain started and finished Euro 2012 by playing Italy, though the tepid 1-1 draw on June 10 was nothing compared to Sunday's spectacular finish amid the goals, confetti and bottles of sparkling wine.
Fatigue, injuries finally caught up with Italy. Even "Super" Mario Balotelli couldn't break free to rescue the Azzurri this time.
Still, for a squad that entered this tournament without any big expectations and was hobbled by a match-fixing scandal, Italy can hardly be disappointed with a runner-up finish.
"This was a great European Championship for us," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "Really, the only regret is that we didn't have a few extra days to recuperate. You could tell right away that they were fresher physically."
Prandelli has preached an attack-at-all-costs mentality much like Spain, but after requiring 120 minutes and a shootout to beat England in the quarterfinals, then another physical victory over Germany in the semifinals, the strategy appeared to take its toll.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
