No other team has ever won a European Championship final 4-0. No other team has ever won three major tournaments in a row. And they did it all without a recognised striker on the pitch. Spain, in defeating Italy in the Euro 2012 final in Kiev, sealed their greatness in style as they shook off criticism of being boring and passive to overwhelm the Italians in a manner befitting a ritual slaughter, done with verve.
Following triumphs in Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, Spain proved once and for all they are technically and tactically still ahead of their nearest challenges. For Italy, there was no shame in losing as the Azzurri exceeded expectations, with their Euro 2012 highlight being the win over Germany.
To say they peaked to soon would be unfair to Spain, who were simply too damn good. And once Thiago Motta got injured with Italy having used all their substitutes, and the score still 2-0, the final became more of a coronation then a contest. Fernando Torres scored and a set up another goal to complete the rout for good measure.
Spain’s “tiki-taka”, the possession carousel effective for both defence and attack since their opponents never see the ball as often, has now come under tactical scrutiny for four years and apart from Italy’s 1-1 draw in the opening game, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has constantly sought to innovate with varying degrees of success. A 4-6-0 with a floating “false nine”? It’s a measure of Spain’s success and reputation that teams sought to alter their own preferred structure to counter-act Spain rather than rely on their own system to do so.
Italy, to their credit, tried playing the game their own way but their midfield diamond, and play-maker Andrea Pirlo, were swamped by red shirts and harried for possession, which ironically was the least Spain saw the entire tournament.
The limitation of Cesare Prandelli’s preferred formation was that it was narrow, leaving space on the flanks which the Spanish exploited. And they did so, with some style. While Spain saw less of the ball (and still maintained a majority of possession with 52%), they were more direct and profited with a classy performance that emphatically enshrined their claims to be one of the best international teams in history.
Can they do it again in Brazil in 2014? This team are becoming used to breaking barriers. Anything is possible.
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