Spain, Italy meet in mouth-watering Euro 2012 final

ISTANBUL

Andres Iniesta is in the heart of Spain’s intricate style of play without traditional strikers, while Andrea Pirlo is putting on classic performances as a playmaker running Italy’s game in the tournament. AFP Photo

Italy is standing in way of Spain, who hopes to make football history with third consecutive international title.

The two teams will meet in the Euro 2012 final on July 1 at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, where the last two world champions will battle for the European title.

Spain is just one victory away from making history and securing its reputation as perhaps the greatest national side ever.

Spain labored to a penalty shootout win over Portugal to reach Sunday’s final, where only Italy can keep it from winning a third straight major tournament - an unprecedented feat between World Cup and continental competitions.

“Hopefully we can achieve what nobody else has achieved,” coach Vicente del Bosque said. “This would be great for everyone: for Spanish football and for our country as a whole.

“These are signs of progress taking place in Spanish sports, and hopefully it will carry over into society as well,” Del Bosque added.

The record run is on course even if Spain’s attack hasn’t exactly lived up to high expectations, with the team’s ability to grind out results becoming its trademark in Poland and Ukraine.

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.

“Spain has already made history and now we continue making it,” captain Iker Casillas said. “I hope people remember this all their lives because who would have thought we could achieve this four years ago.”

While Spain’s playing the final was largely expected, Italy’s making its way to the final could be considered a surprise. The idea of Italy reaching Euro 2012 final in Kiev would have been laughed at in the piazzas and pizzerias of Rome and Milan a month ago but now Cesare Prandelli’s side are there against all the odds.

The 2-1 semifinal win over Germany stunned not just Joachim Löw’s side but the Italian nation itself.
A 3-0 friendly defeat by Russia and yet another match-fixing affair which robbed the Azzurri of left back Domenico Criscito just before the tournament were not ideal preparations for a side who never expected to challenge for the title anyway.

However, Italians often thrive in adversity as seen in 1982 and 2006 when they won the World Cup, and beat Germany along the way, following domestic betting and cheating scandals.

They have now gone through a difficult group, which included final opponents and holders Spain, played England off the park before winning the quarterfinal on penalties and beaten in-form and free-scoring Germany with a clinical yet flamboyant display.

“We are living the dream with millions of Italians,” said defender Giorgio Chiellini after Mario Balotelli’s double extended Germany’s record of never beating Italy in a major tournament.

“We will enjoy this victory a little then our thoughts turn to Sunday and we want to continue this dream.”

Having matched Spain for long spells in their 1-1 Group C opener, the Azzurri will not be afraid of the world champions while Balotelli finding the net in such emphatic style will also give Italy fans confidence.

Apart from a superb volleyed goal against Ireland, Balotelli had missed an array of chances with critics wondering whether all the hype surrounding his wacky persona had covered up his failings as a footballer.

Germany now knows all too well that on his day he can be a top performer, even if his opening header had much to do with Antonio Cassano’s deft trickery and cross.

Prankster Cassano has had a tough year after recovering from heart surgery and still cannot complete a match, but he is Prandelli’s joker in both senses of the word and that one bit of skill made all the difference.

Balotelli, in a ridiculous amount of space, then blasted in a second goal before the break with a swing of the boot that could easily have gone wide on another day.

This was Balotelli’s match, however, as he gave the perfect riposte to opposition fans who have racially abused him at this tournament and the Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper which printed an ill-advised cartoon of him depicted as King Kong.

“This was the best night of my life,” Balotelli said. “But I hope Sunday will be better. I hope to score four goals not two.”
Cesc Fabregas says that Spain will need to pay special attention to Balotelli in the final.

“Balotelli is a great player,” the Barcelona midfielder said on June 29. “He showed that yesterday by scoring two superb goals in a semi-final against a very strong team like Germany.

“He’ll be a threat, just like (Antonio) Cassano and the other strikers.”

Asked to assess Italy’s key strengths, Fabregas said that Cesare Prandelli’s side possessed dangerous players in every area of the pitch.

“They have a very competitive team,” he said. “They are very experienced at the back and up front, and they have players who had excellent seasons for teams like AC Milan, Inter Milan and Juventus.”

Having already played a starring role in the successes at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, Fabregas says he continues to draw inspiration from the dedication of the country’s supporters.

“The players are lucky to have a country behind us that loves football,” he said. “It’s a great pleasure for us to transmit joy to the fans who support us.

“The fans have been coming out onto the streets in Spain after our matches, and there are fans who have travelled to Ukraine despite all the logistical difficulties with transport.

“It’s fantastic to have the whole country behind us. We have great faith in the fans, and we hope the fans have faith in us.

“The aim of the players here is to continue to write history.”

Compiled from AP, AFP and Reuters reports by the Daily News staff