Chelsea striker Fernando Torres was the Premier League star who scored Spain’s third, but their team performance was about far more than just that.
It is on the grandest of occasions that the great amongst us distinguish themselves as such. Last night in Kiev’s Olympic stadium, Spain did exactly that.
Having adopted Barcelona’s ‘false 9’ system, the Spanish had progressed to the final with their trademark fluidity and ball retention. However, this time around they were being called ‘boring’, ‘mortal’ and even ‘beatable.’
The reasons for this were two-fold. Firstly, without a recognised striker in their starting eleven, Spain seemed to lack a cutting edge in the final third, often opting for a pass even when a shot was on. While this was effective in wearing down their opponents, it often led to games being a lot closer than they could have been.
In addition to this, teams were now utilising systems that were capable of breaking down the Spanish attack without having to be ultra defensive. Most notably were the 4-3-3 of Portugal, where 3 central midfielders were employed, and the 5-3-2 used by Italy in the first group game.
The latter, involved the use of two wing backs and a return from extinction for the libero, a position famously used in Italy’s Catanaccio system of the 60’s.
In this role, Daniele De Rossi added extra protection to Italy’s defence while being technically gifted enough to play the ball out from the back, without being concerned with Spain’s ability to press high up the field. Using this formation, that Italy managed a 1-1 draw; scoring the only goal that Spain conceded all tournament.
Despite the result, Spain persisted with their ‘false 9,’ while Italy adopted a 4-4-2 (diamond). This formation allowed Pirlo’s ability as a deep lying playmaker to be fully utilised, while the remainder of the team could press further up the pitch.
While this tactical switch was a masterstroke by Prandelli, such that it guided Italy to the final, it was the persistence with this system which proved costly in the end. From the moment referee Pedro Proenca blew his whistle to begin the final, the game had a completely different feel to Spain and Italy’s first meeting.
Spain were immediately on the front foot, benefiting from the additional space in Italy’s half that the Azzurri’s flat back four gave them. Once combined with the ‘tiki-taka,’ that the Spanish have come to be famous for, it was of no surprise that Spain were able to score early, with Fabregas running in behind the last man to put in an inch perfect cross for Silva to head home.
Looking to take full advantage of their momentum, Spain quickly doubled their lead with Jordi Alba making a beautiful run from deep to get on the end of an inch perfect ball from Xavi, who with a simple pass managed to cut through the Italian defense like a hot knife through butter.
Two nil down after 41 minutes and Italy had no response, they were getting comprehensively outplayed and were finding themselves being boxed in deeper and deeper. They managed to see out the rest of the half but it was going to take a mighty job from Prandelli to try and change the tide.
The second half resumed with Antonio Di Natale replacing Antonio Cassano. The change seemed to have the desired effect, with Di Natale having a great chance to bring Italy back into the game, only to be denied by a brilliant save from Iker Casillas.
While there was promise shown from Italy in the first 10 minutes of the second half, their hope of a comeback were all but over when their third substitute, Thiago Motta (who replaced Montolivo), was forced off with a hamstring injury.
The third goal now seemed a matter of when rather than if. It finally arrived on the 84th minute, when Xavi split the defence with another scintillating through ball for substitute, Fernando Torres, to slot home.
Spain were rampant and introduced Juan Mata on the 87th minute for his first action at the Euros. The Italians looked dejected but Spain were relentless. They looked like a team hungry to break the record for the highest win in a European Championship final and they were able to do so a minute after Mata’s introduction, when Torres’ no-look pass was tapped home by his Chelsea
teammate.
All in all, the Spanish were simply irresistible yesterday and were deserved winners of what has been a magnificent European Championships.
The only question that remains is whether or not Del Bosque’s Spanish side is the best international team of all time. Whether you feel so or not, I’m sure they will now be looking to Brazil 2014 to remove any doubt.
image: © nbabaian
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