Euro 2012 Final: Spain Dominates a Game & An Era

I did not get to see as much of the Euro tournament this year as I would have perhaps liked to. Being French, I noticed that the French team struggled quite a bit. Funny, but they were sporting a strong unbeaten streak not to long ago, heading into the Euro 2012. But once there, that rapidly evaporated, and France struggled in the first round, barely qualifying for the second round, where they ran into red hot Spain. Of course, they lost, 2-0.

At least they did not make quite the horrible headlines that France has become rather infamous for in such world tournaments since they managed to win the World Cup in 1998, and followed that up with a victory in Euro 2000. In 2002, they had the worst title defense in history, not even managing to score a goal, and getting eliminated in the first round of the World Cup. In the 2006 World Cup, France did not look all that impressive initially, barely qualifying for the second round. But then, they absolutely caught fire, defeating Spain, then Brazil, and finally Portugal, to qualify for the Final against Italy. They were undefeated against Italy in something like two or so decades going in, and when they scored early, it looked very promising. Italy managed to tie it up, but the game still seemed dictated by France throughout, as it went into overtime. But then, the infamous head butt by Zidane essentially sealed France's fate, as they lost all momentum, and eventually, lost the penalty. That head butt became an international incident, and was largely seen as a huge blemish on Zidane's record, as well as of the French team in general.

But the worst was yet to come.

In South Africa for the 2010 World Cup, France played horribly. If they perhaps were the worst team in 2002's World Cup, here they definitely were. This team was so abysmal, they made headlines all over the world, raising eyebrows with previously unheard of dilemmas. France is the leading country in the world for strikes, which is not necessarily a category you want to lead the world in. But you know you are in trouble when the national team goes on strike, and refuses to listen to the coach. That is exactly what happened, as coach Domenich did not help his own case by making a mockery of the event, showing a lack of sportsmanship, respect, and general class in presuming to try and lecture a rival after the game. It was not as infamous as the Zidane head butt, but it was bad enough. All told, France obviously left that tournament in shambles, and clearly needed to do something.

They hired former French star Laurent Blanc, who was on that legendary 1998 World Cup championship team. He immediately set about making changes, and one of them firing every single player on that particular World Cup squad, making sure that the players understood who was in charge, and enforcing a message about discipline and team unity and leadership.

The result was a complete turnaround, as France once again entered the ranks of the respectable squads. Unfortunately, however, that success did not translate to success in the international tournament of this year, Euro 2012. Also, Laurent Blanc stepped down as coach, leaving a coaching vacuum, and possibly leaving the French team, once again, in turmoil.

And here I am, well into my recap of the Euro tournament, going on at length about a team that did not make all that much news. So, let's turn to those who did, especially the team that eliminated France from this year's tournament: Spain.

Spain advanced past France, and played Portugal in the semifinal. It was a scoreless tie, but what was weird was the reserved style of play displayed by both teams. When you watch Spain play, the passing is incredible, spot on, and often will open up incredible, breathtaking opportunities. Yet, they only played that way, it seemed, in the waning minutes, and this led to opportunities, but no goals. Portugal also has a style of play that should open things up, yet it seemed both teams were more worried about not making the critical mistake, than on actively trying to win the game. It was, unfortunately, decided on penalty kicks, and despite missing their very first kick, Spain won it fairly quickly thereafter, advancing to the Sunday's final.

Their opponent was Italy, who looked very impressive in a 2-1 win against Germany that was, frankly, not as close as the score would indicate. Germany, in fact, seemed to be dominating play early on, dictating the tempo and opening up some scoring opportunities very early on, and Italy looked shaky. But Mario Bolitelli chose that moment to grab the world's attention, scoring quite suddenly, and changing the complexion of the game entirely. He added another one a few minutes before the half, and German fans looked stunned, as Bolitelli took of his shirt and stared intensely as his celebration. The game was never really in doubt after that, as Italy wore Germany down, nearly converting on a couple of other occasions. Germany finally did manage to score in extra time, and went nuts trying to get the tying goal before time expired. Italy began to celebrate.

Not for long, however. Spain was the next opponent, and this was a team that was determined, and not about to be denied. It felt like the game was over early, as Spain  Only fourteen or so minutes in, Cesc Fabregas approached the goal before giving a wonderful, perfectly placed pass to Spanish star David Silva, who got the header to get Spain up early. It seemed that Spain smelled blood early.

They never looked back, shutting out the dangerous Italian attack, as they routed Italy, 4-0. They jumped all over the overmatched Italians, and if this had been a heavyweight fight, it likely would have been stopped early. The passing by the Spanish team was exquisite, and underscored the brilliance of their opportunistic play. No wonder this team has enjoyed so much success as of late!

The Spanish team controlled the ball, and thus, the tempo of the game. They dominated midfield, and essentially made Italy, a storied powerhouse in the sport in their own right, look almost like amateurs. I felt a bit better at France's loss to Spain, which was only 2-0.

Yet, in fairness, I don't believe that anyone could have beaten Spain today. This team is just on fire, and after a long drought of almost half a century, they seem utterly determined to make up for lost time all at once. Yes, the Italians looked like amateurs, but almost everyone seems to look that way against Spain lately. In winning the last three major tournaments, they have had to survive through ten elimination games. They have not yet yielded a single goal in any of those games! Not one!

Going into this tournament, the Spanish squad had already achieved some incredible feats that qualified them for discussion as perhaps being the greatest team of all time. They had won the Euro in 2008, and followed that up with a World Cup championship in South Africa in 2010, becoming only the second team in World Cup history to win a World Cup outside of their continent (Brazil won multiple World Cups outside of South America). Only two teams had won consecutive Euro and World Cup tournaments before (West Germany in 1972 Euro and the 1974 World Cup, and France in the 1998 World Cup and the 2000 Euro). By winning this tournament, however, there really is no more room for doubt as to whether or not they warrant such discussion. They have won an unprecedented three major tournaments in a row, which was never done before.

Spain has to rank s one of the greatest teams of all time after this! There are other teams that have enjoyed remarkable success, including the German and French teams mentioned earlier. You have to consider Brazil among these as well, for winning three of four World Cups during the days of Pele. Perhaps there is another that I am not thinking of at the moment. There are other clubs that have enjoyed tremendous eras, but this Spanish team now seems to take the cake, having set a high standard that is unlikely to be matched or replicated anytime soon!