The European Championships, 2008
Winners - SPAIN
The football -
For anyone who remembers that the key feature of sport is to win within the rules it has been galling down the years to witness the Italians, Germans, Argentines, and in recent times the Portuguese, cheating their way through international football tournaments, and achieving a far greater degree of success than their footballing talents merited.
Although there have been some great teams in the past - Holland in 1974 and 1978, Brazil in 1982 spring to mind, this is the first tournament I can think of at which the (outstandingly) best team has won.
Not only did Spain enter every game of their tournament with an intention to play positive attacking football, they also possessed the skill, composure, immaculate teamwork, and quiet determination to outplay each of their opponents. No flukey results; no results gifted by the referee; no gamesmanship; just the honourable wins of a skilful and imaginative team.
It has been a long time coming; the repeated loss of nerve at tournaments over the years, and the blatant injustices - the Italian elbow at the American World Cup, the shockingly poor officiating in the England game in 1996, and again in 2002 with South Korea.
Yes, it has been a long time coming, but the manner of this triumph almost makes the wait worthwhile. 2008 - at last - and the smiles will shine for years!
The politics -
My teams are Scotland and Spain. I also keep an eye out for Barcelona - for whom my father played, Cardiff City - the first ground I was taken to (early 1960s, v. Norwich City, the debut of John Charles on his return from Italy), and both the two big clubs in Glasgow; Rangers and Celtic.
The most cringingly embarrassing performance I have endured seeing was that of Scotland against Uruguay in 1986, particularly the gutless running away of Strachan. A close second was the performance of the Spanish team in the 1982 World Cup.
To see a team of talented internationals repeatedly pleading for favours from the referees whenever a game was going against them, as if being the host nation conferred preferential treatment, was strikingly repellant.
Less than seven years after the death of Franco, it seemed to me that players who had grown up under Fascism where so habituated to deferring to authority and not being allowed to think for themselves that every difficult moment in a game saw them running to the 'caudillo' on the pitch for 'salvation'.
Lack of self confidence reappeared at crucial moments in subsequent tournaments, until, just as the symptoms of this seemingly chronic trait were finally fading for good, the era of dodgy refereeing began.
In '94, '96, and '02 it was the frailties of the officials, not of the players, that reinforced the 'not again' syndrome.
This 2008 generation have grown up in a country now free of the shadow of Fascism* - and the unselfconscious confidence shows. Further, the players have demonstrated the resilient mentality to brush aside the two biggest traditional obstructions to Spanish progress.
There is a long history of Spain being bullied out of games by Italy - in almost every match the Italians have fielded players of greater physical stature than those in the Spanish team. In the 2008 Quarter-final Spain played the nimble torero to the blundering Italian bull.
In that Quarter-final the officials made many mistakes. Officials do make mistakes - usually some in favour of one team, some in favour of the other. In this match almost all the multitude of mistakes 'fell' Italy's way. It was, I think, into the second half of extra time before the referee erred in favour of Spain.
In the days of 'not again' the team would have folded in despair. This generation of players possessed the serenity to sidestep that barrier.
To defeat the Germans in the final, the Spanish players only had to hold their nerve, and after a shaky start that is precisely what they did. The defeat of the Italians was the more significant result; verdaderamente, the moment of truth.
The Fascist dictator Franco blighted Spain for nearly forty years. During the Spanish Civil War, self-appointed 'Cuadillo' Franco overthrew the elected Republican Government with the very considerable military aid of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. George Orwell once wrote an essay on the connection between football and politics - football as a form of proxy warfare. Seventy years wait for the proxy laying of ghosts.
This is not to suggest that such considerations were in the minds of the players. However for those of us mindful of the political as well as the sporting history the defeats of Germany and Italy added an intense visceral delight to the profound satisfaction accompanying this magnificent tournament win.
Yes, it has been a long time coming; 2008 - at last - but the smiles will shine for years!
|
 |
|
The results -
10th June
Spain 4 - 1 Russia
Goals: Villa, 20 (1-0); Villa, 44 (2-0); Villa, 75 (3-0); Pavlyuchenko, 86 (3-1); Fàbregas, 90+1 (4-1)
14th June
Sweden 1 - 2 Spain
Goals: Torres, 15 (1-0); Ibrahimovic, 34 (1-1); Villa, 90+2 (1-2)
18th June
Greece 1 - 2 Spain
Goals: Charisteas, 42 (1-0); De la Red, 61 (1-1); Güiza, 88 (1-2)
Group D table
| Team | played | GD | Points |
|---|
| Spain | 3 | 5 | 9 | | Russia | 3 | 0 | 6 | | Sweden | 3 | -1 | 3 | | Greece | 3 | -4 | 0 |
22th June
Quarter-final
Spain 0 - 0 Italy (aet)
Penalties:
Spain 4 - 2 Italy
Villa (1-0); Grosso (1-1)
Cazorla (2-1); De Rossi(saved) (2-1)
Senna (3-1); Camoranesi (3-2)
Güiza(saved) (3-2); Di Natale(saved) (3-2)
Fàbregas (4-2)
26th June
Semi-final
Russia 0 - 3 Spain
Goals: Xavi, 50; Güiza, 73; Silva, 82
29th June
Final
Germany 0 - 1 Spain
Goal: Torres, 33
The Squad -
|
Player |
Apps | 0 | Sub | 0 | Minutes in play | 0 | Goals | 0 | Yellow cards | 0 | Red cards |
|
Iker Casillas | 5 | | - | | 450 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Raúl Albiol | 1 | | 1 | | 156 | | - | | - | | - |
 |
Fernando Navarro | 1 | | - | | 90 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Carlos Marchena | 5 | | - | | 450 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Carles Puyol | 5 | | - | | 384 | | - | | - | | - |
 |
Andrés Iniesta | 6 | | - | | 419 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
David Villa | 4 | | - | | 305 | | 4 | | 1 | | - |
|
Xavi Hernández | 5 | | - | | 367 | | 1 | | - | | - |
|
Fernando Torres | 5 | | - | | 376 | | 2 | | 1 | | - |
|
Cesc Fàbregas | 2 | | 4 | | 306 | | 1 | | - | | - |
|
Joan Capdevila | 5 | | - | | 450 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Santiago Cazorla | - | | 5 | | 145 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Andrés Palop | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
|
Xabi Alonso | 1 | | 3 | | 150 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Sergio Ramos | 5 | | - | | 450 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Sergio García | 1 | | - | | 90 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Daniel Güiza | 1 | | 3 | | 128 | | 2 | | 1 | | - |
|
Álvaro Arbeloa | 1 | | - | | 90 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Marcos Senna | 5 | | - | | 450 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Juan Gutierrez Juanito | 1 | | - | | 90 | | - | | - | | - |
|
David Jimenez Silva | 5 | | - | | 414 | | 1 | | - | | - |
|
Rubén Gutierrez De la Red | 1 | | - | | 90 | | 1 | | - | | - |
|
José Manuel Reina | 1 | | - | | 90 | | - | | - | | - |
The Coach - Luis Aragonés
And
The World Cup, 2010
The results -
16th June
Spain 0 - 1 Switzerland
Goal: Fernandes, 52
21st June
Spain 2 - 0 Honduras
Goals: Villa, 17, 51
18th June
Chile 1 - 2 Spain
Goals: Villa, 24 (0-1); Iniesta, 37 (0-2); Millar, 47 (1-2)
Group H table
| Team | played | GD | Points |
|---|
| Spain | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| Chile | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 0 | 4 |
| Honduras | 3 | -3 | 1 |
26th June
Second Round
Spain 1 - 0 Portugal
Goal: Villa, 63
22th June
Quarter-final
Paraguay 0 - 1 Spain
Goal: Villa, 83
26th June
Semi-final
Germany 0 - 1 Spain
Goal: Pujol, 73
29th June
Final
Netherlands 0 - 1 Spain (aet)
Goal: Iniesta, 116
The Squad -
|
Player |
Apps | 0 | Sub | 0 | Minutes in play | 0 | Goals | 0 | Yellow cards | 0 | Red cards |
|
Iker Casillas | 7 | | - | | 660 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Raúl Albiol | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
|
Gerard Pique | 7 | | - | | 660 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Carlos Marchena | - | | 3 | | 8 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Carles Puyol | 7 | | - | | 654 | | 1 | | 1 | | - |
|
Andrés Iniesta | 6 | | - | | 557 | | 2 | | 1 | | - |
|
David Villa | 7 | | - | | 635 | | 5 | | - | | - |
|
Xavi Hernández | 7 | | - | | 636 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Fernando Torres | 4 | | 3 | | 291 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Cesc Fàbregas | - | | 4 | | 127 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Joan Capdevila | 7 | | - | | 660 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Victor Valdéz | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
|
Juan Mata | - | | 1 | | 20 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Xabi Alonso | 7 | | - | | 595 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Sergio Ramos | 7 | | - | | 647 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Sergio Busquets | 7 | | - | | 631 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Álvaro Arbeloa | - | | 1 | | 13 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Pedro Rodriguez | 2 | | 3 | | 166 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Fernando Llorente | - | | 1 | | 32 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Javi Martinez | - | | 1 | | 17 | | - | | - | | - |
|
David Jimenez Silva | 1 | | 1 | | 66 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Jesús Navas | 1 | | 2 | | 168 | | - | | - | | - |
|
José Manuel Reina | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
The Coach - Vicente del Bosque
And
The European Championships, 2012
The results -
10th June
Spain 1 - 1 Italy
Goals: Di Natale, 61 (0-1); Fabregas, 64 (1-1)
14th June
Spain 4 - 0 Republic of Ireland
Goals: Torres, 4; Silva, 49; Torres, 70; Fabregas, 83
18th June
Croacia 0 - 1 Spain
Goal: Navas, 88
Group C table
| Team | played | GD | Points |
|---|
| Spain | 3 | 5 | 7 |
| Italy | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| Croatia | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Republic of Ireland | 3 | -8 | 0 |
23rd June
Quarter-final
Spain 2 - 0 France
Goals: Alonso, 19; Alonso, 90+1 (pen)
27th June
Semi-final
Portugal 0 - 0 Spain (aet)
Penalties:
Spain 4 - 2 Portugal
Alonso (0-0); Moutinho (0-0)
Iniesta (1-0); Pepe (1-1)
Pique (2-1); Nani (2-2)
Ramos (3-2); Alves (3-2)
Fàbregas (4-2)
1st July
Final
Spain 4 - 0 Italy
Goals: Silva, 14, Alba, 41, Torres, 84, Mata, 88,
The Squad -
|
Player |
Apps | 0 | Sub | 0 | Minutes in play | 0 | Goals | 0 | Yellow cards | 0 | Red cards |
|
Iker Casillas | 6 | | - | | 570 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Raúl Albiol | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
|
Gerard Pique | 6 | | - | | 570 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Javi Martinez | - | | 1 | | 25 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Juanfran Torres | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
|
Andrés Iniesta | 6 | | - | | 541 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Pedro Rodriguez | - | | 3 | | 79 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Xavi Hernández | 6 | | - | | 536 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Fernando Torres | 2 | | 3 | | 189 | | 3 | | 1 | | - |
|
Cesc Fàbregas | 3 | | 3 | | 305 | | 2 | | - | | - |
|
Álvaro Negredo | 1 | | 1 | | 55 | | - | | - | | - |
|
Victor Valdéz | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
|
Juan Mata | - | | 1 | | 3 | | 1 | | - | | - |
|
Xabi Alonso | 6 | | - | | 545 | | 2 | | 2 | | - |
|
Sergio Ramos | 6 | | - | | 570 | | - | | 2 | | - |
|
Sergio Busquets | 6 | | - | | 570 | | - | | 1 | | - |
|
Álvaro Arbeloa | 6 | | - | | 570 | | - | | 2 | | - |
|
Jordi Alba | 6 | | - | | 570 | | 1 | | 1 | | - |
|
Fernando Llorente | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
|
Santiago Cazorla | - | | 2 | | 16 | | - | | - | | - |
|
David Jimenez Silva | 6 | | - | | 411 | | 2 | | - | | - |
|
Jesús Navas | - | | 3 | | 105 | | 1 | | - | | - |
|
José Manuel Reina | - | | - | | - | | - | | - | | - |
The Coach - Vicente del Bosque
= Catalan
= strong Catalan connection
|