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| San Iker lifts the trophy for Spain |
Spain confirmed their status as the world’s football superpower with an emphatic 4-0 demolition of Italy as they became the first team in the European championships history to successfully defend the title.
David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata were all on target for Vicente Del Bosque’s side who also became the first team in the world to win three major tournaments in succession, the 2010 World Cup slotted in between two Euro championships.
Spain were ruthless in Kiev and went for the half time break with a comfortable 2-0 advantage. David Silva scored the opening goal a minute shy of the quarter-hour mark with a glancing header from a Cesc Fabregas cross. New Barcelona left-back Jordi Alba, inarguably one of the stars of the all-conquering Spanish side, doubled the lead four minutes before the interval as Italy found it hard to break down a team playing with six midfielders and no recognized striker.
Italy lost Thiago Motta to a hamstring injury in the hour mark leaving the team to play with ten men, Prandelli having made all his substitutions.
This left the Azzuri with a bigger mountain to climb. Spain took hold of the possession henceforth and killed the game six minutes before the final whistle.
The fourth goal was a blast from past, an almost exact replica of what transpired in Euro 2008. Fernando Torres collected a perfect through ball from Xavi before slotting home to all but kill the game, the Chelsea forward becoming the first ever player to score in two successive Euro finals, Xavi the first to record an assist in two finals. The two combined in the 2008 final when Torres scored the only goal from a Xavi pass in their 1-0 triumph over Germany.
Andres Iniesta was withdrawn for Juan Mata with the game and title already secured in the Iberian’s trophy cabinet. The Chelsea playmaker, making his first appearance in the competition, slotted in the fourth from a Torres pass to round off a perfect night and perfect tournament for La Roja
Torres' goal and assist saw him wrestle the golden boot from Mario Gomez and Balotelli.
Records Broken
- Spain became the first team to win two consecutive European Championships, and the first European international team to win three straight major tournament titles (UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup).
- Xabi Alonso, Iker Casillas, Cesc Fàbregas, Andrés Iniesta, Sergio Ramos, David Silva, Fernando Torres, Xavi, Raúl Albiol, Alvaro Arbeloa, Santi Cazorla, and Pepe Reina joined Germany’s Rainer Bonhof (1972, 1980) as the only other players to have won the tournament twice.
- Spain’s 4-0 win is the biggest ever winning margin in a European Championship, beating West Germany’s 3-0 triumph over Soviet Union in 1972
- Captain Iker Casillas became the first player to notch 100 wins in international competitions
- Fernando Torres became the first player in history to score in two Euro finals, Xavi the first to register two final assists
- Spain joined West Germany as the only other team to win the Euro championship on three occasions
Goalkeepers
Gianluigi Buffon (Italy), Iker Casillas (Spain), Manuel Neuer (Germany)
Defenders
Gerard Pique (Spain) Fabio Coentrao (Portugal), Philip Lahm (Germany), Pepe (Portugal), Sergio Ramos (Spain), Jordi Alba (Spain),
Midfielders
Daniele DeRossi (Italy), Steven Gerrard (England), Xavi Hernandez (Spain), Andres Iniesta (Spain), Sami Khedira (Germany), Sergio Busquets (Spain), Mesut Ozil (Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Xabi Alonso (Spain)
Forwards
Mario Balotelli (Italy), Cesc Fabregas (Spain), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Sweden), David Silva (Spain) And That's thesteifmastertake!!
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