Spain dominated the European Cup final in Kiev today, much as it dominated the entire tournament, overwhelming Italy, 4-0 - its second straight title. This was the same Italy that looked brilliant in beating Germany, 2-1, in the semi-finals. Jere Longman suggested in the New York Times that Spain may be the greatest team in history.
“They completely dominated,” Longman quoted Italy Coach Cesare Prandelli as saying. “They
really have made history, and deservedly so. They’ve been playing
terrific football for a number of years. In spite of the fact they don’t
play with a traditional striker, they still cause a lot of problems.”
George Vecsey in the Times describes Spain's system of play as, "make some passes, somebody — almost anybody — make a run, and a beautiful pass will find you."
The statistics on the UEFA web page demonstrate only how
meaningless statistics can be in soccer in that they would appear to
show a much closer match with Spain outshooting Italy, 14-11 and leading
in shots on goal, 9-6. Corners and offsides were even at 3 apiece in
each category.
The Spanish team showed class just before the medal ceremony, lining up at the foot of the stairs leading to the podium and shaking hands with the disappointed Italians as they trudged by to collect their second place medals.
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