Spain saved their best until last. It was incredible to witness the
performance they produced in the final at UEFA EURO 2012 to beat Italy
4-0. When it really mattered, the best team on the planet stepped up a
gear.
Up until Sunday's final, there had still been questions surrounding
Spain's team. Did they have a Plan B? Could they cope without their
leading scorer David Villa? They answered in resounding fashion.
Earlier in the tournament against Croatia and Portugal, Spain had
struggled to find a breakthrough and looked as though they lacked a
cutting edge. Against Italy though, they took their performance to a
higher level and thoroughly deserved to become the first team to win
back to back European Championships.
Vincente Del Bosque went with an unconventional formation for much of
the tournament playing without a recognized central striker and reaped
the rewards for his tactical decisions. He now stands alone as the only
manager to win the World Cup, European Championship and UEFA Champions
League.
Against Italy, Andres Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez were superb. Cesc
Fabregas played his position to perfection with his movement, allowing
other players more space to operate in. The way the fullbacks push
forward leaves space for other teams to try and exploit at the back, but
when Spain attacks at such pace from all directions, they are difficult
to deal with. Spain's passing was exemplary throughout the tournament,
but the build-up to the first two goals in Sunday's final really showed
them at their best. The fact fullback Jordi Alba was the furthest man
forward to get onto a perfect through ball and score Spain's second goal
summed up their play.
Spain's attacking game is always in the limelight, but defensively
they were rock solid throughout the tournament, conceding just one goal.
An even bigger achievement considering they did it without the injured
Carlos Puyol.
It's not just the pretty things they do well. In the post-game show,
my broadcast partner Jason de Vos highlighted one example of the
fantastic work-rate of Sergio Ramos. The Spain defender ran up the pitch
as part of his team's attack, but when they lost the ball, rushed back
to get the block in to break up the Italians counter.
It was a complete performance from Spain. In full stride, they are
wonderful to watch. There's little doubt they are the best team of our
generation.
