They reign in Spain

The Mata-dors caped in national flags clinched the Henri Delauney Trophy and become the first team to claim it in successive tournaments. 

Elton John, who entertained VIPs in Kiev the previous night, could have stayed on to play his Ballad of the Boy in the Red Shoes although it was the head of David Silva who put Spain ahead before Jordi Alba raced the length of the pitch to reduce the Italian stallions to mere colts.

Spain and Italy may both be suffering economic blues yet they delivered a final rich in quality and entertainment, although it was Chelsea team-mates Torres and Mata, this time clad in La Roja, who completed the scoring despite arriving on the field as late substitutes.

The previously peerless Pirlo and Mario Balotelli, who scored twice in the semi-final – one goal for each side to his persona – failed to live up to their pre-match billing, leaving Iker Casillas to become the first captain to lift the trophy twice.

Ahead of the tournament there had been concerns about the logistics, racism and hooliganism from supporters and cheating by the players.

While the extensive travel has led to some stadia being half full (including the final), this has been more than compensated for by teams and supporters that have had the opportunity to visit historic sites and cities, such as Krakow, Warsaw and Auschwitz.

However, the difficulties experienced in traversing Poland and Ukraine do not warrant Michel Platini’s proposal to spread the European Championship in 2020 across 24 to 32 host venues. 

The favourite to become the host city was previously Istanbul, although UEFA will now wait until January to discuss this further once the Olympic venue for 2020 has been decided, for which Turkey is also considered to be the most likely to succeed. Scotland, Wales and Ireland who have all expressed an interest in hosting Euro 2020 would surely represent a far better alternative.

This tournament has been closely contested from the start, although the early exits for Holland, Ireland and Sweden deprived it of its most colourful fans.

It started with a headed goal from Robert Lewandowski for Poland, although the co-hosts were unable to convert this early superiority into qualification for the elimination stages. The noise generated in the opening game was surpassed when Andriy Shevchenko blasted home a winner for Ukraine against Sweden.

Their welcoming neighbours were perhaps unfortunate to encounter England at their peak and also made an early exit, although they will bemoan the goal that never was, yet this is likely to leave the greatest legacy with the imminent introduction of goal-line technology.

On the whole, the referees have been excellent, getting most of the important decisions correct while clamping down on cheating and waving writhing players to their feet, allowing play to continue.
 
Entering the tournament the final’s two teams could not have had a more contrasting build-up.  Spain, the reigning European and World Champions were praised for their style of play and possession football while the opposition teams were hopeful of exploiting perceived weaknesses in defence, particularly in the air and behind the full-backs.

Yet they entered the final having conceded only once, ironically to the Italians in their opening fixture.

Conversely, the Italians offered to withdraw from the tournament amidst a domestic match-fixing scandal with three squad players mentioned in reports with one, Domenico Cristico, forced to withdraw.

Furthermore, their coach, Prandelli, has been criticised from all angles since taking the reins after their dismal showing in South Africa in 2010.  Recognising an aging squad he embarked on a project to breathe life into a team and encourage them to play more like Spain. He dispensed with many national favourites yet a 3-0 drubbing by Russia left him open to criticism.

Despite being accused of being anti-Italian (by selecting nationalised players such as Motta and Osvaldo), exercising nepotism (for employing his son – a trainer at Parma – as part of his back-room staff) and for basically selecting a squad lacking in experience and ability, as results have proven, he has moulded the squad into an effective unit that has slowly become more comfortable with his new style of play.

Indeed, many of the stars of this tournament have been players he was told specifically not to select.  Pirlo and Balzaretti were too old, Cassano and Barzagli too unfit and Balotelli too volatile.

On the pitch, the psychological positives for the Italians were drawn from their draw in the opening fixture that broke the Spanish record of 14 successive competitive victories since their defeat in the opening round of the World Cup against Switzerland.

It was surprising, therefore, that, entering the final, it was Prandelli who had the more settled side, selecting a formation for the Azzurri that included two centre-forwards while allowing fluid manipulation of his tactics, yet Vicente del Bosque appeared not to know how to maximise the return from the plethora of opportunities created by his much-vaunted midfield.

He had vacillated between a rotational striker-less attack and selecting either Torres or Negredo at the pinnacle. This has led to accusations of being boring and changing a successful ethos of attack. Leading into the final, some statistics lend credence to this view.

While Spain had conceded the fewest goals (and shots on their goal), it was the Italians that led the way with shots on goal (99).

However, with their emphatic 4-0 victory Spain left Kiev with a list of records and accolades. 

Seven starting players and two substitutes became the first players to lift the trophy twice while Vicente del Bosque, continuing the work started by Luis Arragones, joins West German, Helmut Schon, as the only coach to lift the European and World Cups.

So, while Spain parade the trophy home on a red and yellow brick road, I will leave you to debate the tournament’s biggest own goal.  Was it Portugal’s decision to leave Ronaldo to take the last penalty, or England’s attempt to woo the locals by saying goodbye in Russian – while at a Polish press conference?

*FOOTNOTE: Talking of own goals, many believe that the GB Olympic football team manager, Stuart Pearce, has conceded one of his own in failing to select David Beckham. 
At the risk of creating a debate, I personally believe that there are far better players available and his selection would be wasting a place. 

If you want to reward him for his part in helping London win the bid, make him an Ambassador.  If you believe there is a place for sentimentality, or he can add something to the squad, appoint him as assistant coach. However, for me, ‘Psycho’ has made the right call.