Spain Destroys Italy 4-0 In Euro 2012, Claims Third Straight International Title
It was nothing but Spain on the International stage as they rolled over Italy 4-0 to claim a third straight major soccer title on Sunday in the European Championship.
Not mincing words following the game was Spain midfielder Xavi Hernandez:
“We were superior to Italy. We played a complete game and perhaps the best of the entire European Championship. We made history.”
Spain relied on a heavy passing game that witnessed first-half goals by David Silva and Jordi Alba and then two final minutes goals by substitutes Fernando Torres and Juan Mata.
Cesc Fabregas agreed with Xavi, noting that the team simply had a superior performance:
“The game was ours after the first goal, but the truth is that we played one heck of a game.”.
Spain has been on a role since winning the Euro 2008 title and then going on to win the World Cup title in Johannesburg two years ago.
The win was especially significant for Torres who became the first player to score in two championship finals (2008 and 2012).
Sunday’s win was also a record 100th victory for Casillas on the international stage.
While Spain was a favorite to win the match they had forced a 1-1 draw against Italy in their opening Group C match which put extra emphasis on the championship final.
As is often the case with international championship soccer matches in attendance were heads of state including Italian Premier Mario Monti and various EU members who originally said they would not attend the match because of the jailing of former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko.
