SPAIN TRUIMPH OVER GERMANY TO WIN EURO 2008
After 44 years, Spain finally has another major tournament Trophy to celebrate. Sunday nights 1-0 win over Germany was sewn up by a solitary strike from Fernando Torres just after the half hour.
In truth the 1-0 score line was not a fair reflection on the game as the Spaniards completely battered their opponents with another display of free flowing attacking football which had separated them from everyone else in the tournament.
After defender Metzelder nearly put through his own net, the Real Madrid right back Sergio Ramos played in a deep cross for Torres who saw his header come back of the post.
Spain wouldn’t have to wait for long though to grab the goal their dominance deserved. A through ball by Xavi caused uncertainty in the German defence, from which Torres found the space he needed to dink the ball over the out coming Jens Lehman.
David Silva missed a golden opportunity to make it 2-0 before half time, and despite the Germans changing things around at the break, it was the Spanish who still dominated with Xavi and Senna both going close.
The Germans had one noticeable chance, with Ballack firing wide after Puyol had given the ball away near the edge of his own box. With time ticking away though, the Germans couldn’t fashion anything of real note and it was Ramos who should have made the game safe for Spain after planting a header straight at Lehman when it would have been easier to score. Senna would miss yet another chance late on, but for once; Spain weren’t made to pay for their generosity and held on for a famous victory
Spain Coach Luis Aragones, who retired after the tournament said, "All those that love football want to see it played that way," he said. "People want players who can pass well and get into the penalty area and score goals.
"They'll look up to Spain as a model of how to play football”.
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