Euro 2008, Featured

Fernando Torres celebrates Spain’s Euro 2008 success

The 2008 European Championships truly showcased football at its very best. The tournament brought 23 days of consistently high-quality and enthralling action, with memorable games aplenty. And there was even the satisfaction of an utterly deserved winner.

Whilst the World Cup is the ultimate footballing spectacle, it suffers in that so many minnows lack the resources to aim for anything more than draws. The likes of Angola, Trinidad & Tobago and Togo, who all played in the last World Cup, would not come close to qualifying for the European Championships. With only 16 teams, there is a diluted quality that lends every game real significance, and does not allow for the predictability that sometimes afflicts groups at World Cups. No country embarrassed themselves; even co-hosts Austria proved the legion of 10,000 fans who had begged, in a petition called “Let’s Not Embarrass Ourselves”, for them to withdraw from the tournament, drew with Poland and were only narrowly edged out by Croatia and Germany.

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If there was a disappointment with the tournament, it was surely the underwhelming displays of both hosts. Austria, a gutsy side patently lacking in skill, probably could not have done any better, as a current FIFA ranking of 105 attests to. Switzerland, however, impressed at the last World Cup, when they did not concede a goal, so the manner in which they were knocked out prior to their final group game was a major disappointment.

Nonetheless, this was a vintage tournament.

No tournaments could ask for a more deserving winner than this Spanish side. Blessed with an array of dazzling attacking talent, coach Luis Aragones had the gumption to allow the players expression and avoid stifling their gifts. In many qualifiers, he had opted for only one forward; here, however, the exceptional qualities of David Villa and Fernando Torres were allowed to dazzle in harness. Villa was the top scorer, with his hat-trick over Russia in Spain’s opening game something to behold; Torres, blending raw pace and dexterity with the ball at his feet, scored the only goal of the final.

Yet Spain’s superiority manifested itself throughout. Their midfield combined the silky panache of Andreas Iniesta, Xavi - the official player of the tournament - and Cesc Fabregas, who often made a real impact from the bench and scored the curse-breaking decisive penalty against Italy, with the relentlessly efficient Marcos Senna. Senna’s tackling, positional sense and indefatigability made him perhaps their most crucial player of all. Their defence was also superb; and, when Iker Casillas was most needed, in the penalty shoot-out against Italy, he showed why he is one of the three best goalkeepers in the world today. Spain’s victory was a triumph of artistry; theirs was a side whose multifarious talents and attacking desires were palpable. No one could dispute they were the best.

Pundits in the UK were seldom reluctant to accentuate the deficiencies of this German side compared to their predecessors. And yet, for all that, they reached the final, a commendable effort the result of not just the fortuitous circumstances – by far the more gentle half of the draw; and avoiding Croatia in the semis - but also an exceptional team ethic and their qualities in attack. Michael Ballack also deserves much praise for his inspirational leadership, and scored invaluable goals against Austria and in the 3-2 quarter-final win over Portugal. But, after another 3-2 win in the semi-finals, it was hard but to applaud those whom Germany had defeated: Turkey, the side that would simply never accept defeat.

Turkey’s was amongst the most extraordinary displays ever witnessed in a tournament. A 2-0 opening loss to Portugal was hardly the most auspicious of starts but, thereafter, Turkey’s depths of energy, willpower and almost messianic depths of self-belief continued to astound. A last-minute, come-from-behind victory over hosts Switzerland was stirring indeed, but it was made to look positively mundane by the winner-takes-all clash with the Czech Republic. Rather unjustly, Turkey trailed 2-0 with just 15 minutes left. Hamit Altintop brought them hope, but it did not appear good enough. Then, with three minutes left, there came an almost inexplicable error from Petr Cech to draw Turkey level and open the prospect of penalties deciding the fate of the group. All were left stunned, except Nihat, who produced the crispest of finishes to score his second and take Turkey through.

The sense that fate was on Turkey’s side received was added to in the quarter-final with Croatia. There was a 119th minute, certain winner. Except there wasn’t. A hoof up field from Rustu - so culpable in Croatia’s goal - and a deflection later, and Turkey had come back from the dead again. Seldom can penalties have had such a feeling of inevitability about them: the force was behind Turkey and Croatia, for all the brilliance shown in their group win over Germany, were finished. The Turks were emphatically not, however, and even with an astonishingly depleted side, through injuries and suspensions, were able to better Germany during a pulsating second half of their semi-final. After their 86th minute equaliser, Phillip Lahm’s 90th minute winner was cruel indeed. But Turkey’s phenomenal spirit, boundless energy and no little skill was something extraordinary to behold.

After Turkey’s exit, the label of the side with ‘destiny’ on their side spread, albeit fleetingly, to Russia. Whilst they were twice soundly beaten by outstanding Spanish performances, Russia’s quarter-final win over Holland was spectacular. The vivacity of the players, so often a hallmark of Guus Hiddink’s sides, was inescapable and astonishing, even before one considered they had had three days to prepare for the game, Holland’s first choice players a week. Russia were technically proficient and relentless in their running, their hustling of the opposition and commitment to attacking. And the genius shown by Andrei Arshavin in the victories over Sweden and Holland will not be forgotten easily.

If Russia’s 3-1 win over Holland was the single most impressive team showing in the tournament, then a pair of Dutch displays were not too far behind. In dismantling Italy 3-0 and, especially, trouncing France 4-1, Holland’s technical prowess, ease on the ball and attacking nature led many pundits to compare them with the vintage Dutch side that won the trophy 20 years ago. With Wesley Sneijder superb in central midfield, the forwards received ample service and sometimes - especially in Arjen Robben’s terrific strike against France - their brilliance was such they could manufacture goals seemingly out of nothing.

The tournament also served to reaffirm the transience of footballing dominance; both World Cup finalists produced dismal showings. Italy scraped into the quarter-finals but were bereft of any flair, and their lack of any attacking intent against Spain was feeble in the extreme. It is one thing playing to your strengths, another having such lack of belief in your ability to score that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - even from the penalty spot. France were even worse: too defensive; too unwilling to trust the fearlessness of youth; and above all too reliant on the few remaining remnants of the great generation who helped them to two tournament wins.

Spain’s plethora of exceptional players have the ability to match the French of a decade ago and add the World Cup to this European Championship. That, however is for another day. The warm glow of a tournament in which attacking play was so spectacularly rewarded should be savoured. After a tournament that showcased the best that football has to offer, there is only one sour note: Uefa’s plans to expand the number of teams in the tournament and dilute its quality. For anyone privileged enough to have been in Austria and Switzerland can have no doubts that this is a format that needs no tinkering.

Tags: Andrei Arshavin, Austria, Cesc Fabregas, Croatia, Czech Republic, David Villa, Euro 2008, Fernando Torres, France, Germany, Greece, Guus Hiddink, Holland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey

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