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| Monday 30 June, 2008 |
| Blog: The Beautiful Game |
| Spain were deserved winners of Euro 2008 after playing some stunning football, but Richard Godden wonders why Italy couldn't do the same |
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Cesc Fabregas hit the nail on the head with his comments after Spain lifted the Henri Delaunay trophy, their first silverware in 44 years, following a 1-0 triumph over Germany. "It's been a long time since a team playing this kind of beautiful football won a tournament like this," beamed the young Arsenal midfielder. While Greece's win four years ago seemed to be a victory for 'anti-football', June 29, 2008, will always be remembered as a day when the game itself was the true winner.
So often considered as the great underachievers of world football - a position which is now certainly held by England, if it wasn't already - Spain played as if they didn't have a care in the world, caressing the ball around with ease and knocking it around opponents as if they weren't there. Even their suspect defence grew as the tournament progressed, conceding just three times in the tournament and not once when the knock-out phase got underway.
Italian fans, of course, will look back on their quarter-final clash with Luis Aragones' men wondering what might have been. A 0-0 stalemate followed by a penalty shoot-out - it was anyone's game, and we will never know what would have happened if Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale hadn't missed from 12 yards. But it was the right result for football that Spain emerged victorious, considering that they were attempting to score during regulation time, rather than simply trying to stop their opponents from finding the back of the net.
Make no mistake about it, Roberto Donadoni had the personnel to play expansive football. And he appeared to have the courage to do so, having sent his side out in an attacking 4-3-3 in their opening game against Holland. Yet he made some crucial mistakes with his team selection after failing to pick Fabio Grosso at left-back, trusting a dodgy centre-back pairing and omitting the magnificent Daniele De Rossi to accommodate the average Massimo Ambrosini.
But even with these errors, I felt that Italy were incredibly unlucky to lose 3-0. The first goal was clearly offside - how could Christian Panucci have deliberately gone off the pitch to play Ruud Van Nistelrooy offside, considering he'd just been decked by Gigi Buffon? - while the other two strikes came pretty much straight after goal-line clearances at the other end.
Yet Donadoni soon bottled it, ditching his offensive formation and gradually going more and more defensive. All of the good work done by Marcello Lippi and Co in Germany two years earlier was undone in the space of 120 minutes against Spain, with all the old stereotypes about Italians being defensive returning. It will take the returning Lippi another two years to undo them. And if he wants a model to follow, then he could do a lot worse than the worthy winners of Euro 2008.
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Let’s face it, the best team won and we have to feel good for our fellow Latinos. If we weren’t going to win it then it’s great they have. We can take some pride from the tournament, after all Spain scored against every opponent, apart from the Azzurri. It is small succour but some consolation. Forget about those commentators who tried to make out we defended for 120 minutes. That’s just plain garbage. Spain barely had a shot on goal and we probably had the best chance of the game. However, I have to concur that Donadoni should have gone for it in the last 15 minutes. I think putting on Alessandro (I need 20 touches before I fall down) Del Piero on as our last hope says a lot. With five minutes of extra-time to go I turned to a fellow piasan and said: ‘You know what makes me sad, the fact that all the millions watching will want Spain to win on penalties’. That match did do little for our status in world football, although we always seem to get labelled defensive even when we’re not!
But we can come back and Lippi is the man we need. He let his pride get the better of him after the last World Cup and he obviously regrets his decision to finish. It’s such a shame he wasn’t at the helm for this tournament. Not because Donadoni did such a bad job, but because I think he could have used this competition to blood some youngsters and have a good positive tournament prior to the World Cup qualification. Let’s face it, we aren’t going to win with this squad and God forbid we become the first defending champions not to qualify for the World Cup. The next tournament will be really open and I can see us doing a lot better that 1986 when an ageing Italian side were completely outclassed by France in the first knock-out round. Let’s hope Lippi can be brave enough to get rid of the Del Pieros and Camanorasis and inject some youth and vigour. I think there is still a lot of life in this old dog and we should come out biting!
Luciano S
An interesting note that you should quote Fabregas’s statement. Need I remind all that Fabregas was also inevitably taking a direct dig at Italy’s 2006 World Cup win in this statement and I feel that for him to come out and say this was entirely disrespectful to Greece, Italy and any proceeding recent tournament winners. Yes its easy to aspire to and say that teams should, for the sake of its audience, play attractive and fun attacking’ football, but what is most important is that the team plays to its strengths and maximises on them. That in itself is where the true beauty of a team’s football lies. Spain’s strength was their speed in counter attack and passing game, Italy’s in 2006 was their strong defence and counter attack, Greece’s in 2004 was endurance and the outright will to win at all cost’.
How dare Fabregas insult the achievements of previous victorious teams with such a statement as if to imply that all beauty had been lost in recent tournament victories. If you can’t see beauty in the capabilities and strengths of victorious teams in past tournaments you really have no right to make comment. Italy’s defensive displays, squad rotation and all team scoring capabilities in 2006 were a ‘beauty’ in its own right, as were Greece’s heroic displays against Portugal in 2004. I am happy for Spain’s victory because they were the best team in the tournament but young idiots like Fabregas have a lot to learn in the art of ‘respectful comment’.
As for Italy playing like Spain, I doubt this could ever be achievable with such an old team as the Azzurri’s. Spain’s game was based on their pace and speed in attack. Along with fitness Italy simply didn’t have the pace and speed element to the play the game in the ‘Spain way’. For the Azzurri, a younger, fresher, quicker and sharper squad is desperately required and has been since 2006 so let us all hope that Lippi can release the next generation of the Azzurri in the next two years! Forza Calcio!
Michael Jaconelli
Spain and Barca have something in common. Ten, if not 11, of their team are ball players. In the same way that Arsenal swept my beloved Milan off the park with beautiful passing in the Champions League, Spain did the same to their opponents in Euro 2008 and it was great to watch. Put one player in to any of those sides who can’t control the ball and pass and move effectively like Ambrosini and even (despite his fantastic qualities) Gattuso and the flowing football breaks up and players around lose confidence. Italy, like Milan have a mix of superb technicians and, let’s face it, some with two left feet so the entire unit cannot play in this manner.
The problem doesn’t remain there though. Donadoni is part of a breed of Coaches who fear failure. Eriksson, Trapattoni and Ancellotti also fall into this bracket. Carletto’s recent magnificent Scudetto winning side at times played with a back two with wing backs ....a joy to watch but this soon degenerated into the appalling Christmas tree formation and Donadoni seemed to clone him in this tournament. I get sick and tired defending calcio to my ill advised mates who think all Italian teams play cattenacio and you are correct, this stereotype is back thanks to Donadoni.
Lippi has a decent squad to pick from but let’s face it, 0-0 with Spain didn’t show the gulf in quality and when it comes down to throwing on Mauro Camoranesi to save your tournament, then you have apparent problems. Pippo Inzaghi watching this at home must have been so frustrated.
Gary Parker
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