VIENNA, June 30 (Reuters) - It was only fitting that Euro 2008 signed off with a classic final after three weeks of consistently high-quality, attacking, entertaining football that
helped make it one of the best tournaments for years.
Only a few games, most obviously the Spain v Italy
quarter-final, were strangled by fear of failure and in Spain's
case, having lost so regularly at that stage, that was
understandable.
Otherwise there was a real commitment to attack, from all
areas, and Spain's final triumph was a just reward for their
superiority at some of the most basic aspects of the game --
accurate passing, instant control and sharp movement.
Much of the pre-tournament talk had been of the likely
impact of the strikers but, David Villa's first-game hat-trick
apart, it was midfielders who generally ruled the roost.
'Most of the teams who came to the tournament as 4-4-2
finished as 4-5-1, including both finalists.' observed Arsenal's
French coach Arsene Wenger.
Many of the most effective sides - Spain, Russia and
Netherlands in particular - also employed fullbacks who were
virtual wingers, often swamping the opposition.
Andy Roxburgh, the head of UEFA's technical delegation, said
he had been hugely impressed.
'You have the classic counter coming from the back but also
from midfield areas, a kind of collective counter where they win
it in midfield and a group of players break at speed, catching
out defenders,' he said.
'The best teams are now trying to exploit the space when it
is there by playing a high intensity game, running at pace.'
The only real area of play that was sub-standard was the
delivery of free kicks and corners, which far too often failed
to clear the first defender, resulting in very few headed goals.
Many teams, when awarded a free kick in what traditionally
would have been a dangerous position, simply took a touch and
resumed their patient build-up.
There was little patience about the Netherlands, who charged
out of the blocks to give one of the best attacking performances
of the group stage and were then on the receiving end of a
similarly effervescent display by Russia in the quarter-finals.
There was talk of 'Total Football' as the Dutch swept past
world champions Italy 3-0, helped by Wesley Sneijder's contender
for best goal of the tournament.
But they were undone by an even more adventurous show as
Russia, who also sparkled against Sweden, ground them down with
their Andrei Arshavin-inspired attacking for a deserved 3-1 win.
Then it was Russia's turn to chase shadows as Spain
eventually passed them into exhaustion then picked them off with
three well crafted second-half goals in a terrific semi-final
where barely a backward pass was made.
Germany's high point was the thrilling 3-2 quarter-final win
over Portugal when the advanced midfield role of Michael Ballack
inspired them to one of their best performances for years.
In the final it was Spain's cutting edge passing, and a
top-notch finish by Fernando Torres, rather than Germany's
powerful running, that fittingly secured the trophy.
