Spain and Germany meet tomorrow night in the Final of a tournament that has been notable for the inconsistency shown by the competing nations as much as the stunning counter-attacking football on display. Perennial underachievers Spain have bucked the trend shown by other fancied nations to have won all of their matches. If they emerge victorious in the Ernst Happel Stadion, they will be the first team since France in 1984 to do so, the last time that Spain reached the final. Germany however know the finals well although this is their first European Championship appearance at this stage since 1996 when they beat the Czech Republic with an Oliver Beirhoff ‘Golden Goal’.

In reaching the Final, both teams paths could not have been more markedly different. The Germans were many people’s pre-tournament favourites but they have stumbled to get this far, failing to be convincing in any performance other than their Quarter-Final victory over Portugal and it is this inconsistency that Spain must be wary of. In defence, no-one has been commanding and the weakness at full-back has exposed a powder-puff central defensive pairing in Mertesacker and Metzelder. As much as their marking has been slack, the centre-backs’ distribution has been equally loose. Surrendering possession to Spain can mean waving goodbye to the ball for considerable lengths of time.

Getting this far has not been far of a three man show for them; Podolski, Ballack and Schweinsteiger have been involved in pretty much all of the German goals to now. It is this resilience that is their greatest strength, the ability to dig themselves out of a hole as their semi-final victory over Turkey proved; 0-1 down reversed to 2-1 lead and a late equaliser topped by an even later. It epitomised their tournament. Outplayed for huge chunks of a game but emerging victorious.

Spain meanwhile have made light work of most of their opposition. They cruised through the Group phase, their second string beating Greece in the final match of that stage summed it up. A convincing win over Italy was denied by Gianluigi Buffon but the Russians were brushed aside in the semi-final. The key worry for them will be the absence of David Villa, the leading scorer in Euro2008. He was replaced by Cesc Fabregas against the Russians as Spain adapted their 4-4-2 to 4-1-4-1 and it is this latter formation which may take the field in the Final.

They go into this match unbeaten in twenty-one matches so confidence will not be a problem. Defensively, they have not been entirely convincing but have yet to concede more than one goal in any game. Does it really matter though when Iker Casillas is behind them, determined to prove those who believe him to best in his position, totally right? The fullbacks have been impressive coming forward, Ramos is garnering praise for his raids on the right but Capdevilla has been supportive of Silva on the left.

It is the midfield passing which has been most impressive about their run to the final. Iniesta and Xavi have passed opponents to death with Fabregas coming on to join in the fun and add more bite to their forward movement, particularly in the knock-out stages. Valencia’s David Silva has been equally at home on either flank, rendering man-marking irrelevant.

The biggest test though is up front. Torres and Villa have worked in tandem all tournament; the latter has now succumbed to a thigh injury and is missing. Torres had plenty of chances in his hour on the pitch against the Russians but has not found scoring as ’simple’ as it was for Liverpool last season. He will need to buck that trend if Spain are to win their first tournament in forty-four years.
 

Tags: Euro2008, Football, Germany, Soccer, Spain

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