Translated material
Year of the Red Fury
The Spaniards became the best team in the Old World
The Spanish national team is the European champion. In the decisive match of the continental championship, the team from the Iberian Peninsula, which had twice previously acted as an offender to the Russians , turned out to be stronger than Germany - 1:0. The chronic loser of major tournaments won his second trophy. The first time the Spaniards became champions of the continent was back in 1964. Then the Spaniards beat the USSR national team in the final. This time the victim of the “red fury” was the Bundestim.Celebrations for the triumph of the Spanish national team on the streets of various cities across the country resulted in sheer insanity. As a result of clashes between eccentric football fans and police, 90 people were injured, 14 of them were hospitalized. “Drunk fans, mostly young people, rioted in the area of the capital's Columbus, Cibeles and Castigliana Avenue. They stopped the movement of vehicles, burned garbage containers, broke telephone booths, and threw bottles at police officers,” RIA Novosti quoted the national police as saying. The special forces had to use batons. A representative of the capital's ambulance service said that most of the victims were treated on the spot, and one of the 14 hospitalized is in serious condition with a traumatic brain injury. According to the police, at least 65 thousand residents of Madrid took part in the active celebration of the Spanish team's victory at Euro 2008. However, it appears that this figure is greatly underestimated.
Returning directly to the final game, we note that before the start of the meeting, alarming news was heard from the teams’ camp. The tournament's top scorer, David Villa, who was injured, never recovered and was unable to help the Spaniards. There would have been no luck, but misfortune helped - there was a place in the starting lineup for Cesc Fabregas. German doctors were able to get Michael Ballack back on his feet, who had not trained for two days. Otherwise it would be unfair. Ballack is often unlucky before decisive matches - either injuries or cards. Let us remind you that the German national team played the final of the 2002 World Cup without its leader.
From the first minutes of the final match, the German team suddenly seized the initiative and forced the Spaniards to play without the ball. Podolski ran away from Sergio Ramos a couple of times, but failed to get a shot on goal. The Germans were so carried away by the attack that they did not notice how their opponents began to let them roll the ball less often, and soon they completely deprived the Bundesteam of their advantage. And now the first signal - Iniesta's shot on goal, Lehmann, with considerable difficulty, transferred the ball to the corner. Then a cross from Ramos, a jump from Torres and a header - Lehmann didn't reach the ball, but the post is the goalkeeper's friend. The goal was brewing and came in the 33rd minute. Fabregas made a pass from the depths of the field to Torres, Malysh ran away from Lahm and shot past Lehmann, who ran forward, right into the corner - 1:0.
There was plenty of time left, but the Germans did not manage to establish anything worthwhile - the Spaniards did not allow it. The short Xavi, Iniesta and Senna tied the hands of the German midfielders. Schweinsteiger disappeared onto the field, Ballack was seen more at the edge of the field when he was receiving medical assistance. Somewhere Miroslav Klose was staggering alone in front - the ball still didn’t get to him. Only once did the German team manage to create something worthwhile. The ball from Podolski's cross hit Ramos' hand, but referee Rosetti didn't see it or didn't want to see it. And at the Lehmann gate it was, if not hot, then very warm.
Nothing changed after the break. Only Lam, the Euro record holder for the number of accurate passes, was replaced by Jansen. The Spaniards had the ball, the Germans did absolutely nothing. Casillas's penalty area turned out to be a forbidden zone for them. The appearance of two strikers - "Panamanian" Kuranyi and "Spanish" Gomez - also did not give anything to the German national team, only more chaos ahead. The German forwards received the ball extremely rarely, and with their movements they only interfered with each other.
Meanwhile, old Aragones stuck to his line and made substitutions. Fresh Xorla came on, then coach's favorite David Guiza replaced the hero of the match, Torres. With the substitutions, the nature of the meeting did not change. The center of the field was still dominated by Marcus Senna, who really wanted to become the first Brazilian European champion. Rosetti added three minutes to the main time, but during this time the Germans could have conceded rather than scored. But this did not happen either. The Italian referee's whistle announced that the Spanish team was the European champion.
Logic triumphs. The Spanish national team did not lose to anyone, moreover, they won five matches out of six, scored more than anyone else and showed a game for which it was difficult to find an antidote. The Red Fury's midfielders took control of the middle of the field and did not allow their opponents to create anything worthwhile. Contrary to alarming expectations, the national team's defense, made up of players from different clubs, turned out to be very strong. The short central defenders Puyol and Marchena did not allow any of the giants to feel at ease in their penalty area, therefore, height does not always matter much. Iker Casillas was also excellent, conceding only two goals and winning the penalty shootout against the Italians.
But with all due respect to the wonderful players of the Spanish national team, the main hero of the championship must be called their coach Luis Aragones. How much criticism did this wise old man listen to before the start of the championship. He especially got it for the absence of Raul in the team. But the Sage proved he was right - the Spanish team played all six matches in different ways, carefully studying each of the opponents. All the opponents' weak points were found, all their trump cards were beaten. As a result, European champions won gold medals. The Spaniards must meet the national team with a banner - “Forgive us, Aragones.” In the meantime, let's listen to the Sage himself: “This is a happy day for Spain. We won the tournament in brilliant style and are very happy with it. Now we can say that we are capable of winning big European trophies. For many, this team has become an example of how to play football. I think everyone who loves football wants the team to play in a combination style, strive for the opponent's penalty area and score goals. I said at the very beginning that if we manage this squad correctly, we will become champions. Then everyone in the team thought that I was trying to cheer them up. I hope Spain continues like this and wins many more trophies."
The Spaniards will win many more trophies with a different coach, because Aragones is leaving the national team. He will be replaced by Vicente Del Bosque. But Aragones, who will soon turn seventy, has no intention of retiring. On July 4th he will lead Fenerbahce. Maybe, along with Aragones, one of the new European champions will appear on the shores of the Bosphorus.
Final. Spain - Germany - 1:0. Vienna (Austria), Ernst Happel Stadium. 51,428 viewers. Goal: Torres 33.
Best player of the championship (UEFA version): Javi Hernandez (Spain).
Symbolic team of the championship (UEFA version). Goalkeepers - Buffon (Italy), Casillas (Spain), Van der Sar (Holland). Defenders - Bosingwa (Portugal), Lahm (Germany), Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Puyol (Spain), ZHIRKOV (Russia). Midfielders -- Altintop (Turkey), Modric (Croatia), Senna (Spain), Xavi Hernandez (Spain), ZYRYANOV (Russia), Ballack (Germany), Fabregas (Spain), Iniesta (Spain), Podolski (Germany), Snyder (Holland). Forwards - ARSHAVIN (Russia), PAVLYUCHENKO (Russia), Torres (Spain), Villa (Spain).