Spain Takes Euro2008 Crown in 1-0 Win over Germany

Spain’s soccer culture has been one of underachievement for the past 4 decades. Never short of talent, the Iberians just couldn’t seem to put together the string of wins necessary to take the title in any major tournament. Yesterday, that changed as Spain defeated ever-reliable Germany 1-0 to take the Euro2008 championship.

In the 33rd minute, Fernando Torres (who plays for Liverpool in the English Premiership) found the back of the net to wind up the tournament’s scoring. Although Germany is never finished so long as there is time on the clock, it seemed they couldn’t find a way past the Spaniards. Germany’s coach Joachim Low said, “Spain played very well during whole tournament and they were technically excellent. We had no answer after Spain found their rhythm.”

Spain actually found their rhythm just as the tournament started. Winning their group by beating Russia (a solid young team that made it to the semis, and who will be a factor in World Cup 2010) by 4-1, taking out Sweden and Greece on scores of 2-1 each time, Spain was strikingly effective. Getting past Italy (the defending World Cup Champions) on penalties was a good showing, if not decisive. Spain then beat Russia 3-0 in the semifinal match. In short, they played up to their potential all month.

Spain’s coach Luis Aragones retires now, on top. He said, “All those that love football want to see it played that way. People want players who can pass well and get into the penalty area and score goals. They'll look up to Spain as a model of how to play football. We've won this tournament brilliantly, it's a happy day for the players, the background staff, me, all Spaniards.”

However, the most entertaining finish of the entire tournament didn’t involve Spain. That game was between Croatia and Turkey. Frankly, the two sides played uninspiring soccer until the very end. Then, an Ivan Klasnic header put Croatia in front with seconds left, and Turkey's Semih Senturk volleyed home the equalizer with the last kick of the game. Turkey went through on penalties, which is a lousy way to determine the victor, but for a few minutes, every soccer fan was on the edge of his seat. On to South Africa two years hence.

© Copyright 2008 by The Kensington Review, Jeff Myhre, PhD, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent. Produced using Fedora Linux.

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