Spain seals Euro triumph

A first-half goal to Fernando Torres has ended 44 years of Spanish heartache, as Spain clinched the Euro 2008 title with a 1-0 win over Germany in Vienna.

The best side of the tournament, Spain could have easily won by more than the solitary goal, as they thoroughly outplayed the Germans for much of the encounter. But in the end, Torres' goal was enough to send the long-suffering Spanish fans into raptures at the Ernst Happel Stadion.

The success marks Spain's first major championship victory since winning this tournament in 1964 on home soil, and it also ends years of being judged as perennial chokers.

Missing the tournament's top goalscorer David Villa, the striking responsibilities were left to Torres, who did not disappoint with his typically predatory and classy finish to separate the sides.

Many pundits felt that this German side did not contain the elegance and confidence of the teams that have won the tournament in the past, and after practically limping into the final after an unconvincing win over Turkey in the semi-finals, they were found out by a technically gifted Spanish outfit.

The result also marks vindication for the often under-fire Spanish manager Luis Aragones, who was publicly lambasted for leaving out seasoned international Raul and Guti. But the team he assembled was strong all over the park, and the football his side produced was a joy to watch from the very beginning of the tournament, and given the squad's youth it will enter the upcoming World Cup qualifiers as one of the favourites.

Aragones expectedly replaced the unlucky David Villa with Cesc Fabregas, who deputised so superbly against Russia, whilst for Germany, manager Joachim Low included Torsten Frings in place of Simon Rolfes, and Michael Ballack passed a late fitness test on his troublesome calf.

The Germans started the game reasonably well, and they were nearly released after just three minutes when Ramos gave possession away cheaply, but Klose couldn’t capitalise. Hitzlsperger then had his tame effort picked up by Casillas, but the Germans looked to have settled better early on.

As seen in previous games, the Spaniards were prepared to simply keep control with their passing in an effort to gain a foothold in the game, and their slick movement nearly forced an own goal on the quarter-hour. After Iniesta picked up the ball on the left, his low cross was diverted goal-bound by Christoph Metzelder, but Jens Lehmann acrobatically averted the danger.

The chance sparked Spain into life, and they nearly went ahead shortly after as a dinked cross from Sergio Ramos was headed onto the post by Fernando Torres. Joan Capdevila's speculative effort from the German clearance also sailed wide, but the threat of Torres was becoming apparent for the Germans, as he continually found space in the channels, and 10 minutes later, he fired the Spaniards into the lead.

Torres latched onto a swift through-ball from Xavi, and after outpacing and outmuscling the German left-back Philipp Lahm, he flicked the ball past the on-rushing Lehmann and into the far corner.

The German defence has been much criticised throughout the tournament, and again Mertesacker and Lahm were too easily brushed aside by the in-form Torres.

It was thought that Germany's best opportunities throughout the game would come from set pieces, given the massive height advantage the Germans have over a comparably small Spanish defence. But despite winning a number of corners and free kicks, the Germans failed to craft any clear opportunities due to their wastefulness.

At the break, Marcell Jansen replaced the disappointing Lahm in an effort to stiffen the defence. But Spain remained on the offensive as Xavi and David Silva both shot wide, before Xavi slipped Torres through again in almost a carbon copy of the goal, but this time Lehmann was out sharply to dive on the ball.

One of Germany's best chances came on the hour as Carles Puyol was caught in possession near the corner flag, but despite Jansen's subsequent cross being nicely teed up to Ballack by Miroslav Klose's cushioned header, his volley only hit the side-netting.

The chance represented Germany's best in arguably their best spell of the match, as even though the Germans for a fleeting period enjoyed good possession, they still failed to really test Iker Casillas.

The game threatened to boil over on 64 minutes, as Silva appeared to head-butt Lukas Podolski after a brief scuffle off the ball. German players furiously protested, but the Italian referee Roberto Rosetti defused the situation without cautioning Silva much to their dismay.

Even though they were in the lead and looking comfortable, the Spaniards enjoyed the better of the last 25 minutes, particularly through their polished movement with the ball.

Lehmann was forced into a number of saves in quick succession as the German defence was run ragged. First, terrible marking from a free-kick nearly proved costly, but Sergio Ramos' free header was well tipped over. From the subsequent corner, Iniesta's shot was cleared off the line by Frings, before moments later Iniesta again shot at Lehmann, bringing about another save.

Germany couldn't really gain decent control of the ball, such was the Spaniards' constant harassing, and on 81 minutes, the Spaniards almost made the game safe once again. Two substitutes Santi Cazorla and Dani Guiza combined to set up Senna, but he couldn’t latch onto the ball despite his despairing lunge and the goal gaping.

The Germans inevitably hoofed the ball forward in a desperate bid to gain an undeserved equaliser, but the Spanish defence stood resolute, and the final whistle ended decades of Spanish disappointment.

Ratings

Germany
1 - Lehmann - 7 - Kept the margin respectable.
3 - Friedrich - 5 - Never comfortable.
6 - Schweinsteiger - 6 - In and out.
8 - Frings - 6 - Fine.
11 - Klose - 5 - Didn't influence the game enough.
13 - Ballack - 5 - Quiet.
15 - Hitzlsperger - 4 - Anonymous.
16 - Lahm - 5 - Disappointing.
17 - Mertesacker - 5 - Torres' pace worried him.
20 - Podolski - 5 - Not involved enough.
21 - Metzelder - 4 - Poor.

(SUB) 2 - Jansen - 5 - Okay.
(SUB) 9 - Gomez - 6 - No impact.
(SUB) 22 - Kuranyi - 6 - His introduction didn't have desired impact.

Spain
1 - Casillas - 7 - Little to do.
4 - Marchena - 7 - Untroubled.
5 - Puyol - 6 - One or two anxious moments.
6 - Iniesta - 8 - Extremely lively.
8 - Xavi - 7 - Solid.
9 - Torres - 9 - A constant menace and classy goal.
10 - Fabregas - 7 - Worked hard.
11 - Capdevila - 7 - Assured.
15 - Sergio Ramos - 7 - Got forward well.
19 - Senna - 8 - Broke up play superbly.
21 - Silva - 6 - In and out.

(SUB) 12 - Santi Cazorla - 6 - Lively off the bench.
(SUB) 14 - X. Alonso - 6 - Fine.
(SUB) 17 - Guiza - 6 - Not enough time.