Viva La Roja!

If Spain’s status as the greatest football side of this generation was ever in any doubt, its emphatic Euro 2012 triumph should settle the matter once and for all. Vicente del Bosque’s outfit put on a compelling exhibition of belligerence in Kiev to conquer the continent again, silencing critics and destroying a spent Italian team. No other country has defended the European championships or won three major international tournaments on the trot; it can safely be assumed that these feats will not be matched in the foreseeable future. But beyond the results and the mountain of statistical firsts, it is del Bosque and Spain’s unflinching commitment to their style of play — the tiki-taka, a game built on absolute control of the ball and demanding fiendish levels of skill — that deserves to be lauded.

 It has prompted accusations — born mostly out of resentment – of Spain being boring, but if games have seemed dull, it is simply because opponents have been unable to win the ball back. No praise is too high for the masterful midfielders Xavi Hernández and Andres Iniesta, who have been pillars of their Barcelona side for a while now. They were exemplary on Sunday night for their nation, playing a direct hand in three of the four goals.

For Italy, there is no humiliation in defeat. This team has demolished clichés by playing fine attacking football, and undoubtedly deserved to be in the final. Were it not for the quality of the opposition, another journey that began with scandal in the backdrop could have ended in a trophy. Coach Cesare Prandelli must take a lot of the credit for the turnaround. He picked the side up from the depths of the 2010 World Cup campaign and set out to “make people fall in love with the Azzurri again”. He will take pride in the outcome. Euro 2012 will be remembered as one of the better international competitions of recent times, and with more thrilling encounters in the knock-out rounds could have gone down as one of the great ones.

There were numerous standout individual performances, while the group stages made for thoroughly entertaining viewing. Hosts Ukraine and Poland can pat themselves on a job well done for the most part. There was the ugly fracas involving Polish and Russian fans, and alleged racist behaviour from supporters that saw the Spanish, Russian, Croatian and German national football associations fined. But reports on locals and their hospitality have largely been glowing. In the aftermath of the tournament, the Spanish position in the pantheon of the best teams ever will be debated. Wherever they may rank del Bosque’s charges, it won’t be very far from the top.