Euro 2012 Final – Spain vs Italy – Pre Match Analysis

After 3 weeks of action packed football, Euro 2012 will be signing off in style on Sunday with a final that not many predicted at the start of the competition. The defending Europe and World Champions Spain will take on Italy.
Both finalists started the tournament against each other as the opening fixture ended in 1-1 draw where Di Natale’s top class finish was canceled out by Fabregas’s goal. Remarkably that is the only goal Spain have conceded in the competition thus far.
It is expected that Del Bosque will be making only a single change in the team which started the semi-final clash against Portugal last Wednesday. Sevilla striker, Alvaro Negredo is likely to be replaced by Barcelona midfielder, Cesc Fabregas. On the other side, Cesare Prandelli will be most probably going with the same line-up which started in the encounter against Germany in the semi final.
Road To Final

Spain Attack vs Italy Defense
Italy played the first two games of the tournament with 3-5-2 formation. De Rossi was by far Man of the Match against Spain as he played in the heart of defense and broke their play. Bonucci was used as the right back and Chiellini left back. Pirlo and Marchisio were opted to play in the deep of the midfield where Maggio and Giacherrini were playing in the right and left wings of the 5 men midfield, respectively.
As 4-4-2 formation was introduced in the final group match against Ireland, De Rossi was operated from his favourite defensive midfield and Juventus pair, Chiellini and Barzagli formed the heart of the defense, where Balzeritti and Abate played in the left and right backs respectively. As Chiellini was in the injury list of players for the quarter-final game against England, Bonucci returned to the starting line-up to form pair with his Juventus team-mate, Barzagli. As Abate was unavailable and Maggio was suspended for the semi-final clash against Germany, Balzeritti was shifted to the right back from his favourite left back position. Chiellini played as left back in his return in the semi-finals. Pirlo was working from the deep of the midfield in the knock out stages.
Abate and Maggio will be available for the finals, Balzeritti is expected to play in the right back due to his influential performance against Germans in the semi-finals.
Coming to Spain, for the semi-final clash against Portugal, Vicente del Bosque made a single change from his team which started the quarter-final game against France. Sevilla Striker, Alvaro Negredo was brought in the place of Barcelona Midfielder, Cesc Fabregas who has been playing as false No. 9 in the tournament. And Fabregas is expected to return to the starting line-up for the clash with Italian the final as Negredo put up a horrifying performance. Apart from the No. 9 position,Spain has been starting all the games of the tournament with the same remaining 10.
Spaniards are known for their passing abilities. The no. of passes completed by them is more than any other team in the tournament. The absence of injured David Villa is severely felt in the Spanish side as the forwards have not been able to take full advatange of the opportunities midfield created for them.
In the first game where Italy faced Spain in the group stages, Silva provided an excellent assist to Fabregas to level the score. Silva passed the ball in between De Rossi and Chiellini; As Maggio failed to mark Fabregas, the Barcelona man ran in the gap between Maggio and De Rossi and scored. Italian defenders should come up with bright display in order to avoid those errors in marking the attackers.
As De Rossi has been playing in the left wing, he will be marking Xavi Hernandez who is opted to play on the right flank. As De Rossi is known for producing excellent tackles, Xavi will be facing a tough task to go beyond the Roman midfielder. As the 3 of back 4 has been playing for the same club, the co-ordination between them will be more. Barzagli will be marking Fabregas and Bonucci will be mapping Silva.
Alba, who came in the team for ageing Capdevilla has been producing considerably more threats to the opponents. His noticeable remarkable run was that he made against France, where he put up an excellent through ball to Alonso in which the Real Madrid midfielder scored with the header. Arbeloa is perhaps the weakest link in Spanish’s defense throughout the tournament with majority of the teams troubled Spain from the left.
Italy Attack vs Spain Defense
In World Cup 2010, Sergio Ramos played as right back, Puyol and Pique stood in the heart of the defense and capdevilla in the left back.  Due to Puyol’s injury, Ramos who almost played all the matches as CB last season for Real Madrid has pulled to play in the heart of the defense by Del Bosque and thereby letting the way for Arbeloa to play as right back. Might be considering the ageing factor, Del Bosque opted influential Valencia’s left back Jodi Alba ahead of Capdevilla to play as a part of the spanish defense.
Sergio Busquets was brought in to the team for World Cup 2010 for the defensive midfield role in the place of Marcos Senna. The 23-year old Barcelona midfielder was continuously delivering valuable goods for his country, since making his first appearance in 2010.
In the opening two matches Pirlo and Marchisio were playing in the deep of the midfield in Prandelli’s 3-5-2 formation. But the introduction of 4-4-2 formation in the game against Ireland, made Marchisio to play in the right side of the midfield, leaving Pirlo alone in the deep of the midfield.
As Motta was in the injury list of players for the game against England, Montolivo was given the opportunity to make his first start in the tournament. Though Montolivo has been playing in the right side of the midfield for his club, he was made to play in the play-maker role i.e., behind the strikers. But, despite of playing in the unfavorable position, Montolivo provided the considerably appreciable performance in the quarter-final game. He ran in the crucial gaps and kept the ball moving. Due to his excellent performance, Montolivo was given another opportunity to start the semi-final against Germany despite of Motta being available.
Balotelli didn’t make a big impact in the first two opening games, But, he scored in a spectacular fashion with the beautiful bi-cycle kick in the last group match against Ireland, coming as a substitute. Balotelli started the quarter-final and semi-final game. In the semi-finals, he scored a brace in the first half to lead his side to the victory. The second goal he scored was an absolute cracker where he fired the shot from outside the box with such pace that left Neuer no time to react.
Pirlo, who was the man of the match in both the knock out games in the tournament for Italy, has delivering the goods brilliantly. The former Fiorentina midfielder ahead of Pirlo runs through the crucial gaps and has functioned well. Cassano was brilliant in running back and forth, shooting towards the goal and in the passing abilities. Marchisio looks settled in the right side of the midfield. But this time, the Juventus midfielder will be experiencing some sorts of trouble from Xabi Alonso and Alba.
Conclusion
The winner of 2010 World Cup will be battling the winner of 2006 World Cup for the Euro crown. Having lost to Spain in the quarter-final stage of Euro 2008, Italians will be looking for revenge and win their second championship. The reigning champions Spain remain favorite and will look to become the first team ever to retain the European Championship title.
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