Rob Smyth's Blog, page 205

Euro 2012: Guardian football writers' verdict on the tournament

Iniesta and Pirlo had multiple admirers but which match won the most nominations, and what were the highlights and lowlights?

BEST PLAYER

Marcus Christenson Andrés Iniesta. He is just a joy to watch. Football at its best. Andrea Pirlo needed a big final and he was never given a chance. If he'd played for Spain maybe …

Paul Doyle Cristiano Ronaldo. May have missed a few chances but was a constant source of excitement as no individual unhinged as many defences. Pity his team-mates could not even get as far as the fifth penalty in a shootout without him.

Dominic Fifield Andrea Pirlo. The Italian may have ended crestfallen, but the 33-year-old had been imperious in propelling the Azzurri to the final, his performances against England and Germany utterly mesmerising.

Barry Glendenning Andrés Iniesta.

Amy Lawrence Andrea Pirlo. Although he was upstaged in the final his excellence over the course of the tournament was inspiring. He was the heartbeat of the most improved team in Europe.

Kevin McCarra Andrea Pirlo. The midfielder illuminated the tournament, even if this classic Spain side were much too good for Italy in the final. The one major medal Pirlo lacks for club or country has eluded him.

Scott Murray Mario Balotelli, who came of age as a big-game player (even though he's already got an assist for a Premier League winning goal to his name).

Rob Smyth Andrea Pirlo. You can't really say he ran games, as that implies too much sweat and toil. He simply presided over them like a lord.

Barney Ronay Andrés Iniesta: the Spanish player even other Spanish players must look at and say: "he's so … Spanish". Offers a cutting edge even in those periods of sideways rumination and still makes pretty much everyone else look they're wearing concrete boots.

Jacob Steinberg Andrés Iniesta is the ultimate big-game player and the most beautiful player in the world after Leo Messi.

Daniel Taylor Andrés Iniesta. Until the final it would have been Andrea Pirlo, but Iniesta eclipsed him when it mattered.

Richard Williams Jointly the irrepressibly creative Andrés Iniesta and the man he and his team-mates so brilliantly managed to subdue in the final: Andrea Pirlo, the Divine Moptop.

Paul Wilson Il Postino, of course. Hope that Mario Balotelli's new nickname sticks too, because it is the best for a sportsman since Eddy Merckx was known as The Cannibal.

BEST MATCH

Marcus Christenson Germany 1-2 Italy, the semi-final in which Italy took Jogi Löw's side completely by surprise and Mario Balotelli showed that he is a world-class striker. Pirlo was sublime

Paul Doyle Denmark 2-3 Portugal. This was the sort of no-holds barred thriller you can get when all four teams in a group are top-notch. As such, we may never see the like again.

Dominic Fifield Germany 1-2 Italy. Joachim Löw's team had felt like champions elect, only to be floored by the brilliance of Mario Balotelli and Pirlo. The Manchester City striker's brutally dispatched second goal took the breath away.

Barry Glendenning Sweden 2-3 England. For sheer muck-and-bullets excitement it was hard to beat, even if the purists might not agree.

Amy Lawrence Germany 1-2 Italy. Highly charged, highly skilled, and riveting until the last minute – lived up to the classic billing. Watching Mario Balotelli embrace his adoptive mother at the end is an enduring image.

Kevin McCarra Germany 1-2 Italy. It was silly of us to be surprised that Cesare Prandelli's team should rise to the occasion and, thanks to the outstanding Mario Balotelli, expose the limitations of the Germany defence.

Scott Murray Germany 1-2 Italy. Just shades Czech Republic v Russia, which had a lovely, warm tournament's-just-started-we've-three-more-weeks-of-this glow, and Spain-Italy, which had a bittersweet why-didn't-we-get-more-of-this pall.

Barney Ronay Germany 1-2 Italy. A rare thing: a tournament knockout match with verve, last-minute uncertainty and even a (mild) upset.

Rob Smyth There were no great games, but Portugal 3-2 Denmark was exciting, decisive and gave new meaning to the idea of a pants match.

Jacob Steinberg Portugal 2-1 Holland. Cristiano Ronaldo was on one that night. A ridiculously brilliant performance. He could have hit double figures.

Daniel Taylor Spain 4-0 Italy. The knockout stages lacked a real classic but it was a privilege to see that Spain performance – and a great story, too, considering the scrutiny of their tactics.

Richard Williams Spain 1-1 Italy, an opening group match of great tactical sophistication, proclaiming that we were in for an unusually rewarding tournament.

Paul Wilson England 3-2 Sweden was pretty good, Germany v Holland perhaps better quality. Best performance I saw live was Germany 4-2 Greece.

HIGHLIGHT

Marcus Christenson Spain's football, of course, but also how the host nations showed that all the pre-tournament scaremongering had been unjustified.

Paul Doyle The generally positive spirit: most referees allowed robust contact and, in turn, most players did not throw themselves to the ground at the first whiff of contact.

Dominic Fifield Pirlo's cheeky penalty against the English, an effort so impudent it served to demoralise those still waiting to step up for a spot-kick.

Barry Glendenning Too many to mention, but many of the front-line dispatches, produced in this and other newspapers, by football writers who must be dead on their feet after three weeks of ridiculously long days and exhausting travelling, was an absolute pleasure to read.

Amy Lawrence Collectively, Spain saving best until last to take the breath away in the final, which was embellished in such style by the beautiful yet brutal passing of Fábregas, Iniesta and Xavi. Individually, Pirlo's "Panenka" penalty.

Kevin McCarra Jakub Blaszczykowski's neatly constructed goal for Poland against Russia. The power and curl of the captain's drive as he came in from the right in the 1-1 draw were unforgettable.

Scott Murray Andy Carroll planting that header home against Sweden. One of the goals of the tournament, by a limited but increasingly likeable footballer who's put up with, and come through, a lot of unimaginative abuse.

Barney Ronay Spain's first 15 minutes in the final: attacking penetration, a headed goal and a flashback to the excitement of the early tournament. Plus two tedious debates settled in one go: they are a truly great team; and they're not "boring".

Rob Smyth John Delaney's Day Off.

Jacob Steinberg Those of us who called Spain boring were after a signature performance – something to remember them by other than 70% possession in every game. We got that in the final. At their best, they are unplayable.

Daniel Taylor Andrea Pirlo versus Joe Hart. "Their goalkeeper looked fired-up. I thought: 'Now I give him 'the spoon.'"

Richard Williams Spain's dramatic opening goal in the final, a flourish of the highest technical accomplishment executed with breathtaking collective imagination and confidence.

Paul Wilson Andy Carroll's stunning header v Sweden. There were a couple of seconds of dead air on Polish television while the commentator worked out how the ball had ended up in the back of the net.

LOWLIGHT

Marcus Christenson The racism in itself in first place and then the pathetic fines that came with it.

Paul Doyle Giovanni Trapatoni's handling of Ireland's pointless appearance.

Dominic Fifield The ridiculous "countdown to kick-off", the relative lack of travelling fans, Uefa's system of fines, and the Dutch.

Barry Glendenning Hearing the inevitable confirmation that young Irish football fan, James Nolan, wouldn't be turning up safe and sound with a funny story to tell after he'd got separated from his pals and gone missing for several days in Poland.

Amy Lawrence The dismissal of Giorgios Karagounis – its unfairness was bad enough, but the lack of an overturned decision or at least an apology is inexcusable.

Kevin McCarra Fans (and this journalist) being ripped off by hotels in Ukraine.

Scott Murray The over-intellectualisation of tiki-taka, which as an art form is becoming more quixotic by the day. Cervantes would doubtless appreciate the irony of Spain's proselytisers tilting at windmills. Er, hold on …

Barney Ronay The collapse of Russia, so fluent in their 4-1 defeat of the Czechs, so meek and complacent in going out a week later.

Rob Smyth Spain waiting until the final to express their once-in-a-millennium talent.

Jacob Steinberg Andrea Pirlo in tears after the final. No one wants to see that.

Daniel Taylor The hour before every England match when Arsenal's pitch-announcer, Paul Burrell, subjected us to all that boneheaded drivel – "think of 1966" and "are we ready?" etc – to try to gee up the crowd. Memo to Uefa: it's naff in the extreme.

Richard Williams The absurd pre-match ceremonies, a concerted attempt to infantilise the whole football experience, culminating in the pathetic countdown, an innovation which must never be repeated.

Paul Wilson Unnecessary and unjustified pre-tournament speculation about fans coming home in coffins. Michel Platini's plans to improve things in future.

TEAM OF THE TOURNAMENT

Marcus Christenson (4-2-3-1): Rui Patrico; Arbeloa, Ramos, Pepe, Jordi Alba; Pirlo, Khedira; Ronaldo, Xavi, Iniesta; Balotelli.

Paul Doyle (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Pereira, Pepe, Ramos, Jordi Alba; Alonso, Pirlo; Iniesta, Ibrahimovic, Ronaldo; Mandzukic.

Dominic Fifield (4-3-3, not a striker in sight): Buffon; Gebre Selassie, Sergio Ramos, Terry, Jordi Alba; Khedira, Pirlo, Xabi Alonso; Ozil, Ronaldo, Iniesta.

Barry Glendenning (4-3-2-1): Casillas; Gebre Selassie, Pique, Terry, Jordi Alba; Moutinho, Pirlo, Iniesta; Xavi, Yarmolenko; Balotelli.

Amy Lawrence (4-1-3-2): Buffon; Arbeloa, Ramos, Mellberg, Jordi Alba; Xabi Alonso; Ronaldo, Pirlo, Iniesta; Fábregas, Balotelli.

Kevin McCarra (4-2-3-1): Buffon; Lahm, Ramos, Terry, Coentrão; Pirlo, Xavi; Iniesta, Ozil, Ronaldo; Balotelli.

Scott Murray (4-6-0): Buffon; Debuchy, Hummels, Agger, Lahm; Ozil, Pirlo, Sneijder, Balotelli, Arshavin, Ronaldo.

Barney Ronay (4-2-4-0): Cech; Lahm, Ramos, Terry, Jordi Alba; Pirlo, Khedira; Ronaldo, Iniesta, Modric, Fábregas; nobody.

Rob Smyth (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Pereira, Ramos, Hummels, Jordi Alba; Pirlo, Modric; Salpingidis, Ozil, Iniesta; Ronaldo.

Jacob Steinberg (4-3-3): Buffon; Pereira, Ramos, Pepe, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Pirlo, Fábregas; Ronaldo, Balotelli, Iniesta.

Daniel Taylor (4-3-3): Buffon; Arbeloa, Pique, Ramos, Jordi Alba; Xavi, Pirlo, Alonso; Ozil, Balotelli, Iniesta.

Richard Williams (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Balzaretti, Terry, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba; Pirlo, De Rossi, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas; Cassano.

Paul Wilson (4-2-3-1): Casillas; Lahm, Hummels, Pepe, Coentrão; Marchisio, Khedira; Moutinho, Pirlo, Ronaldo; Balotelli.

Euro 2012Jacob SteinbergRob SmythMarcus ChristensonAmy LawrenceDaniel TaylorBarry GlendenningRichard WilliamsPaul WilsonKevin McCarraScott MurrayBarney RonayPaul Doyle
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Euro 2012: where does this Spain side stand in the pantheon? | Rob Smyth

This remarkable team might be even better than Brazil 1970, Holland's Total Football pioneers and the Magical Magyars
• Vote for your favourite international team of all time here

It is only right that a unique team, as Spain are, should stand alone in the pantheon. No international side has won three major tournaments in a row before, unless you count the Olympics in the 1920s and 1930s. Since Euro 2008 they have exerted a numbing superiority over every team they have played and even those who advocate Satan for a living might struggle to argue that Spain are not the strongest international side of all.

Spain's miracle has been drastically to minimise the variables of knockout football and make themselves near to unbeatable. Even a more talented Barcelona side could not come close to such invincibility. Spain have not conceded a goal in a knockout game since 2006. Iker Casillas's net has been untouched for sixteen and a half hours.

Before Sunday night Spain had not been so spectacular at the other end, with only eight goals in seven games at the 2010 World Cup and eight in five here, yet their method of killing teams softly has an irresistible logic. The level of sustained concentration required to defend against them is almost indecent, a game of Tetris that can end only one way. If such demands were evident in an ordinary job, the Health & Safety office would have a field day.

The side generally perceived as the greatest of all, Brazil 1970, were the antithesis of Spain; their defence was hopeless and their attack peerless. They cannot match Spain's longevity. With no Copa América staged between 1967 and 1975, Brazil won just one trophy. At the 1974 World Cup they had turned into a thuggish rabble.

Spain have evolved significantly over the last four years, although their game can still be explained in one phonetically pleasing phrase: tiki-taka. Few sides have had such a concise identity, with Holland's Total Football in 1974 perhaps the only equivalent. Not since that team has football been so dramatically redefined.

Teams who win multiple tournaments usually add stars to their shirt, just above the badge. Some will feel Spain should add an asterisk. It is a strange thing on which to reflect after such a joyous, unfettered performance, yet Spain's display vindicated only the naysayers. Discussion about the B-word has become boring in itself – it is surely more relevant to discuss whether Spain's matches are boring, a different point entirely – even if it is interesting to note that the team's heartbeat and rhetorician, Xavi Hernández, said "of course we were boring" at the 2010 World Cup, citing defensive opponents as the reason.

Spain's football is without precedent in its velvet grace but it is difficult to argue persuasively that their matches have satisfied conventional notions of football entertainment – goals, shots, engaging the viscera; that kind of thing.

Their play at Euro 2012 had felt cynical and clinical, in a different sense of the word from that usually used in football; a kind of extreme tiki-taka, or tiki-takanaccio. For much of the tournament the only excitement came from the partnership of Jordi Alba and the divine Andrés Iniesta, simply the most beautiful player in football history.

Italy's relatively aggressive tactics were influential, yet the way Spain subjected them to death by silk suggested a team that had been hiding some of their light under a bushel. For plenty, rightly or wrongly, Spain will be remembered as a side who engaged the brain more than the soul and who could, with their talent, have won three consecutive titles even more impressively than they did, a binary team whose games, before the final at least, had been so predictable as to be a bookmaker's nightmare.

That Spain are great is palpably not in question, not in sentient circles; whether they are one of the immortal sides remains open to debate. On Sunday night they supplied a signature performance, even if it was not quite up there with the greatest, like England 3-6 Hungary in 1953 – which has its own page on Wikipedia, eBay and even IMDb - or Barcelona's 5-0 defeat of Real Madrid in 2010. Spain have not had a great contest, like West Germany's 2-1 over Holland in 1974 or Brazil's 1-0 against England four years earlier, or a great goal. Delicious as their first goal was against Italy – it's not quite right to call it David Silva's goal, such was the part played by Iniesta and Cesc Fábregas – it will not be appearing on a BBC3 clips show alongside Carlos Alberto, Marco van Basten and Richard Bacon any time soon.

Spain have not necessarily been a team of great moments. Those of a Spanish disposition will disagree, of course. There have been three in particular, the lifting of trophies by Iker Casillas. Moments that define a team who, whether loved or merely respected, have created one of the greatest sporting dynasties of them all.

Euro 2012SpainRob Smyth
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds