The waiting could be over for Spain
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By Tom Cremins.  Spain could be on the brink of shedding their ‘perennial underachievers’ tag in tomorrow’s Euro 2008 final in Vienna (Kick-off 8.45 pm, 2.45 pm EST). After breaking their quarter final curse against Italy – they had been eliminated at that stage in tournaments 5 times in a row – they charged past highly fancied Russia by a 3-0 scoreline. The last time they won the continental title was 1964. And amazingly it is so far their only honour in international soccer, despite their strong tradition in the game.  Germany on the other hand are in familiar territory. They will be playing in their 6th European final and are chasing their 4th title. Despite this record,  Germany haven’t been overly convincing during this tournament, but they always seem to do enough to get the job done. They were anything but convincing against injury ravaged Turkey. They only managed to beat them 3-2, despite the fact that coach Fatih Terim’s squad was reduced to 14 fit players.   It should be a fascinating contest, with Spain’s attacking prowess pitted against Germany’s organization and efficiency. The Spaniards will need to be very wary of Germany’s ability to attack on the break. But after the way they handled the threats posed by Italy and Russia, there is every reason to think that they can also contain the Germans.  The key to this game could be whether Michael Ballack overcomes a calf muscle complaint and plays. He has been Germany’s most inspirational player by far. He was somewhat disappointing against Turkey but is definitely the sort of player who will rise to the occasion when called upon. If he can’t play then either Tim Borowski or Bastian Schweinsteiger could slot into his position, but it would be a huge loss to the team. It may also mar the game as a spectacle, as the Germans may lack confidence and play more defensively in his absence.
 In the centre of the Spanish midfield, Cesc Fabregas has been in outstanding form, and put in a devastating performance against Russia. He was ably assisted by Xabi Alonso and Andres Iniesta. Between them they may have enough to fashion a famous victory against the Germans.  In defence, players such as Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena and Sergio Ramos have made the Spanish defence resemble a brick wall. And if their opponents should somehow get past them, they have the magnificent goalkeeper Iker Casillas to contend with.  The German defence is muscular and will yield little to attackers. Christoph Metzelder and Philipp Lahm have been very solid indeed. Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann has had a good tournament for the most part, with the exception of the semi-final against Turkey when he was far from convincing. He will have to improve considerably on that display.  The teams will both probably start with just one striker, Miroslav Klose for Germany and Fernando Torres for Spain. They have worked tirelessly during the tournament without hitting the headlines, with Klose netting 2 goals so far, and Torres just 1. Spain’s top scorer in the competition, David Villa, is sidelined through injury.  Both teams clearly clearly have quality players throughout, and coaches Joachim Löw and Luis Aragonés are both known for their thorough preparation and attention to detail. In all likelihood this will be a very tight game with both sides working hard to keep possession and avoid mistakes, so we may not see some of the free-flowing soccer that has so far characterised the tournament up to now. But this has been a tournament full of surprises.  The safe money will be on Germany winning their 4th European title. But this Spanish team could have the guile, creativity and above all self-belief to bring to an end 44 barren years. Â
