Spain the new Champion of EURO 2012. In the final match at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine. Spain won the tournament by a score of 4–0 over Italy. Spain became the first team to win two consecutive European Championships, and the first European international team to win three straight major tournament titles (UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup). Since Spain had already gained entry to the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup by winning the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
“We were superior to Italy,” said midfielder Xavi Hernandez, perhaps Spain’s most influential player over the last four years. “We played a complete game and perhaps the best of the entire European Championship. We made history.”
“We won being true to our playing style, and by moving the ball the we way we moved it we knew how to take charge of the match,” said Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the team’s captain. “What we do is difficult but we make it look easy.”
Casillas and Spain striker Fernando Torres also made their own histories. Torres became the first man to score in two European Championship finals, and Casillas played in his record 100th victory in international soccer.
Four years ago at Euro 2008, Spain ended a 44-year drought of major titles, beating Germany 1-0 in the final to start a run that has been unmatched by any other team in history.
