Italy vs. Spain: Old Rivals Meet Again

As the semis have come to an end, two of the better teams in the world will face off to take home Europe's most prized possession. Italy and Spain have proven to be consistent in the group stage, it should be little surprise they're going to do battle in a final. After a 1-1 draw in the first game of the group stage, the teams meet again The last team to win a prized international trophy before Spain would be Italy back in '06, so one of the two countries will again hold the silverware. With the best goal keepers and and steady defense, La Furia Roja and the Azzuri find themselves 90 minutes from glory, again.

Spain's approach of "Let's hold the possession forever, and wait til we say it's ok to score" has been put to the test with a lack of finishing quality in the final third. Torres was benched for the semi and the team advanced without scoring a goal. Xavi, Iniesta, and Xabi Alonso anchor a six-man midfield at times, but have been unable to find the final ball as frequently as they would have liked. An idea for inspiration? Why not have Cesc start? He's started once this tournament in their 2-0 win over France, and has shown he has the ability to score no matter the role he is placed in. 

Italy sat back for most of their win against Germany, relying on a counter attack to provide most of the spark. Balotelli's effort up front can not be underestimated as he was finally able to put away in the final third. Yet, with all of the trouble their domestic league has provided with match fixing, this team, a team that was old at the 2010 World Cup, has found its young legs and rides Pirlo into the final. It was surprise for me to see them take a big leap with all of the distractions outside of the game so quickly, yet not a surprise since it's Italy and they don't stay down for too long.

Outcome of the game you ask? I'd say Spain 2-0. They have to score at some point. Although Buffon has returned to glory, the defense has shown signs that it could give in. Pirlo has been able to run games lately, but he will face a stiff challenge with the Xavi/Iniesta duo. Spain wins their third straight major international title and all surrender to Spain's Red Fury.

As you can see from my bracket, I had the Dutch doing well, and then they sucked. Also, the French, and then they sucked. Had the Germany/Spain finally, but I will gladly settle for the Italians.

Good stuff awaits on Sunday. Play it back to play it forward.