Football fans witnessed the resistance of the Spanish national team between 2007 and 2009, when La Roja earned a 35-match unbeaten streak in all international competitions and friendlies. As the defending European champions, Spain can easily be regarded as favourites to win the cup at the expense of Italy.
But beating the 2006 FIFA World Cup winners is not an easy task, considering the strength of Cesar Prandelli’s team – a side that can boast of Mario Balotelli’s presence in front. Since their achievement in Germany six years ago though, Italy has not managed to leave up to expectations whenever possible.
But as finalists in the UEFA Euro 2012 tournament, they hold the golden opportunity to get back to winning ways for good. While they might have slightly less chances than Spain of coming out victorious in Sunday’s final, they definitely hold the power to prevent their opponents from earning new records.
It is thus up to the Italians to get the job done and control history. Below we look at five records that could be made in the UEFA Euro 2012 final.
1) If Spain beat Italy, then La Roja would equal Germany’s record as three-time winners of the European Championship title. Germany won it twice under the name of West Germany in 1972 and 1980, while they triumphed again in 1996.
Spain first won the Euro cup back in 1964 after they beat Soviet Union in Madrid 2-1, and they were glorious again in 2008 after they shut the Germans down 1-0 in the final.
2) Along with Germany, Spain are the only team to have returned to the UEFA Euro final after winning the World Cup. Germany won the 1972 European Championship title, then were champions at the 1974 World Cup and then were Euro finalists again in 1976.
But this time, they could only settle for the second place as they lost to Czechoslovakia on penalties. Quite similarly, Spain won the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament, then the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and now they have reached the final of the European Championship on another occasion.
If Spain beat Italy however, they would eventually break the Germans’ record.
3) If Italy score against Spain, then they would end the Spanish’s clean sheet record in elimination games, which is stretched to 9 games at major tournaments. Interestingly, Italy can have good hopes of making this a reality.
The Azzurri are still the only team to have broken Spain’s defence hitherto in the UEFA Euro 2012, as they beat Iker Casillas in their 1-1 draw on 10 June in Group C. Yet, just as Republic of Ireland and Croatia in the group stage, no country in the competition has managed to score against Spain in the elimination phase.
On Sunday evening, Italy have another opportunity to repeat their group stage feat. They could break their opponent’s record; but then, their defence would also have to be on its toes.
4) If Spain beat Italy in 90 minutes or 120 minutes, then they will be defeating the Azzurri without any penalty shootout in a competitive match for the very first time. Since 1920, this verity has been standing as a worrying fact. In 2008, the eventual champions successfully edged past the Italians in the quarterfinals of the Euro contest, but they could only do so on penalties.
Yet, knowing how special it would be to break Italy’s unbeaten record against them at competitive level, Del Bosque’s men will want to put themselves at the limit of their own skills to accomplish their mission.
5) If Spain beat Italy in the UEFA Euro 2012 final, they would be the very first team to defend their European title, and also the first team to win 3 major titles in a space of 4 years.
