By CHRIS KAMARA
Published: 30th June 2012
I HOLD my hands up — Italy have proved me wrong at Euro 2012.
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The way the Azzurri played in their 2-1 semi-final victory over Germany was outstanding.
Going into the tournament, they had problems with another match-fixing scandal and had threatened to withdraw from the competition, so to get to the final is an achievement in itself.
But now many people are saying they could beat Spain — the current European and World champions — which is one hell of an accolade.
Their improvement has been remarkable. I’ve been in love with Andrea Pirlo ever since the tournament started, but there are other players who have stepped up to the plate.
Defender Leonardo Bonucci was brilliant against the Germans and Mario Balotelli was every inch a world-class player on the night.
When you have history people think you are going to revert to type, but give the fella his due.
To treat the German defence with the contempt that the Manchester City striker did was unbelievable and his work-rate was top notch.
And now, with the confidence they have gained from progressing through the tournament, you cannot write off Italy in this final.
They did what all good Italian teams do which is defend well and attack teams on the break. It is certainly something we can learn from.
The Italian manager, Cesare Prandelli, is my boss of the tournament.
He has been phenomenal. His tactics and organisation, coupled with his man-management skills, have helped turn an average side into a very good outfit.
However, Italy are up against the best team in the world.
It is going to be extremely hard for them to win it as I haven’t seen anyone outplay Spain.
Vicente Del Bosque’s side have the best back five on the planet and simply don’t look like conceding.
As well as Portugal fared in the semi-final, how many chances did they actually create?
Cristiano Ronaldo was in Gerard Pique’s pocket. The Real Madrid maestro never got a kick.
The one area which they seem a little limited is up front. David Villa, ruled out of the tournament through injury, has been a big miss.
If you are a defender, you want somebody to mark. Prandelli’s defence looked very comfortable against everything the Germans threw at them up top.
If there is nothing up against them, it could unnerve the defenders and, for that reason, I feel Del Bosque may opt for Cesc Fabregas in a ‘false nine’ position.
It is never easy to compare today’s teams with those of the past.
You have to say, though, that if Spain become the first team to win three consecutive major trophies, they will probably go down as the greatest of all time.
We had a good team in 1966, in the 70s there were the Brazilians, while the Dutch have had their moments along with Argentina.
But what Spain have achieved in the last four or five years has been untouchable.
Nonetheless, I still expect this game to be extremely tactical and very cagey.
Both teams will enjoy their possession. The ball will be screaming for a rest at the end because it will have had so many touches!
It’s a hard one to call but I think it might go all the way to penalties.
And with the way Italy have lit up this competition, it would be a brave man who bets against them.
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