Germany vs Spain
in Vienna.
Sunday, 29th June at 20.45
And finally, the top two teams of Euro 2008 are put
to the test in a warm Vienna evening.
But first we start off with a closing ceremony of multi-coloured,
dancing balloons on wheels; meant to represent the national colours of the teams who met
during the tournament.
A mistake by Sergio Ramos, in the third minute, allowed Miroslav Klose
to steal in and run on goal; but his third touch, while taking lunging strides past the
Spanish defence, was a touch too far.
Germany looked the more confident of the two teams in the opening ten
minutes.
The German defence were turned inside out in the 14th minute and Jens
Lehmann had to make his save of the tournament; a swift reactive push out of the hand to
stop Christoph Metzelder from putting the ball in his own net.
A good, open start to the final of a generally very attacking-minded
tournament.
Nine minutes later, Fernando Torres rose high to head the ball against
the German post. Credit to Lehmann, he was on the floor near the netting.
Spain started to get the better of Germany's right back, Arne
Friedrich, but Lehmann's confidence improved every time he collected the ball safely.
Spain seemed to slow the game down, just after the half-hour mark,
with some possession football around the back; then stepped up a gear with two swift
passes through the middle. Xavi's final pass split the German defence, as Fernando Torres
then brushed past Philipp Lahm and coolly chipped over the sprawling Lehmann.
Meanwhile, Michael Ballack was on and off the pitch to change a bloody
shirt after a cut to his right eyebrow; following a clash of heads with Marcos Senna.
Tensions rose just before half-time, as both captains entered the
referee's book.
Half-time - 0:1
Germany had to do something about their problem's at the back;
choosing to replace Philipp Lahm with Marcell Jansen.
Spain almost replicated the move that brought them the first goal, but
this time Lehmann was out and down faster; to gather the ball from the feet of Fernando
Torres.
With a little over half an hour left, it was time to see if Kevin
Kuranyi could do something up front for Germany; alongside Klose.
Michael Ballack then fired a shot into the side netting.
Shortly after David Silva escaped a red card for head-butting Lukas
Podolski, he was taken off the pitch by Luis Aragonés.
More terrible German defending let Sergio Ramos through for a free
header.
Tense moments in the final minutes of the Euro 2008 Final, as Spain
hold on to the narrowest of leads and Germany continue to look for a way back into the
game.
Spain hold out, to become European Champions for the first time
since 1964; although the scoreline doesn't do justice to the way Germany were totally
outclassed in all areas of the field.
Final Score:
Germany 0 - Spain1
Goalscorers:
0:1 Fernando Torres (33)
Teams
Germany:
1 Jens Lehmann; 16 Philipp Lahm, 21 Christoph Metzelder, 17 Per Mertesacker, 3 Arne
Friedrich; 20 Lukas Podolski, 15 Thomas Hitzlsperger, 13 Michael Ballack, 8 Torsten
Frings, 7 Bastian Schweinsteiger; 11 Miroslav Klose.
Spain:
1 Iker Casillas; 11 Joan Capdevila, 5 Carles Puyol, 4 Carlos Marchena, 15 Sergio Ramos; 21
David Silva, 10 Cesc Fàbregas, 19 Marcos Senna, 8 Xavi Hernández, 6 Andrés Iniesta; 9
Fernando Torres.
Referee:
Roberto Rosetti (Italy)
Substitutions:
46 Mins - 2 Marcell Jansen on for 16 Philipp Lahm
58 Mins - 22 Kevin Kuranyi on for 15 Thomas Hitzlsperger
64 Mins - 14 Xabi Alonso on for 10 Cesc Fàbregas
66 Mins - 12 Santi Cazorla on for 21 David Silva
78 Mins - 17 Daniel Güiza on for 9 Fernando Torres
79 Mins - 9 Mario Gómez on for 11 Miroslav Klose
 4 Yellow Cards:
43 Mins - Michael Ballack (Germany)
43 Mins - Iker Casillas (Spain)
74 Mins - Fernando Torres (Spain)
88 Mins - Kevin Kuranyi (Germany)
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