SPAIN 3 - ITALY 0 | U-21 INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY MATCH

The Spanish National U-21 team managed to get back at Italy in tonights Friendly International played in Toledo (Spain). Spain defeated Italy 3 - 0 with the recent memory of the last U-21 European Championship Final where Italy beat Spain & took the title.

The starting 11 for Spain:

Spain has new "blood" in their squad as they gear up for the next U-21 Euros to be held in Italy. The new comers did magnificently & Spain basically dominated events with the Italians creating some goal opportunities that were well handled by Spanish goalkeeper & defence. Deserved victory for Spain.

Goals:
22' Goooooalllllll Spain by Mikel Merino
45' Gooooooallllll Spain. Goooooalllll by Borja Mayoral.
81' Gooooalllllllll Spain. Gooooooooalllllll by Jorge Meré (header).

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WORLD CUP 2018 | SPAIN DRAWS 1 - 1 AWAY TO ITALY

Spain drew away 1 - 1 against Italy in tonight's World Cup 2018 Group qualifier. Theoretically the two strongest teams of the Group where both will be fighting it out for the top position of the classification in order for a direct qualification. 

Spain showed two faces: the first half was the best seen of Spain in perhaps the last 6 years, while the second half Spain contracted into their own zone & allowed Italy the dominante. Perhaps the earlier psychical efforts made their impact on the Spanish players ate 2º half... unknown. What was seen is a more aggressive Italy after the substitution of Pelle for Immobile which gave the forward line more dynamite from the 60th min. In the end shared rewards with Spain at least going away with a point. This under the circumstances is not bad after all. 

Spain started with the following 11:

David De Gea; Carvajal, Piqué, Sergio Ramos, Jordi Alba; Koke, Busquets, Iniesta; David Silva, Vitolo & Diego Costa.

They started well & very aggressive dominating the play totally. Ball possession for Spain reached 80% !!!, plus the goal opportunities were being created easily. Italy suffered under the magical play of Iniesta & David Silva, a play which I personally have not seen of such level from Spain in the last 6 years. Problem? Could not finish off their chances. Said differently the lack of goal. A problem which would haunt the Spaniards again later in the game. 

The second half started as the first finished, & in the 55th min Vitolo scored for Spain after a mistake from Italian goalkeeper Buffon. However, Spain lost control of the game from this moment onwards.

Italy began dominating & creating more dangerous occasions. Spain had a sweet moment but Vitolo missed a clear goal chance that could have killed the match in Spain´s favour. This lack of goal converting capabilities punished Spain when in the 81st min De Rossi equalized via a penalty that Spanish defender Sergio Ramos caused on Eder.

Italy came back from the "dead" as they usually do in these occasions. A comeback deserved as the Italians fought hard to turn things around to their favour. Spain on the other hand allowed the victory to slip between their fingers & they will be disappointed.

However, looking at it relatively speaking the result could have been worst for Spain & this draw result is positive.

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ITALY 1 SPAIN 1 | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY

The Friendly International Football match between Italy & Spain finished in a 1 - 1 draw. Excellent "sparring match" for both National sides tuning up for the upcoming EURO 2016 Championships in France. Coaches from both squads are still testing players & tonight's match gave them an opportunity to keep trying things.

Italy played well tonight advancing more effectively & clearly to the goal area. The best player for Spain was goalkeeper David De Gea, which says something, after making some excellent match savers. Spain suffered defensively especially through the flanks, & in the midfield they were slow. The absent Andres Iniesta & his Barça team-mate Busquets were missed tonight.

Italy practically dominated the first half & in the second half scored the opener in the 67th min through Insigne who had practically just come on. The positive aspect tonight for Spain was the reaction to the Italian goal managing to equalize in the 69th min through Aduriz, after Morata´s header troubled Buffon from a free-kick.

Alvaro Morata was the other highlight tonight for Spain putting in a very solid performance with assistances, passes & creating goal opportunities. He showed he was the most in form player of all the Spaniards. 

Next match for Spain will be against Romania on Sunday.

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SPAIN 1 ITALY 0 | INTERNATIONAL FRIENDLY GAME RESULT

The International Friendly between Spain & Italy just finished around midnight which makes "today s match" not the appropriate words , as it would be correct to say match ended this early morning. However, apart from Latin cultural uniqueness the game finished with a 1 - 0 win to Spain.

Spanish Football Team starting X1 vs Italy 

Spain started with Atletico de Madrid forward Diego Costa who debuted, along with Bayern Munich midfielder Tiago who was solid & very good. Diego Costa was basically correct, somewhat timid & without the habitual fire of aggressiveness that characterizes him. He did not score & perhaps was more concerned about learning the way the Spanish National Team plays which is totally different from Atletico de Madrid which is less touch Football & more direct. Spanish Coach Del Bosque post match was not too concerned as Costa has to ride a "learning curve".

Italy came into the match without their best form & the final result was not as bad as they feared beforehand. Although Spain dominated the whole match, Italy had a few chances including a post in the first half which could have changed things later. 

Excellent match from Iniesta, who was magnificent, Pedro was brilliant running all night & he scored the only goal in the 63rd min, great performance from Tiago & Javi Martinez & Azpilicuenta was outstanding. It was obvious that everyone on the Spanish side wanted to prove to the Spanish Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque that they deserve a World Cup ticket to Brazil.

However, it was David Silva who came on in the second half that revolutionized the team & the goal opportunities arrived. The Pedro goal came from a Silva - Iniesta combination which was beautifully executed.

Good win & good performance as both teams begin to warm-up engines for the World Cup, I am sure the Italy team in 3 months will not be the same as tonight but much, much better.

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DEL BOSQUE ANNOUNCES SPANISH TEAM LIST FOR THE ITALY FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL

Spanish Football National Team Selector & Coach Vicente de Bosque handed in this midday his list of players for the upcoming Friendly International match against Italy on the 5th of March in Madrid. This list this basically the last before the definite list that will make up the Spanish Team for the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. On May the 13th Del Bosque will announce a pre-World Cup list of 30 players with the definite & final list of 23 players to be given on the 23rd of May. Thus, this list announced today has great significance as it leads one to believe that the Spanish Selector is profiling his World Cup squad around those players announced today.

The big novelty, but not surprise, is the inclusion of Atletico de Madrid Spanish-Brazilian player Diego Costa who is having a "blinder" of a season with more the 20 Liga goals so far. The inclusion has stirred controversy as some believe the player has chosen Spain over Brazil because the latter has not given Costa options of representing them. However, as Selector Del Bosque pointed out Costa has qualities that can better Spain, especially upfront in the goal area & can add "new options" to the team. Del Bosque has decided to be practical over allowing perhaps "nationalistic sentiments" enter in his calculation. 

Aother inclusions are Thiago from Bayern Munich & Azpilicueta of Chelsea FC. But this list resonates more due to the names not on the list. Regulars like David Villa, Fernando Torres, Juan Mata, Alvaro Arbeloa, Monreal, Fernando Llorente, Roberto Soldado & Alberto Moreno. A warning signal to some that they must lift their form if they wish to travel to Brazil.

Full list of players:
Goalkeepers: Victor Valdés (Barcelona), Iker Casillas (Real Madrid) & Reina (Napoles).

Defenders: Juanfran (Atletico de Madrid), Azpilicueta (Chelsea), Jordi Alba (Barcelona), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), & Albiol (Nápoles).

Midfielders: Busquets (Barcelona), Javi Martinez (Bayern), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Xavi Hernandez (Barcelona), Koke (Atletico de Madrid), Thiago (Bayern), Cazorla (Arsenal) ( Pedro (Barcelona), Jesus Navas (Manchester City), Cesc (Barcelona), Silva (Manchester City) & Iniesta (Barcelona).

Forwards: Negredo (Manchester City) & Diego Costa (Atletico de Madrid).

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VIDEO | SPAIN - ITALY PENALTY SHOOT-OUT FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP 2013

By popular demand I post up a video from "YouTube" ( hope they don't pull it down ) of the dramatic Spain - Italy semi final penalty shoot-out of the FIFA Confederations Cup. Most of us here in Spain had our hearts in out throats as both teams perfectly executed their penalties. Some like Busquets & Jesus Navas never took a penalty with Spain under theses circumstances. 

Unfortunately for Italy, Bonucci missed & luckly for Spain Jesus Navas managed to control his nerves to drive home the winning penalty. Spain won 7 - 6.



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FIFA CONFEDERATIONS CUP SEMI FINAL | SPAIN WINS ITALY 7 - 6 IN PENALTY SHOOT OUT

Spain has won Italy in a dramatic semi-final with a dramatic penalty shoot-out 7 - 6 after 120 minutes of extreme Football which ended in a 0 - 0 draw. Both sides took themselves & their rival to the limit & almost to complete exhaustion as the heat & humidity took its toll.

The penalty shoot-out is a lottery &,  the nerves of steel plus some luck are more a factor than Football in itself. Unfortunately for Italy Bonucci missed the 6th penalty shot & luckily Jesus Navas fired home the winner & 7th penalty to send home Italy from the FIFA Confederations Cup & send Spain onto the Sunday Final at the "Maracana Stadium" against the host Brazil & the "dreamt" finale.

The first half was clearly all Italy with numerous opportunities that they did not manage to convert & two vital saves from the Spanish Captain & goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Spain looked unfamiliar & was suffocated in the midfield with some fierce Italian pressure. The men of the match for Spain were being their defenders Gerard Pique & Sergio Ramos & it was to stay this way until the end. This last comment says it all on how brave, disciplined & adventurous Italy was tonight & how Spain was on the back foot. 

Spain in the second half managed to halt the "haemorrhage" & began to calm themselves & regain their Football, yet here as with Italy in the first half Spain did not manage to convert their chances into goals. Italy more conservative however continued to be dangerous especially when Spain relaxed & they attack dangerously to create their own chances. 

Spanish Coach Del Bosque moved the bench with Jesus Navas , Mata & Javi Martinez ( as Centre Forward ) coming on to inject freshness, pace & perhaps the "surprise factor". Italy as they know so well historically held out & the match went into extra-time.

The 30 mins of extra-time saw a post to Italy & half a dozen missed chances to Spain that also included a post to Xavi Hernandez. The tiredness & exhaustion then set in as it floored players from both sides & took proceedings to the penalty shoot-out.

Both teams did not fail taking the penalty shoot-out score-line & the nerve to the limits until Italian Bonucci missed & Spaniard Jesus Navas settled things with the winning penalty. Here Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas looked out of place & perhaps his 5 months out on the sidelines showed, but destiny smiled on Casillas tonight & on Spain as both manage to avoid the possible criticisms that may have fallen on both if things had turned different. At least Casillas can be proud to have saved Spain in the first half at least.

As for Italy, they were fantastic & made their country proud as they leave with their heads well high. They had their chances & could have won, but as the saying goes, that's Football. Spain has the luck of the Champions.

Spain will now need to recover physically from tonight's effort as Brazil will enjoy an extra day of rest. Spain also will rethink their strategy & will have back two important players for the upcoming Final; Cesc Fabregas & Roberto Soldado.

The World now awaits the grand finale, Brazil vs Spain. 

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ITALY 2 SPAIN 4 | UEFA U - 21 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL RESULT

The Spanish U-21 National Football Team has won the UEFA U-21 European Championship held in Israel after defeating Italy 2 - 4 in the Final. This a a back to back Final win as they were reigning European Champions coming into this tournament. The Spanish youngsters demonstrated that Spanish Football has a great future, that there are plenty of top class players in the pipeline & that some will be soon knocking at the door of the absolute Spanish Team, if not already.

Spain U-21 starting XI vs Italy in the Final

The above Spanish U-21 Football Players deserved the victory as they were much better than the Italians today. Italy had their moments & showed that they too have quality & why they were finalists, but in the end the quality of the Spanish team was superior.

Thiago

FC Barcelona & Spanish U-21 Captain THIAGO scored a HAT-TRICK & was the protagonist of this Final. This was his last game for the U-21 team as he passes the age limit & put in a match to be remembered as part of his personal finale. Goals in the 5th min with a header, in the 30th min with a penalty & in the 37th min set Spain sailing. 

If Thiago was a signing target this summer his value would have increased after todays game & would have certainly convinced English giants Manchester United to take the leap & go finally after the player who has only a 18M€ contract release clause. 

The other Spanish U-21 star ISCO ( the tournament MVP )also put in his grain of salt again with a goal in the 66th min from the penalty spot. This player is all the rage in European Football with Real Madrid & Manchester City in a tug-of-war to sign the man. The English side is at this moment in the front seat. 

Other players to mention are Real Madrid player Morata ( the Tournament Top Scorer ) who set up the first goal with a superb play & pass to find Thiago, Manchester United goalie David De Gea who although saw two balls pass him into the net made a couple of great saves in this match, Atletico de Madrid midfielder Koke was solid all tournament, FC Barcelona player Tello quick & dangerous & team-mates & defenders Bartra & Montayo excellent, Iñigo, Alberto, Illarramendi... all the squad players did their part, it was a real team effort.

The Italians scored twice & both goals were of excellent quality & class. Inmobile scored in the 9th min with elegance & Borini executed a power driver in the 79 th min that was surgically precise to find the bar out of reach for De Gea. 

Congratulations to the U-21 Spanish Football team.

Match details:

Italy 2: Bardi; Donati, Bianchetti, Caldirola, Regini; Florenzi (Saponara, 58’), Rossi, Verratti (Crimi, 76’), Insigne; Borini & Inmobile (Gabbiadini, 58’)

Spain 4: De Gea; Montoya, Bartra, Íñigo, Alberto; Koke (Camacho, 86’), Illarramendi, Thiago; Tello (Muniain, 70’), Morata (Rodrigo, 80’) y Isco.


Goals: 0-1 (7’) Thiago. 1-1 (10’) Inmobile. 1-2 (31’) Thiago. 1-3 (38’) Thiago. 1-4 (66’) Isco. 2-4 (80’) Borini.

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EUROPEAN FOOTBALL U-21 | ITALY 1 - SPAIN 3

Friendly International match at U-21 level between ITALY & SPAIN. The Spaniards managed to win away 1 - 3 in a good performance that keeps the tension & form up for the upcoming official games. The current European U-21 Champions managed their goals thanks to RODRIGO, DELOFEU & ALVARO VAZQUEZ.

Isco

Match details:

Italy 1: Bardi, De Sciglio, Capuano (Romagnoni, m.70),Caldirola, Frascatore, Marrone (Baselli, m.70), Sala (Sansone,m.15), Crisetig, Saponara (Donati, m.44), Immobile & De Luca (Longo,m.46).

Spain 3: Mariño, Carvajal (Tello, m.59), Bartra, Íñigo Martínez (Nacho, m.46), Aurtenetxe, Oriol Romeu (Sergi Roberto,m.82), Koke (Illarramendi, m.46), Deulofeu (Álvaro Vázquez, m.59),Isco (Suso, m.82), Sarabia (Muniaín, m.79) & Rodrigo (Hugo Mallo,m.59).

Goals: 0-1, m.19: Rodrigo; 0-2, m.34: Delofeu; 1-2, m.56: Longo.1-3, m.92: Álvaro Vázquez.

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EURO 2012 FINAL | SPAIN 4 - ITALY 0 | SPAIN MAKES FOOTBALL HISTORY WINING EURO TITLE

SPAIN has made Football History after defending & winning ( retaining ) the 2012 EUROPEAN NATIONS CUP 4 - 0 against ITALY in the Final.Never before has a team (nation) won the "triple crown" : Euro 2008- Fifa World Cup 2010 & now Euro 2012. The below team pictured as the starting 11 has managed to shut many mouths - happily mine as well - throwing into the rubbish bin criticisms about internal disunity between Real Madrid & Barça players, the use of the "false forward" tactic, why Torres & that the team had lost its spark. 

Starting 11 vs Italy : Euro 2012 Final

The Italian team will feel upset about two unlucky events that obviously influenced in the result in some way. The early injury to defender Chiellini in the first half cahnged the tactical set-up & the muscle injury to Motta that forced him off when Italy had done their 3 substitutes already & thus left Italy down to 10 men most of the second half. But these unfortunate events are part of Football & takes nothing away from the fact that Spain are deserved & worthy winners as they clearly dominated the match & controlled things well when Italy played well. Spain may claim that a penalty to their favour was´nt called but now with the title this all seems irrelevant.

David Silva

Spain once again put in a repeat 11 as with Italy in the opener of the Group C game & with the now famous "false forward" in Cesc Fabregas. It was Cesc that made a fabulous run up to the line to find the head of DAVID SILVA in the 14th min for the opener.

Italy then attacked & gave Spain their hardest moments of hard work. It was 20 minutes of Italian pressure that thankfully for Spain had goalkeeper IKER CASILLAS who stopped everything & claimed without any doubt the "Best in the World Goalkeeper" status. Some even may claim, & rightly, the perhaps it is time that the FIFA World Player Award be given to a goalkeeper & Iker Casillas should be that player. 

Jordi Alba

Spain recomposed themselves & managed a psychological 40th min second goal when defender JORDI ALBA scored. The man has been a revelation & has claimed his place in European Football as possibly the best right-back at this moment. Spain finds a perfect substitute for many years to come after Capdevila left his spot.

The second half saw Italian make some changes with Di Natalie in for Cassano & Motta in for Monteolivo in an attempt to make a comeback. The big blow was the injury to Motta that forced him off & left Italy down to 10 men. It was basically all over at this point as Spain took over the ball totally & ran Italy into the ground. Spain brought on fresh feet in Pedro & FERNANDO TORRES who got the 3rd for Spain in the 84th min.
By the way, the heavily criticised Torres ( myself included as a critic ) wins the "Euro 2012 Top Goalscorer" over Barotteli with his 3 goals + assist of goal. Now that´s how one shuts the mouth of the critics...ouch!

Fernando Torres

Spanish Coach Del Bosque than gave JUAN MATA a run & in the 88th min Torres unselfishly passed to Mata in the goal square who scored the fourth goal.

Mata - Torres

Historical & a team of 23 players that now sit in the "Football Olympus" as National heroes. Unique as we may never see this again in our lifetime, although there is a high percentage that Spain & these players - with a new flow of players - may continue this glory run onto the FIFA Brazil 2014 World Cup. But that is far away for now & we must enjoy the here & now.

Lastly, as for Italy, they should go home with their heads high & proud. They have changed their Football philosophy from defending to wanting the ball & practising attacking Football. I have no doubt that they will be back soon to give teams a hard time &, why not, give Spain a run for their money again in the future.

Congratulations to the Spanish Football Team, thanks!

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EURO 2012 FINAL | SPAIN - ITALY POSSIBLE STARTING 11 LINE-UPS

SPAIN will attempt tonight to win back-to-back European Nations Cup titles & thus create History as the only National squad to win Euro (2008) - World Cup (2010) - Euro (2012). If they can manage to defeat the difficult & inform ITALY in tonight's FINAL this SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM will certainly go down as the "Greatest Football Team in History" overtaking the unbelievable 1970 Brazil team of Pele & company.


Before Spain can sit in the "Football Olympus" they have to beat Italy & this will be a difficult endeavour. Both sides already know each other as they opened Group C with a 1 - 1 draw result & Italy surprised Spain with their play & ball control. This Italian team has not followed their traditional "defensive" instinct & have played attacking Football with attacking initiative steered by a rejuvenated Pirlo.


Spain on the other hand have been lucky, nothing bad about it, but not as dominant as in the last Euro back in 2008. The Spain Football Team in this competition has sadly missed injured David Villa as it lacks goal fire power & has not been able to finish off their long ball dominating plays with goals. The team is less effective & they look tired with most of their players coming into the tournament with 80+ games from their efforts in their local competition. Said this, it will not be an excuse tonight,  a Final breaks all the "theories" & both sides will start with an even 50-50 chance of winning.

Spain-Italy:Possible starting line-ups:courtesy Sport.es

In terms of possible starting 11 line-ups, Italy is more predictable than Spain as the Italians have maintained their line-ups throughout the tournament. Spain on the other hand has been experimenting with the idea of starting or not with a Nº9 forward as a reference upfront. Out of their 5 games played Spain have started twice with a true forward ( Torres vs Ireland & Negredo vs Portugal).

Spanish Sports paper "Sport" has made up the above diagram with their speculated possible SPAIN - ITALY starting 11 line-ups for tonight's Euro 2012 Final. "Sport" has been speculating in all the Spanish Euro matches & has not got one right to date, so keep this in mind. The Spanish Sports paper speculates that Spain will start this time with a forward & have put down Fernando Torres.

I personally would not be surprised if Spanish Coach Del Bosque starts with the same team as against Italy in the Group C opener, that is,  without a forward & Cesc Fabregas as the now famously coined "false forward". This in my opinion would be a mistake as this tactic failed against Italy & Spain nearly lost. I think tonight may be the night for someone line Fernando Llorente & Pedro to give Italy more defensive chores than attacking opportunities. Said this, I understand that this set up gives Spain less ball control & perhaps this is precisely against the Spanish idea: keeping the ball away & out of the Italian feet until they can find the right moment to score.

Ending, in Football there are thousands of arm-chair Coaches, in Spain 45 million (myself included), & it is difficult to prognosticate. If Spain wins Coach Del Bosque will be a hero & genius, if Spain lose a villain who got it all wrong with his tactical set-ups. That´s Football!

What is a certainty, is that tonight's match & Final is not to be missed & promises to be highly emotional. May the better team win,  around 23.00 Spanish time we will know who will be the 2012 European Champion.

OFFICIAL SPAIN STARTING 11 vs ITALY ( 19.10 Sp hour) :Casillas; Arbeloa, Piqué, Ramos, Jordi Alba; Busquets, Alonso, Xavi; Iniesta, Silva & Cesc

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EURO 2012 FINAL | SPAIN - ITALY TEAM PHOTOS

Approximately around 21 days back SPAIN & ITALY played the opener of the Group C match of the EURO 2012 Championship. It finished in a 1 - 1 draw result & the starting line-up team photos of the game & of both countries are below.

Spain 2012

This Sunday both again will meet but this time in the Final in the city of Kiev to determine who will be the 2012 European Nations Champions.

Italy 2012

Will the starting line-ups again be as the above team photos? Will both countries repeat with the same men? Unknown at this stage, for now I hope fans will enjoy these two Team Photos.

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EURO 2012 | SPAIN 1 ITALY 1 GROUP C | EXPERIMENT FAILURE

The SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM & the defending European Champions began its attempt to make Football History ( winning Euro-World Cup - Euro) against ITALY in the opener of Group C. The final result was a 1 - 1 draw that will taste bitter for Spain as they had chances to win towards the end & nearly get the "calming" 3 points. 

Cesc - De Rossi

Looking now with hindsight ( very easy I know ) the strategic bet by Spanish Football Coach Vicente Del Bosque to play without a true Centre Forward as an upfront reference did not pay off for Spain. In fact, it was a mistake that may have directly affected the final result & given Italy wings that a priori they did not possess.

Spain looked slow in the first half & Italy managed to pack the midfield with men ( no Spanish forward to worry about ) & block effectively the flanks. This bogged Spain in the midfield & Italy used their numerical superiority in the centre to effectively counter-attack.

The situation was delicate half way through the first half as Spanish goalkeeper Iker Casillas had to make a couple of very important saves that kept Spain alive & stopped them possibly falling apart. Spain did react as it was obvious that the Spanish team has more talented players & it was they whom managed to redirected the side & halt the Italians.

Said more clearly, Spain had no reference upfront, no real forward to put the Italian defenders under pressure & it became patent that Spain´s initial idea was failing. Something had to be done, some change, something new if Spain was to find the net.

Di Natale scores for Italy

Surprisingly Spain started the second half as the first, without any change & without the much asked for reference upfront. One could think that this was Spanish Coach Vicente Del Bosque second mistake today, not reacting in time.

Italy did on the otherhand as their Coach Prandelli was reading well the whole game from the first minute. Prandelli took off Balotelli, after missing a sitter, & put on DE NATALE who minutes later put Italy ahead with his excellent 61st min goal.

Cesc Fabregas draws for Spain

To the credit of Spain who are not the current European & World Champions for nothing, the team reacted admirably & managed to pull back an equalizer in the 64th min when Silva combined with CESC FABREAGAS who beat goalie Buffon to score.

Spanish Coach Del Bosque then reacted with a substitute & put on winger Jesus Navas for Silva to open up the Italian defence. It worked as Spain found chances & Iniesta more freedom in the position where Silva was originally. Defensive left-back Jordi Alba began finding room down the flank & Spain looked much better.

Then Spain decided to finally put on a true forward, a reference upfront, & changed Cesc Fabregas for Fernando Torres. Although Italy still was dangerous in their counters, Spain improved markedly & Torres had three clear chances to win the game for Spain as he confused the Italian defenders & found space.

In the end with time running out for both sides they turned conservative & cautious somewhat & practically settled for a draw result.

Some conclusive observations:

• Spain can only get better as today they were never in the groove. Most rivals know well the Spanish weakness of creating a defensive wall & it was evident today as well
• Its going to be a difficult tournament for Spain if they don't come up with new ideas. Today they did not look fresh & looked predictable.
• The "without a forward" experiment was a failure & nearly cost Spain the match
• Andres Iniesta looks superb & he is the key if Spain is to advance in this Euro 2012
• David Villa is dearly missed as he would have been handy today.

Said all this, very early on & better a draw result than a loss for Spain. Could be positive as well as some examinations & answer finding could get positive results for the future Group games, games which by the way they need to win & here is the pressure not needed at all at this point after drawing tonight. 

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EURO 2012 | SPAIN STARTING 11 LINE-UP AGAINST ITALY

Neither Fernando Torres, Negredo or Llorente has been finally designated the SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM main forward position. That task has been given to CESC FABRAGAS who will play as a "false forward" much as with FC Barcelona under Guardiola.

Spanish Football Team selector Del Bosque has let known the starting 11 against ITALY in the EURO 2012 Group C opener & the announcement of Cesc has caught many off-side. Not a bad move if you consider that the Italian defenders will not have a real reference to mark & this can cause some problems of orientation.

Cesc Fabregas

The official Spanish Football Team starting 11 ( line-up) against Italy is:

Iker Casillas; Arberloa, Piqué, Ramos, Jordi Alba; Alonso, Busquets; Xavi, Silva, Iniesta; & Cesc.

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EURO 2012 | POSSIBLE SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM STARTING LINEUP

The SPANISH FOOTBALL TEAM begins this afternoon their defence of its European Nations Cup title won back in 2008 against an historically awkward ITALY in their EURO 2012 Group C game. The Spaniards are not "buying" the apparent Italian Camp issues of game fixing & are going into this game with respect & caution.

As the case will all Football competitions that has  Group phases the first victory is almost vital so as to allow the rest of the matches to be played with a certain air of calmness, as a loss early puts tension on the teams shoulders for the next encounters.

Possible line-ups
courtesy of MARC CREUS / CARLES JAVIERRE

The Spanish Football Team Coach Del Bosque said yesterday in his press conference that he has the Spanish Team starting line-up already in his mind & will tell his players mid-afternoon today. The Spanish press has a "fair" idea but with the only unknown of who will be the Spanish Team forward: FERNANDO TORRES , ALVARO NEGREDO or FERNANDO LLORENTE.

Latest speculation puts Torres in the front seat, but as said, at this stage this is only speculation as is the total line-up itself. Spanish Sports media "Sport" has made the above info-diagram to put forward their "bet" on the Spanish Football Team starting line-up. According to "Sport" the starting 11 maybe:

Casillas, Arbeloa, Pique, Sergio Ramos, Alba, Busquets, Xabi Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta, Silva & Torres.


Mentioned this, we all will have to wait for a final confirmation before the game, just as much from Spain as from their rival Italy.  

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U-19 | SPAIN 2 ITALY 1

The Spanish National U-19 Football Team is a game away from securing its qualification for the next U-19 European Championships after defeating Armenia 2 - 1 earlier in the week & today 2 - 1 over Italy.

The Spaniards suffred in this game & had to make a comeback to pull back two goals ( Campaña 71 st min & Jese Rodriguez in the 83rd min).

Comeback victory over Italy

The "Euro XI Elite" mini-tournament is being current played in Italy & group winners manage to get a place in the upcoming Euros.

Brief match info:

Spain (2): 13-Kepa Arrizabalaga,3- Jonathan Castro,4-Jonás Ramalho (60´José Campaña), 12-Derik Osede, 14-Alejandro Grimaldo, , 17-Saul Ñíguez, 16-Oliver Torres (70´José Antonio Delgado "Nono"),10-Jesús Fernández "Suso", 18-Denis Suárez(45´Paco Alcacer), 7- Juan Miguel Jiménez "Juanmi"(c),11- Jesé Rodríguez [Selector: Julen Lopetegui]

Italy (1): 12-Mirko Pigliacelli, 2-Federico Barba, 4-Matteo Liviero, 5-Gianluca Rubin, 7-Francesco Zampano, 8-Massimiliano Busellato (63´Riccardo Fiamozzi) , 10-Andrea Schiavone(c),11- Valerio Verre,13- Elio De Silvestro (56´Matteo Politano), 14-Riccardo Improta,16- Andrea Belotti (66´Stefano Beltrame) [Selector: Alberigo Evani]

Goals: (0-1 Improta 10´); (1-1 Campaña 71´); (2-1 Jesé Rodríguez 83´)
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SPAIN LIST FOR FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL AGAINST ITALY | THIAGO CALLED UP

SPANISH FOOTBALL NATIONAL TEAM Selector & Coach Vicente del Bosque has handed in his list of Spanish Football players that will make up the National squad to meet ITALY the 10th of August in the Italian city of Bari in an International Friendly match.

Spanish Football player Thiago

The novelty is the inclusion of FC Barcelona young midfielder & U-21 International , THIAGO ALCANTERA who is having a "dream" pre-season after winning the Euro U-21 Championship & is scoring goals with Barça in their warm up pre-season games. The Spanish Football Coach Del Bosque said that his call up is a prize for his excellent performances & his "state of grace" form.


This obviously has another message as Thiago has "pushed aside"  Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas & again raises questions if Barça really needs Cesc in their team, & if Cesc is making a "good" career decision wanting to move to FC Barcelona.

Transfers questions aside, here is the full list of Spanish Football players called up for the Italy Friendly International: 

Goalkeepers: Iker Casillas (Real Madrid), Reina (Liverpool/ING) & Víctor Valdés (Barcelona).
Defenders: Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Álvaro Arbeloa (Real Madrid), Raúl Albiol (Real Madrid), Gerard Piqué (Barcelona) & Andoni Iraola (Athletic).
Midfielders: Thiago (Barcelona), Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), Sergio Busquets (Barcelona), Santiago Cazorla (Málaga), Xavi Hernández (Barcelona), Andrés Iniesta (Barcelona), Javi Martínez (Ath. Bilbao).
Forwards: David Silva (Manchester City), Fernando Llorente (Ath. Bilbao), Juan Mata (Valencia), Pedro Rodríguez (Barcelona), David Villa (Barcelona), Fernando Torres (Chelsea FC) & Alvaro Negredo (Sevilla)


LATEST: Malaga FC defender Monreal replaces the injured Sergio Ramos Tweet

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ITALIAN PRESS GIVES FC BARCELONA PLAYER ANDRES INIESTA THE FIFA GOLDEN BALL 2010

Last Friday I posted ( see below ) news from Barcelona Sports paper "Mundo Deportivo" that mentioned that FC Barcelona midfielder XAVI HERNANDEZ would be the winner of the 2010 FIFA Golden Ball Award according to a survey done to 75 Football personalities. The second place was for team-mates Andres Iniesta & third place for Lionel Messi. The interesting news was that Inter Milan player Wesley Sneijder was not mentioned as being in the Top 3. 

This time we get news from Italy via "La Gazzette Sportiva" which assures that they have inside information that gives ANDRES INIESTA as the winner of the FIFA Golden Ball 2010, with team-mates Xavi Hernandez second & Lionel Messi third. The Italian press also places Inter Milan player Wesley Sneijder out of the Top 3.

Iniesta scores Spains winning goal in the
World Cup Final 2010

This is pure speculation until tomorrow when FIFA announces the three candidates that will be considered when FIFA makes public the Golden Ball Winner the 8th of January 2011. Only thing certain tomorrow will be if Messi or Sneijder male the Top 3 cut, & the winner will still be an unknown until 2011. Tweet

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FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 | 32 TEAMS | GROUP F

Source Blog: Sp Ftball Sprts /
The FIFA WORLD CUP 2010 Groups from A-E have been featured in our daily posts of the team photos of the 32 Nations that will participate in South Africa. Today it is the turn of Group F with tomorrow Group G.

GROUP F

SLOVAKIA

ITALY

NEW ZEALAND

PARAGUAY

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A DIEGO - REYES SWAP BETWEEN JUVENTUS - ATLETICO DE MADRID ?

Source: Spanish Soccer /
Italian press sources speculate that more than the TIAGO subject will be put on the table when ATLETICO DE MADRID & Italian Club JUVENTUS sit down to discuss the future of the Portuguese midfielder currently on-loan to the Madrid Club.

Italian media “Tuttosport” suggests that Juventus will propose a swap between Brazilian midfielder DIEGO & Atletico de Madrid midfielder JOSE ANTONIO REYES. The news source also speculates that current England National Team selector & Coach Fabio Capello could be Coach of Juventus next season & who coincided with Reyes when both were at Real Madrid.

In reference to Diego, the Brazilian has had a disaster season in Italy & has even been left out of the Brazilian World Cup squad. The Italian team is said to want to find an alternative Club for their unsuccessful Brazilian midfielder.

I would say that this is all pure speculation at this point & far away from having any real concrete basis. One thing is to have an interest & another is to make it all happen. I would image that Diego, Reyes & Fabio Capello will want to have a say in all this if it is in fact all true.

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