¡Y el ganador es España! And the winner is Spain!

What has gone by in 44 years? This country has had 8 different presidents, we’ve gone from sending one man to the man to sending dozens at a time, we’ve gone from records to iTunes, and Spain hasn’t one a major soccer tournament in this span. That would change.

What a grand stage we’ve set up for the championship match in the UEFA Euro 2008, pitting Germany and Spain against each other for European glory. All eyes were on this match yesterday, and it would most certainly prove to please. As highly anticipated as this match was, the opening ceremonies had to come first, such as the Viennese waltz and Enrique Inglesias performing. But now, it was time to play a little futbol!

As the game started, it seemed both teams were trying to get a feel for the ball, get use to the stage, and feel comfortable. So not a whole lot of action was being taken place until about the 10th minute, when Germany came out firing. They had a few chances but were all squandered by the Spanish. This went on for about 10 minutes, but Spain would quickly back fire and put a barage of shots on German goaltender Jens Lehmann. Now, here’s a little note regarding the game: Spanish star David Villa went down with an ankle injury in their semifinal match vs. Russia and was inactive for this game, so Cesc Fabregas would take over his spot but revert back to midfield, leaving Fernando Torres as the lone striker up on offense for Spain. Torres has had quite an unlucky tournament so far, only scoring one goal as compared to his injured counterpart Villa who had 4 going into the finale. So I think in this game in particular, Torres wanted to show not only his team, but his country, that he was what it took and that he could lead his team to a championship, as so many other Spanish teams have let down on doing. So Torres had looked very sloppy in previous games, but on that day, he looked fantastic. He was faster to the ball then anyone, he looked very aggressive, but again, was unlucky. He would find the ball or his teammates, but nothing would go in for him! He even had a perfectly good shot that seemed to be heading for the back of the net go off the post. Then came the 33rd minute when all of this would change. An absolutely beautiful pass was sent up the pitch that headed straight for Torres, he passed to himself past one defenseman, then turned on the jets and completely blew by the other as the goalie came out, and all he needed was a little tap over the sliding goaltender, and it went straight in. If there were one man who deserved a goal in the championship, it would be Fernando Torres. So it stood as of now, Spain leads 1-0, and they had hope. This could be their year.

The game went on and Spain knew they could not let down, for the German offense could easily put one in very quickly. The score stayed the same going into halftime and Spain continued their beautiful play of one touch soccer, keeping possession of the ball for much of the game like they usually do. Game play still continued and still the Germans could not generate anything. As soon as they would penetrate the Spanish midfield, they would be plundered by either the defense or the best goalie of the entire tournament, Iker Casillas. The Spanish would continue to hold the ball, and once the 85th minute came, people started to buzz. Could it be that the Spanish not double over in a big game? Is it possible for them to end a 44 year drought? The only problem is this: so far in this tournament, there have been 19 goals scored in after the 85th minute, and there have only been 30 games thus far. So Spain would have to hold on in the most heated and nerve racking moments for them in a very long time. Heck I was nervous, I mean they are my favorite team! But on this day, Spain would prove to hold strong, and would defeat Germany 1-0 to win the 2008 UEFA European Championship. What a great sight it was in not only Vienna, but also in Madrid and Barcelona and Valencia, and all the around the country that has now brought home gold for the first time in almost a half century. It was a great, hard fought game, and it was deserving of acalades for sure.

So the Euro 2008 has now come to an end, with Spain coming out on top. It was a fantastic tournament, one of the best of all time that many will remember and talk about for years to come. I was glad to have seen it myself and also glad to bring it to you and open up the world of soccer to American eyes, because it’s a great sport and, heads up people, the US team is on a roll right now and is only 2 years away from a serous World Cup run, so be watching for that and thanks for reading. ¡Las felicitaciones a España! (Congratulations to Spain!)

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