Google Football: Football Euro Cup

Showing posts with label Football Euro Cup. Show all posts

Monday, 2 July 2012

Europe's papers shower Spain with praise | Europe's Paper News

Europe's papers shower Spain with praise | Europe's Paper News

Superlatives abound in Europe's newspapers after Spain broke new ground by clinching UEFA EURO 2012. UEFA.com brings you the awe and admiration from the continent's press.

A to Z of UEFA EURO 2012 Story In Photo Gallery

From attendances to zoos via Błaszczykowski and Shevchenko, UEFA.com looks back over the highlights of Ukraine and Poland's 24-day football festival.

The largest single attendance was 64,640 at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv for the match between Sweden and England

Poland's captain and poster boy Jakub Błaszczykowski did as much as anybody for the home cause

Xabi Alonso celebrated his 100th cap with both goals for Spain against France

A spectacular thunderstorm stopped the Ukraine-France match at the Donbass Arena for 58 minutes

Crowds totalling over five million enjoyed the action in fan zones across the eight host cities

76 goals were scored in the 31 matches

Robert Lewandowski's opening goal of the finals was the first of 22 headers at UEFA EURO 2012

Republic of Ireland were the first team eliminated but their fans left a lasting impression

The Netherlands' Jetro Willems became the youngest player in EURO finals history when appearing against Denmark aged 18 years and 71 days

Poland's Przemysław Tytoń came off the bench to save a penalty with his first touch in the opening match

UEFA EURO 2012 ensured Poland and Ukraine have four world-class stadiums each

The UEFA EURO 2012 mascots were Slavek and Slavko

It was the first time the Dutch had exited a major tournament without a single point

Greece had the oldest player in 38-year-old goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias

Andrea Pirlo's Panenka-style effort was the pick of the penalties at the finals

Laurent Blanc and Bert van Marwijk have resigned their posts with France and the Netherlands since departing the EURO

Spain became the first team to retain the Henri Delaunay Cup and, moreover, the first to win three successive major titles

Andriy Shevchenko rolled back the years with the two headed goals that earned Ukraine an opening win against Sweden

There were 15,358 tweets per second – a record for a sports event – the moment Spain scored their fourth goal in the final

Greece overcame Russia through a goal from captain Giorgos Karagounis in one of the tournament's biggest upsets

Spain's final triumph earned the highest Spanish TV audience in history

Zlatan Ibrahimović's goal against France was one of the more spectacular strikes in the competition

Andrea Pirlo starred for Italy but even he was outshone by Spain's pass master Xavi Hernández

Joachim Löw's exciting Germany team were the youngest at the EURO

Fred the Ferret in Kharkiv Zoo was one of several contenders bidding to match the soothsaying feats of Paul the Octopus at the 2010 World Cup

Faultless Ramos the star of Spain's showcase | Spain Football News | Spain Footbaall Photo Gallery

Sergio Ramos's flawless showing ensured the defender was the Castrol top performer as he helped Spain stride to a historic 4-0 victory against Italy in the UEFA EURO 2012 final.

Sergio Ramos

Faultless Ramos the star of Spain's showcase

Sergio Ramos

Spain defender Sergio Ramos did not put a foot wrong as La Roja overwhelmed Italy 4-0 in Kyiv to complete an unprecedented hat-trick of major tournament wins.

The 26-year-old defender has been integral to an exceptional Spain side that conceded just once en route to their title defence. It was business as usual as Vicente del Bosque's men earned their fifth straight clean sheet in Poland and Ukraine, and Ramos's contribution was acknowledged as he topped the Castrol EDGE Index with a score of 9.69.

Defensively, Ramos was faultless. He earned points for a valuable block on Andrea Barzagli's goal-bound effort; for keeping an Italian attack – including an in-form Mario Balotelli – in check; and for ball recovery, regaining possession from Cesare Prandelli's side on no fewer than 15 occasions.

Sergio Ramos

The Real Madrid CF man's boundless energy, athleticism and determination ensured he was as potent in Italy's penalty area as he was protective in his own, and a good deal of his rating is for his attacking endeavour. He gave the Azzurri nightmares from set pieces and had four efforts on goal, including two on-target shots from close range, to crown an imperious performance.

Ramos headed a Spanish clean sweep. Marauding left-back Jordi Alba scored a fine goal to grab a 9.09 rating and finish second, while Iker Casillas came third on 9.07 to round off the top three.

Castrol EDGE Index: Spain v Italy

1. Sergio Ramos (ESP) 9.69

2. Jordi Alba (ESP) 9.09

3. Iker Casillas (ESP) 9.07

4. Xavi Hernández (ESP) 9.06

5. David Silva (ESP) 8.60

Sergio Ramos - Spain Press Conference - UEFA EURO Final 2012

Key facts

1 – Spain are the first European side to win three consecutive major tournaments (UEFA EURO 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA EURO 2012).

2 – Vicente del Bosque has become only the second coach to win the World Cup and the UEFA European Championship (after Helmut Schön, who won in 1972 and 1974 with Germany).

3 – Spain have equalled Germany's record of three UEFA European Championship wins (1964, 2008, 2012).

4 – La Roja became the first team to score four goals in a EURO final.

9 – Iker Casillas equalled Edwin van der Sar's record for clean sheets at the EUROs, this match earning his ninth shutout.
Sergio Ramos 2012 World's No.1 New Skills HD
Sergio Ramos 2012 The Warrior HD