UEFA Euro 2008 final
The UEFA Euro 2008 final was the final match of UEFA Euro 2008, the thirteenth edition of the European Championship, UEFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, Austria, on 29 June 2008, and was contested between Germany and Spain.
The sixteen-team tournament consisted of a group stage, from which eight teams qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Germany finished second in Group B, with a defeat to Croatia between the wins over Poland and Austria. They then defeated Portugal in the quarter-finals, and Turkey in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Spain finished top of Group D following three wins coming against Russia, Sweden and Greece. They then defeated Italy on penalties in the quarter-finals, before securing a second victory over Russia in the semi-finals.
The final took place in front of 51,428 supporters, and was refereed by Roberto Rosetti from Italy. Spain scored the match's only goal in the 33rd minute through Fernando Torres, winning 1–0 to secure their second European Championship title and their first since 1964. Goalscorer Torres was named UEFA's man of the match.
Spain's victory marked the start of a period of dominance for the team, which saw them go on to lift the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, before then retaining their European title at Euro 2012. As winners, Spain also qualified for the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa as UEFA's representative.
Background
was the 13th edition of the UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA's football competition for national teams, held between 7 and 29 June 2008 in Austria and Switzerland. Qualifying rounds were held between August 2006 and November 2007, in which fifty teams were divided into seven groups of seven or eight, playing each other on a home-and-away round-robin tournament basis. The top two teams in each group, along with the two host teams, qualified for the sixteen-team finals. There, they were divided into four groups of four with each team playing one another once. The two top teams from each group advanced to a knock-out phase.Germany had won the title as West Germany in 1972 and in 1980, and again in 1996 as Germany. In the previous international tournament, the 2006 FIFA World Cup, they were knocked out in the semi-final to Italy, before winning the third-place play-off against Portugal. Spain had advanced to the round of 16 in 2006, in which they were defeated by France. Spain had won the European Championship once before, in 1964. The UEFA Euro 2008 Final was the nineteenth meeting between Germany and Spain, eight of the previous matches being won by Germany, five by Spain, and six draws. They had last faced each other in a competitive game in the group stage of the 1994 World Cup, which finished as a 1–1 draw. Greece were the defending champions after winning the 2004 final against Portugal.
The final was held on 29 June 2008 at Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna, the largest stadium of the eight venues used in the finals of Euro 2008. Opened in 1931, the Ernst-Happel-Stadion was built for the second International Workers' Olympiad. Serving as Austria's national stadium, it had previously hosted finals of the UEFA Champions League, including those in 1964, in 1987, in 1990 and in 1995. The capacity of the stadium was increased before the tournament by the addition of temporary stands in front of the permanent stands.
Germany were pre-tournament favourites to win the final, followed by Spain, although the latter's manager Luis Aragonés cautioned that "Nobody should be deceived by Spain because in the major tournaments we haven't done anything."
Route to the final
Germany
Germany were drawn in Group B for the tournament, alongside Austria, Croatia and Poland. They faced Poland in their first game in Klagenfurt, Austria, on 8 June 2008. Lukas Podolski gave Germany the lead after 20 minutes when he scored following a pass from Miroslav Klose. Podolski then added a second goal 18 minutes before the end with a volley, to give Germany a victory. The win was their first in the tournament since their win over the Czech Republic in the Euro 1996 Final, after they had recorded no wins in 2000 or in 2004. Their second group game took place four days later against Croatia, again in Klagenfurt. Croatia took the lead after 24 minutes through Darijo Srna, before Ivica Olić added a second shortly after the hour mark. Podolski scored for Germany on 78 minutes to make the score, but they had few chances thereafter and Croatia held on for the win. Bastian Schweinsteiger, a German substitute, was sent off in the 90th minute when he pushed Jerko Leko after the latter had tackled him. Germany concluded their group fixtures against co-hosts Austria in Vienna on 16 June needing a draw to secure their progress to the quarter-finals, while their opponents required a win. The game was settled when Michael Ballack scored from a free kick in the second half to give Germany a win. They qualified as runners-up in the group behind Croatia.Germany's quarter-final match was against Portugal in the Swiss city of Basel on 19 June. Germany raced into a lead in the first half hour of the game with goals from Schweinsteiger and Klose, before Nuno Gomes pulled back a goal for Portugal shortly before half-time. Ballack extended Germany's lead with a header on 62 minutes, and despite Hélder Postiga's late goal for Portugal, Germany held on for a win. They returned to Basel again for their semi-final against Turkey, on 25 June. Turkey had several chances in the opening 20 minutes before taking the lead on 22 minutes; Uğur Boral's shot went under the body of goalkeeper Jens Lehmann after Colin Kazim-Richards had hit the crossbar. Five minutes later Schweinsteiger equalised for Germany with a close-range shot. Klose scored Germany's second on 79 minutes, but Turkey equalised 7 minutes later through Semih Şentürk. With the game heading towards extra time, Germany's Philipp Lahm scored a winning goal in the 90th minute. BBC Sport's Phil McNulty described the 3–2 victory as "barely deserved", but Germany were nonetheless through to the final.
Spain
Spain played in Group D, joined by Greece, Sweden and Russia. Their opening fixture was in Innsbruck, Austria, against Russia on 10 June, in which Spain took the lead through David Villa after 20 minutes. Villa added a second on 45 minutes, following a pass from Andrés Iniesta, to give Spain a half-time lead, and he then completed a hat-trick on 75 minutes, the first of the tournament. Roman Pavlyuchenko scored for Russia 4 minutes from full time, before Spain added another goal through substitute Cesc Fàbregas to complete a victory. In their next game, also in Innsbruck, Spain faced Sweden. Spain opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour when Fernando Torres notched a goal following David Silva's cross. Zlatan Ibrahimović equalised for Sweden on 34 minutes, but Spain secured the win through a last-minute goal by Villa. This ensured they had qualified for the knock-out rounds with one game to spare. Manager Aragonés therefore decided to rest most of his first-team players for the final game against Greece in Salzburg, Austria, on 18 June. Greece, who were the tournament's defending champions, scored the first goal of the game shortly before half-time through Angelos Charisteas but goals from Rubén de la Red and Dani Güiza on 61 and 88 minutes sealed another Spanish win. They qualified as group winners, with Russia in second place.Spain's quarter-final match was against Italy in Vienna, on 22 June. The first half of the game was described by McNulty as "a cautious affair, with chances and quality at a premium" and finished goalless. In the second half, Italian substitute Mauro Camoranesi had a chance following a goalmouth scramble which was blocked by Iker Casillas. Marcos Senna then had two chances to give Spain the lead, respectively through a long-range free kick and a shot fumbled onto the post by Gianluigi Buffon. The match remained 0–0 through extra time, and went to a penalty shoot-out. With Spain taking their penalties first, the opening three in the shoot-out were all scored. Casillas then saved Daniele De Rossi's kick to give Spain a 2–1 lead after two penalties each. The next two were scored, but then Buffon saved from Güiza. Antonio Di Natale had a chance to restore parity, but Casillas saved again. Fàbregas then scored to seal a 4–2 shoot-out win. Spain returned to Vienna for their semi-final on 26 June, in which they faced Russia for the second time in the tournament. The first half, played in rainy conditions, ended goalless with Torres being denied by Russia's goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev and Pavlyuchenko shooting wide from a Konstantin Zyryanov cross. Xavi opened the scoring for Spain in the 50th minute after a pass from Iniesta. Torres then missed an opportunity to score after striking a Ramos cross off-target with his knee. In the 73rd minute, Güiza doubled Spain's lead, controlling Fàbregas's pass with his chest before striking the ball over Akinfeev. Silva made it 3–0 in the 82nd minute with a side-footed goal from a Fàbregas cross, concluding a long series of passes by Spain. The win was the largest margin of victory in a semi-final in the history of the European Championship.
Match
Pre-match
Before the 2008 final, former German international Franz Beckenbauer wrote in the German newspaper Bild that he hoped "for an attractive finale with lots of goals" but said that he expected "a game of patience". Writing in The Observer before the game, journalist Duncan Castles contrasted the styles of play of the two teams, saying that game would hinge on "whether Iberian beauty can conquer German pragmatism". Many Spanish supporters had been pessimistic about the team's chances before the tournament, as a result of their previous lack of success, but according to Steve Kingstone of BBC News, the mood in the country was much more optimistic about their prospects in the final, following the semi-final victory over Russia. The match was watched by tens of thousands of Spaniards in the Plaza de Colón in Madrid. Tristana Moore, reporting for BBC News in Berlin, reported an "air of excitement" before the game, but noted that many Germans had not expected the team to reach the final. A "Fan Mile" was set up at the Brandenburg Gate, where up to 500,000 German supporters were expected to watch the game.The referee for the game was Roberto Rosetti of Italy. The assistant referees were Alessandro Griselli and Paolo Calcagno, also of Italy, while Sweden's Peter Fröjdfeldt was the fourth official. The tournament's closing ceremony took place before the final, featuring music by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias, after which the national anthems of the two teams were played.