Two Guys Sports
Bruce BostwickSpain Wins 2008 Euro Championship - Soccer
June 30th 2008 00:19
Germans Downed By Torres
It wasn’t nearly as long as the Boston Red Sox, or the Chicago Cubs drought, but by soccer standards it was just as bad. The last time that Spain had won a soccer title was at the 1964 Euro Championship. That all changed when in the 33rd minute Fernando Torres broke out of the shadow of his teammate David Villa to score the only goal the Spainiards would need. With the goal they beat a strong German team that was playing in their seventh Euro Championship..
The German’s captain Michael Ballack did actually play in the game despite a tender right calf that threatened to make him miss the game.
Early in the match German Christoph Metzelder nearly scored a goal in his own net, luckily goalkeeper Jens Lehmann reacted quickly and stopped it from entering the net. Torres had other chances to score prior to his goal, he sent one header over the bar, and another off the bottom of the post which could have gone in if it were more accurate because he had Lehmann beat.
In the 29th minute the ref missed a call and wouldn’t change his mind after the ball bounced off of Fullback Joan Capdevila’s hand. Four minutes later Torres scored his goal by lifting a shot over a sliding Lehmann and into the corner. It is a good thing that Torres was able toto show why he is widely considered one of the best strikers in the world since Villa, the star of the team thus far in the Championships, was out with an injury.
Ballack setup Kevin Kuranyi with a cross, but goalkeeper Iker Castillas tipped it away harmlessly. Spain controlled the rest of the match, while Germany just couldn’t muster a successful attack.
The game would end 1-0 in favor of Spain. The win makes them just the third team wo have won multiple Euro Championships along with their opponents (3), and France (2).
The lineups for the teams were as follows:
Spain: Iker Castillas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevia, Xavi Hernandez, David Silva (Santi Cazorla, 66), Marcos Senna, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas (Xabi Alonso, 63), Fernando Torres (Dani Guiza, 78)
Germany: Jens Lehmann, Christoph Metzelder, Per Mertesacker, Philipp Lahm (Marcell Jansen, 46), Arne Friedrich, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hitzlsperger (Kevin Kuranyi, 58), Torsten Frings, Michael Ballack, Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose (Mario Gomez, 79)
Fernando Torres scored the only goal the Spaniards would need.
It wasn’t nearly as long as the Boston Red Sox, or the Chicago Cubs drought, but by soccer standards it was just as bad. The last time that Spain had won a soccer title was at the 1964 Euro Championship. That all changed when in the 33rd minute Fernando Torres broke out of the shadow of his teammate David Villa to score the only goal the Spainiards would need. With the goal they beat a strong German team that was playing in their seventh Euro Championship..
The German’s captain Michael Ballack did actually play in the game despite a tender right calf that threatened to make him miss the game.
Early in the match German Christoph Metzelder nearly scored a goal in his own net, luckily goalkeeper Jens Lehmann reacted quickly and stopped it from entering the net. Torres had other chances to score prior to his goal, he sent one header over the bar, and another off the bottom of the post which could have gone in if it were more accurate because he had Lehmann beat.
In the 29th minute the ref missed a call and wouldn’t change his mind after the ball bounced off of Fullback Joan Capdevila’s hand. Four minutes later Torres scored his goal by lifting a shot over a sliding Lehmann and into the corner. It is a good thing that Torres was able toto show why he is widely considered one of the best strikers in the world since Villa, the star of the team thus far in the Championships, was out with an injury.
Ballack setup Kevin Kuranyi with a cross, but goalkeeper Iker Castillas tipped it away harmlessly. Spain controlled the rest of the match, while Germany just couldn’t muster a successful attack.
Spain hoists their well-deserved trophy in celebration.
The game would end 1-0 in favor of Spain. The win makes them just the third team wo have won multiple Euro Championships along with their opponents (3), and France (2).
The lineups for the teams were as follows:
Spain: Iker Castillas, Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Joan Capdevia, Xavi Hernandez, David Silva (Santi Cazorla, 66), Marcos Senna, Andres Iniesta, Cesc Fabregas (Xabi Alonso, 63), Fernando Torres (Dani Guiza, 78)
Germany: Jens Lehmann, Christoph Metzelder, Per Mertesacker, Philipp Lahm (Marcell Jansen, 46), Arne Friedrich, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hitzlsperger (Kevin Kuranyi, 58), Torsten Frings, Michael Ballack, Lukas Podolski, Miroslav Klose (Mario Gomez, 79)
| 49 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
