Specials DIVERSITY EMPLOYERS MAGAZINE Spring 2011 - Anniversary Commemorative Issue

Euro 2008: Spain Succeeds in Breaking a 44-Year Jinx

It took them over four decades, but Spain, a powerhouse in international football, finally won the coveted European Cup this past June. The Spaniards beat the Germans 1-0 to carry off the cup in the final match of the Euro 2008.

That win means that Spain had broken a 44 year-long jinx that kept it from winning the trophy despite having some of the best players and football tradition in the world. The Spaniards are deserving champions. They showed excellent form throughout and emerged at the top of the 16 team tournament of the European Football Championship, hosted simultaneously by Austria and Switzerland from 7th to 29th June.

The European Football Championship is the second biggest and most prestigious tournament in world football, after the FIFA World Cup.

The 16 participating countries were divided into four groups. Group A included co-host Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Portugal and Turkey. Group B had Austria, the other co-host; Croatia, Germany and Poland. Group C -- dubbed the "group of death" by pundits -- included France, the 1998 world champions; Italy, the 2006 World Cup champions; Netherlands and Romania. Spain came in the 4th and final Group D along with Russia, Sweden and the 2004 Euro champions, Greece.

England, another powerhouse in European football had failed to qualify for the tournament this year.

In the openning matches, the Czech Republic easily defeated co-host Switzerland, while Portugal overcame Turkey in Group A. In Group B, Croatia downed second co-host Austria, and Germany beat Poland as well. France was held to a goalless draw by Romania in Group C, while the Netherlands trashed Italy 3-0 in the same group. Spain beat Russia 4-1, while Sweden defeated Greece in the opening matches of Group D.

The surprises really began during the second leg of the tournaments when Turkey stunned favorites, the Czech Republic and Switzerland to qualify for the quarter-finals along with Portugal in Group A. In Group B, Germany and Croatia easily qualified for the Quarter-finals. In Group C, Italy beat France 2-0 to move on to the quarter-finals along with the Netherlands who had won all of their three matches at this stage. Spain and the surprising Russians, who beat both Sweden and Greece, moved on to the quarter-finals in Group D.

In the quarter-finals, the Germans combined a good defence with strong attacks to edge-out Portugal 3-2. Turkey surprised everyone by beating favorite, Croatia, on penalties. The Turkish win was a big upset that gave them a berth in the semi-finals of the European Cup tournaments for the first time in Turkish football history. The game between Spain and Italy in the quarter-finals went into extra-time with neither side scoring and had to be decided on penalties with Spain edging Italy out 4-2. That loss cost Roberto Donadoni his job as the Italian national coach. He was replaced by Marcello Lippi.

The biggest surprise of the games came when the Russians, led by their Dutch coach, Hiddink, defeated the Netherlands 3-1 after extra time in the quarter-finals.

In the semi-final games, the Turks played well against the Germans but ultimately succumbed to German pressure and lost the match 2-3. Spain totally outclassed Russia, defeating them 3-0.

The final match between Spain and Germany was a tense 90 minutes played out before a capacity crowd. It has been described as "one of the most exciting Euro finals in recent history." The Spaniards went immediately on the offensive. That strategy payed off in the 33rd minute when striker, Fernando Torres executed his second goal of the tournament. The Germans tried hard to equalize but to no avail. Their aggressive game during the second half saw them committing more fouls. The game ended 1-0 in favor of Spain.