All Hail El Furia Roja

El Nino

Finally Euro 2008 has come to an end. The great Spanish drought is over. The long wait of 44 years has come to an end. They have comprehensively beaten all that have come their way , be it the world champions Italy , the spirited Russia or the gritty Germans. Now Mr.Luis Aragones can smile [I too as a spanish supporter :)] as his tag of the under achievers is gone.

It was a fitting end to the tournament for the Spaniards , though only a 1-0 score line in the end. And who else but El Nino score the winner. Throughout the early stages he was under the shadow of David Villa but he had the last smile scoring the winner in the final. The Spanish formation of 4-5-1 was found too hard to contain by all the teams. Cesc Fabregas , Xavi Hernandez, David SIlva , Marcos Senna and Andres Iniesta formed a deadly combination and were off target only against Italy. Yet otherwise no one had an answer to this awesome five. Also having Sergio Ramos and Capedevila as wing backs further strengthend the attack. Credit must also be given to Carlos Puyol and Marchena who had the defence under control. And well the best of the lot Iker Casillas who not only saved the 2 penalties against Italy but made a number of spectacular saves. He conceeded just 2 goals in the tournament.

Germany, who were through out the tournament highly erratic, had an off day. They were consistently off the mark and their defence was always under pressure. Michael Ballack will return home again without the winners medal , something which has been eluding him for quite some time now. Despite the failure of some highly rated players , this Euro has had its share of surprises and shocks and also rise of new stars.

Now on the longer perspective , this Spanish team is a very young side who can be a major force by 2010. Italy , France will have to regroup quickly since they have had some retirements. And finally we will have to wait and watch if teams like Russia will remain as One Tournament Wonder or will they become a feared force. So now its time to celebrate and enjoy with Spain. Its been a truly wonderful and colourful tournament. All hail El Furia Roja!!!