¡campeones 2012! – the game

July 1, 2012.

Another historical date for La Roja.  Spain made history by becoming the first national team to win two consecutive Eurocopas, with a World Cup sandwiched in between, when it beat Italy 4-0 (in the highest scoring final in history) to close out the 2012 edition of the Eurocopa.

ONE.  On what day do the Sanfermines start?  My father and grandfather are named Fermín.  For me, it starts on the fourth (Vicente del Bosque).

Vicente del Bosque became the first ever coach to win both the European and world championships with a club (Real Madrid) and with a national team.  And he accomplished that without ever raising his voice.  Where are the critics now?

TWO.  Have you tried Iniesta’s wine?  No.  Let’s see if he sends me a crate (Santi Cazorla).

Pre-game moments: Santi Cazorla and Álvaro Negredo posing and joking around, Cesc looking for someone, Pepe commenting on something to Xabi and Santi (note the beer in Pepe’s hand and the coffee in Xabi’s)…

Where do you like to go on vacation?  To a Caribbean island, one with wind (Víctor Valdés).

… Víctor Valdés gesturing to get his point across to Javi (!!!) who doesn’t seem to get it…

What is the secret of La Roja?  That they’re very good (Juan Mata Sr.).

… PF Juan Mata looking serious, and the team’s warm-up exercises almost looking like an intricate dance.

THREE.  What music do you listen to on the way  to the stadium?  Normally, I speak with Xavi (Sergio Busquets).  What music do you listen to on the way to the stadium?  I usually speak with Busi (Xavi).

I don’t know if all of you have seen the player intro videos, so here they are.  If you think back way to the beginning of the team’s stay in Poland, that’s when they shot these videos.  UEFA should release them and any outtakes they have!  I’m pretty sure some of the players were not successful on their first take, especially since there were other players sitting around watching and teasing them.

FOUR.  How many goals has Villa scored for Spain?  200! (Juan Mata).

I’m so happy that they came for the game!  It was great to see David Villa and Carles Puyol there, since they are such an important part of the team, and they seemed to have had a great experience, although it couldn’t have been easy for them to watch the game from the stands.  Luis Aragonés was there too, sitting next to David (you can see a bit of him in the photo).

FIVE.  What is the secret of La Roja?  The team is in tune with each other and has great players (Fernando Llorente).  How often does Del Bosque touch up his mustache?  Each time we suffer with a result (Juanfran Torres).

Moments: from the very coordinated pairing of Xabi and Xavi to VDB’s suffering…

What type of music do you listen to on the way to the stadium?  Whatever Ramos puts on (Jesús Navas).

… to the always welcome sight of Sergio’s abs and that tattoo…

Have you tried Iniesta’s wine?  We have it quite often (Andrés Iniesta).

… and the rare moment of frustration (thank goodness there were not many in this game) from Andrés Iniesta.

SIX.  What is the secret of La Roja?  The serenity (David Silva).

The goals!  ¡Toma!, says David.  I wonder who that was for.

Go Spain!

What is the secret of La Roja?  The team spirit, the group (Pedro).

I loved the double celebration for Jordi’s goals!  The players on the field ran towards Jordi – Xabi Alonso did it at top speed – while the bench players had their own celebration on the sideline and VDB showed a rare bit of emotion.

Look at that team spirit, that group!

What is the secret of La Roja?  Hard work and team spirit (Fernando Torres).

Fernando Torres became the first ever player to score in two Eurocopa finals.  I think Pepe might have been even more overjoyed than his niño himself!

This time around, the players and the substitutes celebrated together.

What is the secret of La Roja?  The joy (Juan Mata).

What a Eurocopa debut for PF Juan Mata!  He came into the game at the very end, but didn’t let that hold him back, as he scored a goal!

That generous assist helped Fernando Torres win the Golden Boot award for the tournament, as he finished with three goals and one assist, the same as Mario Gómez, but since Fernando had accomplished that by playing less minutes than the German, the honor went to him.

SEVEN.  How much did Iker Casillas weigh when he was born?  A lot.  With that head that he has… it should have weighed as much as he did (Pepe Reina).

Well, Iker needs a big head so that we can all properly see the halo, no?  What a fantastic captain we have.  None of this would have been possible without this man.

EIGHT.  Where is the Antiguo neighborhood?  It’s Xabi Alonso’s neighborhood.  It’s in San Sebastián (Iker Casillas).

The Xabi Alonso pose section.™

Looks like Xabi has been giving some lessons!

NINE.  What is the secret of La Roja?  Humility, hope, quality… (Javi Martínez).

The players were excited for the game to end, especially Javi (!!!) and Víctor, while Iker, proving once again that he’s a wonderful sportsman, kept pressuring the referee to blow the whistle and stop Italy’s suffering.  And it’s always an interesting experience to hear him break out the English!  (Pepe Reina es dee worrs wolky en de worrl.)

TEN.  Of note: Iker, Sergio Ramos, Xabi, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc and Torres played in all three finals, and 11 of the players won all three trophies (Iker, Raúl Albiol, Iniesta, Xavi, Xabi, Sergio Ramos, Álvaro Arbeloa, Pepe Reina, Fernando Torres, Cesc and David Silva).

And now, we have to celebrate winning that beautiful Cup, no?