Call them negative, but fair play to Spain, they sure know how to win tournaments

Master tactician: del Bosque silenced critics

Winning any football competition involves playing to your strengths and gaining the tactical upper hand over your opponent. Simply being the best, does not always guarantee success.

Spain might just be the best international football team there has ever been, yet Euro 2012 has been the biggest proof yet that even they have to go into their shell somewhat to emerge victorious.

Their tiki-taka style has been much criticised from all corners of the media, as well as by coaches – none bigger than one of passing football's biggest advocates, Arsene Wenger.

“Throughout their years of success, they have tried to keep the same philosophy, which is based around wanting to have the ball,” Wenger said before their cup final meeting with Italy.

“However, they have betrayed their philosophy and turned it into something more negative. Originally they wanted possession in order to attack and win the game; now it seems to be first and foremost a way not to lose.”

Strong words, especially considering Wenger's Arsenal side have often been slated in the press for their over-playing and lack of cutting edge.

But the way Vicente del Bosque has adopted a formation that includes no recognised striker is unique, but hugely frustrating.

Spain played with the kind of verve and precision that was more in alignment with the early years of their footballing dominance, humiliating one of the tournament's most impressive units

Regardless, how can you criticise the Spanish for the way they play? After all, they have just won their third consecutive tournament on the bounce, and frighteningly for everybody else, seem to be quite comfortable when it comes to major finals now.

The last side to win an international tournament other than Spain, ironically was Italy in 2006, but on Sunday night they were comprehensively out-played.

Naturally, the main worry before the game was that Italy with their traditionally conservative style of play, and Spain with their supposedly 'negative' tiki-taka would result in a boring 0-0 draw where neither side dared to cross the halfway line.

In the end, we were all surprised. Spain played with the kind of verve and precision that was more in alignment with the early years of their footballing dominance, humiliating one of the tournament's most impressive units with a 4-0 hammering.

Even so, leading striker, Fernando Torres was forced to watch proceedings from the bench to begin with.

Perhaps then, the 4-6-0 formation is more a means to an end, than a permanent solution. Spain are that good right now, that they can score goals – even with their number nine on the bench.

One argument might be that it is their way of phasing out midfield-master, Xavi over the next few years.

The Barcelona ace is now the wrong side of 30, as is Real Madrid's Xabi Alonso, so blooding the promising midfielders that Spain have coming through, looks to be the master plan.

When Xavi and Alonso eventually do hang up their international boots, the likes of Cesc Fabregas, David Silva and Juan Mata will all be capable of seamlessly taking their place – not forgetting Andres Iniesta, now aged 28.

What it does mean, however, is the rest of the footballing world need to take note and beware. Spain are far from being done yet.

In a tournament of shocks, don't be surprised if Balotelli and co win it

Super Mario: Brace helped his side to final

This was Germany's year. A golden age for their national team, with some of the brightest young footballing talent on the planet. Winning Euro 2012 was written in the stars for them, everything else would just be a formality. Or so we thought...

There have been shocks in this year's European Championships – Greece advancing to the knock-out stages at the expense of Russia, the Netherlands imploding spectacularly and Sweden defeating the Group D favourites, France. But how many people genuinely expected Italy to make it to the final?

For starters, they were drawn in one of the toughest looking groups, having Spain and Croatia for company. With an ageing team, many doubted their chances of even making it to the quarter-finals.

Indeed, draws against both the Spanish and the Croats left them on the brink of crashing out early on. It was only last minute drama in the the game between those two sides that meant Italy would advance.

Then came 'plucky' England, as the media constantly refer to them as. After winning Group D against the odds, Roy Hodgson's men suddenly found themselves as favourites against a side who had supposedly struggled for form of late.

In truth, though, only one team deserved to win that game in the end, and there was certainly no sense of injustice when Alessandro Diamanti calmly slotted home the winning penalty.

You didn't have to be an expert to realise that the star man in that game was a certain Andrea Pirlo. Now aged 33, but with hardly a hair out of place, the deep-lying midfielder was coolness personified, controlling the game with almost metronomic rhythm, precision and grace.

So then, you would have thought the ever efficient Germans might notice that stopping him would be the key to their successful progression to the final. Close him down quickly and stick Sami Khedira to him like a limpet.

Strangely, they didn't, so it was little surprise that the Italians made light work of their much hyped opponents. Whether it was a reckless lack of respect or a just a serious error of judgement is open to debate, but the facts are clear, Italy will contest the final – not Germany.

Aside from Pirlo, the Italians were thankful for another master performance on the night from none other than Mario Balotelli. Popularly referred to as Super Mario, both of his goals were taken with the sort of devastating incision that would leave anyone thinking he genuinely had just stepped straight out of a video game.

"...with hardly a hair out of place, the deep-lying midfielder was coolness personified, controlling the game with almost metronomic rhythm, precision and grace..."

Spain will have to take note. For all their tiki-taka football is much heralded, and at times supremely beautiful, it is also painfully negative.

For much of the tournament they have played a bizarre sort of 4-6-0 formation which has seen talented goalscorers like Fernando Torres and Fernando Llorente left to watch from the sidelines. It was little wonder that they only reached the final by beating Portugal on penalties after a dire, goalless 120 minutes of football.

Don't get me wrong, the Spanish have played great football over the past four or five years, but with that has come a certain arrogance. Suddenly, they are trying to reinvent the beautiful game; as if they are too good for corners, set-pieces and, God forbid, strikers.

When Italy go head to head with Spain on Sunday, there can only be one winner. For the sake of football, please let it be the Azzuri.