‘Boring’ Spain come close to perfection

After all the debate, this was the ideal that Vicente del Bosque always intended. The final was a culmination of everything Spain had worked for, dating back to an overhaul of their youth infrastructure two decades ago through to the much more recent idea of playing attacking midfielders as forwards.

For good measure, too, Spain actually brought on an orthodox striker in Fernando Torres to finish off Italy.

It was as if to prove the ultimate point. If anything, this may prove the ultimate peak.

Not only did Spain win the tournament, they ended it as the highest scorers with two goals a game and by far the best defence.

It is still six years since they conceded a goal in a knock-out match. So, in 10 of the most exacting eliminators since the start of Euro 2008, they have won by an aggregate of 14-0.

It goes on. They weren’t just the best team but had the best player in Andres Iniesta and, eventually, the Golden Boot winner in Fernando Torres.

The final score of 4-0, meanwhile, is the biggest winning margin in the final of any World Cup or European Championships — one more than Brazil’s victory over the same country in 1970.

Most importantly of all Spain are the first team to win three major international trophies in a row.

When you put all of that together, you’re getting close to perfection.

Spain’s football certainly touched it last night.

Indeed, after that performance it’s incredible to think that Euro 2012 was actually dominated by debate over Spain’s style and quality. But there were no questions in Kiev — only utter domination.

“There are always critics,” said Iker Casillas. “But, at the end, we are champions. We have done this because of all the talent in the team, the work done and the coaching at all levels.”

Iniesta went even further.

He said: “We gave our best performance in the last game. This is something that cannot be repeated.”

For Italy, it was also something that could not be stopped. From the first moment, there was something different about how Spain passed the ball and played it. Unlike so many previous games, there was a greater intensity and sharpness.

This was not the team who looked so tired against Portugal in the semi-final.This also wasn’t the approach Spain usually face. Buoyed by what had been a superb tournament and their own opening draw against the Spanish, Italy stepped things up to try and make a statement.

For the last four years, almost every team have accepted that the only way to beat Spain is to just sit back very deep and deny them the most important space by congesting the area around the box.

And, for all the arguments about the style, this was in many ways the ultimate compliment to Spain.

No international side have ever faced such an extreme defensive reaction from virtually everyone they played. Brazil in 1970 did not.

Last night, for once, Spain did not either. Previously the finest tactician at this tournament, Cesare Prandelli tried to pioneer another approach: how to go toe to toe with Spain and actually beat them. The Italian manager found out why that is brave but foolish. His team were ripped apart.

After four years of coming up against frustratingly deep opposition defences, this is what Spain are capable of when they have just enough space.

In so many ways, they saved the very best for last.

They signalled that right from the start here. By the time David Silva put Spain ahead in the 14th minute, they had already forced a series of openings that suggested a rout.

Most tellingly, one Jordi Alba cross went straight across the Italian box with no one — and certainly no striker — coming in to meet it.

Within minutes, Spain had rendered that irrelevant in the most irresistible manner. Thanks to the type of passing that epitomises their entire approach, the move finished with Iniesta setting up Cesc Fabregas for the latter to loft the ball for Silva to finish.

The second goal was arguably even better. And, as if to add another dimension to the debate, it wasn’t completely dissimilar to Carlos Alberto’s fourth in 1970, with Alba charging up the wing from full-back to finish.

By then, an Italian team who had been spirited were out of the game. Once they’d lost substitute Thiago Motta to injury and had to play with 10 men, they were completely out of their depth.

Torres came on to become the first man to score in two European Championship finals and took the Golden Boot, having played fewer minutes than Germany’s Mario Gomez who ended with the same number of goals (three) and assists (one).

Perhaps even more impressively, the striker then summed up the sense of collectiveness in Spain’s team by squaring for fellow sub and Chelsea club-mate Juan Mata to complete the rout.

“Torres told me he saw me and passed the ball because it was me,” Mata said.

The player who defines the generation had the final word.

“It helped we went ahead early,” Xavi said. “We had possession and could use the space. We played a full game, our best of the tournament.”

It may well mean that they are the best of all time.