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Ernst Happel, Vienna
Sunday 29 June 2008 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time)

Germany coach Joachim Löw and his Spain counterpart Luis Aragonés are both hoping UEFA EURO 2008™ will come to a suitably exciting conclusion as their sides prepare to meet in the final on Sunday evening.

‘Intensive match’

The first 30 games of the tournament have yielded 76 goals, and the coaches are optimistic that pattern will continue at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion. Germany’s Joachim Löw – whose side won 3-2 in both the quarter- and semi-finals against Portugal and Turkey respectively and are looking for their fourth European title – is anticipating an open encounter. “It’s going to be a very intensive match,” he said. “Both Spain and Germany have good players and like to go forward so it’s going to be very interesting. We tried to make certain corrections after we lost to Croatia [in the group stage], but when we’re against a team who play attacking football we can reach that level and keep up. Technically speaking, both teams have strong offensive players. It will be a fast, flexible and variable match.”

‘Long hard road’

German hopes would be damaged by the absence of Michael Ballack, who has missed training for the last two days due to a calf problem, while Thorsten Frings should replace Simon Rolfes in midfield. Despite the doubts surrounding the participation of his captain, Löw is in bullish mood, confidently proclaiming: “I expect to win, of course. We have a long, hard road behind us over the past few weeks. This tournament was tough for all players and all teams, it took up a lot of strength but now we’re in the final and we’re going to gather all our efforts to win and take the cup back to Germany.”

Contrasting fortunes

While Germany are familiar faces at this level – this is their sixth European showpiece and four of Löw’s squad appeared in the 2002 FIFA World Cup final – for Spain this is unchartered territory. La Furia Roja’s last appearance in a major final was 24 years ago, a 2-0 EURO defeat by France, and their sole silverware came in the 1964 UEFA European Championship, yet if their coach is feeling weighed down by history he was not inclined to admit as much. “I’m fine, the players are fine,” said Aragonés. “My greatest concern is my team. Germany are very strong, and their set-pieces are very dangerous. We know they don’t have such a flowing game as us but they counterattack with speed and we need to learn how to stop that. It might be of concern to me, but I’m sure Germany are concerned the football we play with the ball on the ground could cause them problems.”

Winning farewell

In the absence of the tournament’s four-goal top scorer David Villa due to a thigh injury, Aragonés – who will step down after the match – is expected to stick with the five-man midfield that functioned so effectively in Thursday’s 3-0 semi-final win, against Russia, deploying Cesc Fàbregas behind lone striker Fernando Torres. “We’ll be able to get into the area less but will be stronger in midfield,” he explained. “I haven’t decided anything yet, perhaps we’ll have two forwards. Every team needs a good atmosphere. I’ve seen great teams with great players and if you don’t have a good atmosphere you can’t win. This is what’s brought us to the final. Let’s just hope we play well and win.”

Casillas ready to step into unknown

Spain captain Iker Casillas said he feels responsible for “44 million people” as he and his team-mates prepare to enter the uncharted territory of a UEFA European Championship final.

‘Nervous’

The Real Madrid CF goalkeeper has claimed a veritable bounty of silverware since being crowned as a European champion with Spain Under-15s in 1995, including two UEFA Champions League titles, yet he insists he will break new ground when he leads La Furia Roja out to take on Germany in the UEFA EURO 2008™ final. “It’s very different,” he said. “Reaching a Champions League final with Real Madrid has no bearing on reaching this final. Many of us are used to playing against other important club teams in Europe but this tournament is every four years. It’s very difficult to reach a final and that gives you an added responsibility; it makes you more nervous. Speaking for myself, I’m looking forward to it very much. But I feel responsible for my team-mates and 44 million people.”

‘Horrible statistic’

That is a sizeable burden to place on the shoulders of a man who, less we forget, is still only 27. He will become the first goalkeeper to captain a side to UEFA European Championship final victory if Spain prevail at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, and admits the thought has crossed his mind. “Everybody has five minutes of dreaming before they go to sleep which is free of charge, but the most important thing is that when the moment arrives we’re aware that only one team can win and only one man can lift the cup,” he said. “Hopefully Spain can be that team. We have the chance to break this horrible statistic for Spain. We haven’t won an international title for a long time. We were very near 24 years ago but didn’t manage to win.”

‘Break the mould’

In 1984 a mistake from Spain keeper Luis Arconada proved the decisive moment as Michel Platini capitalised to put France ahead, Bruno Bellone’s last-minute strike ending Spanish hopes of a first title since 1964. Yet Casillas is determined that there will be no repeat. “There are good and bad things about reaching a final; if you lose the journey is not worth it, but if you win it certainly is,” he said. “Spanish players have come a long way and we can now break the mould as we’re one step away from winning. We have everything it takes to put in a great performance. ” Having helped end a run of three penalty shoot-out losses – all on 23 June –in the quarter-finals and in doing so claim a first competitive victory in 88 years against Italy, Casillas more than any other seems capable of casting aside the shackles of history.

Hitzlsperger plots route to glory

As Thomas Hitzlsperger prepares for what he describes as the “biggest game of my career” in Vienna on Sunday he underlined that, with or without Michael Ballack, Germany’s hopes rest on not allowing Spain room to play their own game.

‘First final’

“I feel good about this,” said the VfB Stuttgart midfielder as he savoured the atmosphere ahead of the UEFA EURO 2008™ final. “We’re all focused now and are aware how big it is, even if for most of us it will be our first final at this level.” That is certainly true of Hitzlsperger, among a host of younger players in Joachim Löw’s squad, though having played a key role as Stuttgart claimed the Bundesliga title the season before last, he has a fair idea of how to bring about success. “We have shown that we’re strong,” he said of Germany’s progress in Austria and Switzerland. “The Croatia match was not too good, but we have continued on our course since then, and focused on our objective which was to reach final.”

Close quarters

Hitzlsperger did not feature in the 2-1 loss to Croatia, but after coming on after the hour in the victory against Austria which booked a spot in the knockout rounds he has earned his place in Löw’s starting XI. Germany impressed in the 3-2 triumph over Portugal, though it took a last-minute Philipp Lahm goal to see off Turkey in the last four and Hitzlsperger sees problems that need addressing. “We’ve got to improve several things from the Turkey game, most importantly closing opponents down early,” he said. “When they [Spain] have the ball they make you run, and you can get tired early on; that shouldn’t happen. We need to close them down from the first minute and if we’re successful in that we have a good chance.

Ballack loss?

“We’ve been talking about Spain a lot; they are much improved, the best team in the finals,” the 26-year-old continued. “For us there have been difficulties; the Spaniards did not have these problems but we hope we can cause them problems and they won’t find an answer in 90 minutes.” Spain will be without the injured David Villa in Vienna though Hitzlsperger believes that they “are such a good side that they can compensate even if he’s not playing”. He was less circumspect about the prospect of Germany losing Michael Ballack to a calf knock, saying: “He’s such an important player. His main strength is his ability to score so many goals, his presence and his leadership on the pitch for the young players to look up to – that’s what we need tomorrow.”

Russia - Spain 0-3

Second-half goals from Xavi Hernández, Daniel Güiza and David Silva sent Spain through to a UEFA EURO 2008™ final meeting with Germany as Luis Aragonés’s men proved too strong for Russia in Vienna.

Ernst Happel, Vienna
Thursday 26 June 2008 - 20.45CET (20.45 local time)

David Villa and Fernando Torres may be the most dynamic front pairing at UEFA EURO 2008™, but Spain coach Luis Aragonés wants them to add another trick to their repertoire by defending from the front in Thursday’s semi-final.

Specific task

Although the pre-match excitement has been about the attacking potential on show in this repeat of the Group D opener which produced five goals, Aragonés chose to underline three times what he requires from his strike partnership against Guus Hiddink’s team. “I want to see them pressing the central defenders, not just shadowing them,” he said. “I want proper, high-energy pressing and I want them to rob the ball from Russia’s defenders as early as possible.” Aragonés added: “I’ve rarely seen a team break from box to box as quickly and in as high numbers as Russia.”

‘Deeply proud’

Aragonés will hope the fact Russia central defender Denis Kolodin, along with midfielder Dmitri Torbinski, is suspended will unsettle a defence which has only conceded once in three victories since letting in four against Spain. It is a remarkable turnaround, one even Hiddink admits to being amazed by. “That 4-1 defeat was the first game in a big tournament for many of my players,” he said. “I’m amazed how much progress we’ve made since. That day we fell into the big trap of giving presents to our opponents, but after a couple of analytical sessions, then work in training, everything was fixed. I’m deeply proud of three things our progress should achieve: Putting Russia back in its place within European football, showing the world modern football can be beautiful and taking this group of players on a long footballing journey from where they began.”

Interesting record

Losing in international semi-finals is a thorn in Hiddink’s side – his Netherlands and Korea Republic teams lost in the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cup semi-finals respectively – although both Russia and Spain have powerful records at this stage. Since becoming an independent nation, this is Russia’s best performance at a UEFA European Championship but as part of the Soviet Union they won four semi-finals in the competition, only falling to Italy in 1968 on the toss of a coin after a 0-0 draw. Spain have won their two challenges at this stage, en route to winning the tournament in 1964 and then again in 1984 on penalties against Denmark. “You can win, you can lose but if you promote the concept of defending well and attacking with conviction when you have the ball then this is how modern football must be played,” Hiddink said.

Colour change

It is precisely that offensive style which Aragonés wants Spain to block and then profit from. “We need to nullify their virtues and then punish their weaknesses. We won’t man-mark Andrei Arshavin, he’s simply one of five top-class players Russia possess. We won’t change our style.” There will, however, be a change in the colour of Spain’s shirts from their famous red to yellow. “I don’t like this new colour, personally,” said the superstitious 69-year-old. “But so long as I don’t have to wear it, the players can. Anyway, it’s not yellow, it’s mustard.” With that the Wise Man of Hortaleza left his audience chuckling and headed for his date with destiny.

Russia ready to hit their peak

Having got so close to the top of the mountain, Russia are determined to reach the peak according to goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev. As they prepare to meet Spain in the semi-finals it is an apt metaphor for a tournament held in these Alpine nations as it is has been an uphill struggle for Russia since losing their opening game to Luis Aragonés’s side.

‘We want more’

Russia looked likely to return home early after crashing 4-1 in Innsbruck, but just over two weeks later, after successive wins against Greece, Sweden and the Netherlands, they meet Spain for a second time confident of reaching the final. “Three of the goals [in the first game against Spain] were down to our mistakes,” Akinfeev said. “We allowed classy strikers such as Fernando Torres and David Villa space. Everyone knows if you give them space they’ll happily breeze past you. We pulled ourselves together and have been good since. Nobody is giving up. We want more.

‘Fist’

“I wouldn’t have believed we would go on to win three matches, especially given the feelings we had after the first game. Our thoughts were catastrophic. We had lost the first game 4-1, what could we do? Psychology is key at a time like that. A team can fall apart, like Greece did after losing their opening game. They didn’t do anything at this tournament, while we were able to come together, like a fist, and fight our way out.”

‘Flowing football’

Akinfeev is happy Spain beat Italy in the quarter-finals to set up a rematch for the Group D rivals. “Italy didn’t impress me with their results or their performances. They prefer to stay back and almost never go forward. They don’t have the same flowing and bright football as Spain. It’s more interesting for me to play Spain. They have top-class players in every position. You can only admire and learn from them because they play very well.”

‘Reach the peak’

Russia eased past the Netherlands in extra time to reach the last four, while Spain were pushed to the limit by the Azzurri, only advancing after penalties. Russia have never contested a shoot-out in a major competition and Akinfeev does not want to start now. “We shouldn’t be afraid of anything,” he said. “We have almost made it to the top of the mountain, but we want to reach the peak. Neither Spain nor us want penalties. It’s not good for the nerves and only puts more grey hair on our heads.”

‘Different keepers’

Goalkeeper Iker Casillas was the spot-kick hero for Spain, but though some have drawn parallels between the Real Madrid CF star and his PFC CSKA Moskva counterpart, Akinfeev prefers to keep comparisons to a minimum. “We’re two different goalkeepers,” he said. “Maybe at some point our careers seemed similar as we both started at a young age at the highest level, but he’s Spanish and I’m Russian. I am Akinfeev, he is Casillas. There is no duel. Whoever concedes fewer goals goes to the final.” Despite being so close to it, Akinfeev refuses to think about Sunday 29 June just yet. “I’m trying not to think too much about it. Of course you always want more, but you have to prove it on the pitch. If we play well, why shouldn’t we take this chance? Sometimes opportunities like this only come your way once in a lifetime.”

Casillas calls on Spain to seize chance

Iker Casillas is an intensely busy man at the moment, training ferociously hard, chatting over tactics with Luis Aragonés, signing hundreds of autographs and captaining Spain to their first UEFA European Championship semi-final for 24 years. But when the goalkeeper’s head hits the pillow each night, his mind runs free.

Sweet dreams

“Everyone has that ten-minute spell when you’re trying to get to sleep and your mind drifts – that’s when I dream of lifting this trophy,” he says quietly. “Your brain naturally turns to what lies ahead of you and dreaming is free. Having already made history, it’s on all our minds that this is not enough and we want to grasp the silverware, but to do that we first have to beat Russia again.” In Sunday’s quarter-final against Italy, Casillas saved the third and fourth shoot-out penalties of his international career as Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale joined Kevin Kilbane and David Connolly as the Spaniard’s victims. But defeating the Republic of Ireland on penalties at the 2002 FIFA World Cup ultimately meant nothing to Spain as they subsequently lost to Korea Republic – coached by a gentleman of world football named Guus Hiddink. Not only is the Dutchman in charge of Spain’s next opponents but he also, coincidentally, gave Casillas his very first taste of a major international fixture.

Penalty test

“Hiddink and I were at Real Madrid [CF] at the same time but because I was so young I really only coincided with him twice,” recalled the No1. “He actually took me to the [1998 European/South American Cup] final against [CR] Vasco de Gama as a substitute, when I was 17 and still in the youth squad.” Moving on to Thursday’s match, Casillas added: “It’s a bit of a trap to be playing Hiddink’s side again because I’d hate it if people thought this is an easy match simply because we won 4-1 [in the Group D encounter]. We’ve seen all of their games since then and Russia have impressed, especially against Holland.” It is not only because Hiddink’s South Korea emerged the victors last time he and Spain competed at penalties that Casillas wants a win within the regulation 90 minutes in Vienna. “Good though it was against Italy I always prefer to win on the pitch, during normal time,” he said. “That way everyone, not least me, doesn’t have to fray their nerves!”

Russian admiration

Part of what ‘San Iker’, as the Madrid fans know him, admires about Russia is how much they remind him of Spain: “It’s going to be a beautiful match because these two sides are both committed to attack, they share a football philosophy – Russia have impressed me.” Although his driving goal is simply to lead Spain to glory next Sunday there is an impish part of him which regrets Spain are not now facing the Netherlands. “If you think how many Dutchmen we have at Madrid, the dressing-room banter would have been fantastic if we’d beaten them,” he joked. But this is the man whom Aragonés classified as a “ten” in every department and the seriousness is quick to return: “The key for us is to manage the ball and control the first half. Both teams had to play extra time to qualify and if we keep possession you have to run less – I want to see our boys making the Russians chase possession. This is a unique opportunity for Spain and we must seize our destiny.”

Germany - Turkey 3-2

A 90th-minute strike from Philipp Lahm sent Germany into the UEFA EURO 2008™ final and ended the march of a brave Turkey side who were unable to summon one last dramatic equaliser.