First of all, apologies for not covering the quarter-finals, as I spent the weekend with my lovely fiancee. Of course, we played lots of soccer; Even though it wasn't the same quality as the Euros, it meant more to me.
Summary
The semi-finals of the 2012 UEFA Euro Cup began today with a match between current World and European Champions Spain, and their neighbor, nicknamed the best team never to win a championship.
The game was played in Ukraine's Donbass Arena, in the city of
Spain started the game with the first touch, but the Portuguese had the first real possession. Their first set-piece came in the form of a corner, tipped-over by Spanish keeper and captain Iker Casillas for a second, which he caught solidly.
In the 7th minute, the Spanish began the first of their characteristic long possessions, with a major attack coming along the left wing in the 9th. The attack ended with a shot from defender Alvero Arbeloa from near the edge of the eighteen yard box.
Christiano Ronaldo's first action came in the 13th minute with a strong cross off the counter-attack, intended for Nani, but snatched boldly out of the air by Casillas. He was fouled in the 16th minute just outside the box, and the resulting free-kick was blocked by the Spanish wall. Controversy flared in the 20th minute, when Spanish defender Sergio Ramos seemed to pull-down on Nani, but the jury is still out as far a criticizing the referee for not awarding a foul.
A Portuguese attack in the 26th minute ended with a cross being caught be Casillas, but they were looking good with it. Portuguese crosses continued to slip around the Spanish line. That all ended with a good shot from Andres Iniesta, as the Spanish forward almost scored at 29'.
Ronaldo answered with a near miss in the 31st minute, the ball just skimming wide right along the ground. On a personal note, I am not a fan of Ronaldo, but even his critics must admit that he is a very skilled footballer.
If this had not been the semi-finals of the Euro Cup, the game would have been extremely boring. Limited scoring between the two power-houses failed to provide the entertainment normally expected from either nation.
A Spanish attack in the 38th minute created a slight break in the monotony with a characteristically light shot from David Silva from within the Portuguese box.
Spanish defender Sergio Ramos earned a yellow-card in the 41st minute after fouling Ronaldo, giving a little bit of meat to an otherwise tasteless first-half. The first half ended with very few real shots on goal, and very few real chances-taken. It was more like watching a chess-match than a football game, with all of the attempts to find clever or precise passes.
The Portuguese opened the second-half, hoping to step-up their play for a brief moment and come out on top of the Spanish. There wasn't much to report, however, as neither side seemed to be able to force their way ahead. The air seemed crisp with the anticipation of a possible penalty shoot-out, which would follow a scoreless regular-time and a scoreless extra-time.
Shots and chances began to flow after the 55th minute, with plenty of long-balls from the Spanish and counter-attacks from the Portuguese. In addition, the yellow-cards began to pile-up, and the animosity between these two teams was anything but hiding. Xavi had a shot on in the 68th minute, but it was right at the Portuguese keeper.
A Ronaldo free-kick in the 73rd minute could have ended it all, but if anything has been learned in reading this article, it is that this game would go down to the wire.
Blocked-shots stopped a Portuguese attack at 76', which ended with an uneventful corner.
Arbeloa received a yellow-card in the 84th minute for encroachment on Ronaldo, who was taking a free kick. Ronaldo was awarded another, but missed just over the crossbar. After the pathetic Portuguese attack at 90', Christiano Ronaldo fullly proved the he was not on top of his game, and was at best a shadow of his superstar ego. The last real chance of the match came from a Spanish corner which found it's way all the way back to Iker Casillas.
Regular time ended scoreless, and the drama began to overtake the inaction as these two teams geared-up for a half-hour of play, followed by a possible penalty shoot-out.
The Spanish opened extra-time, with the Portuguese fear being that one of their four already-booked defenders would be sent-off. Blocked-shots and fouls kept the game interesting as tension mounted.
A Spanish free-kick from Xavi Alonso was headed away by the Portuguese, but the Spaniards maintained possession for a shot from Iniesta, and a moment where the Portuguese defense looked very shaky. Ronaldo made an excellent attack in the 98th, which resulted in the ball going out-of-bounds. The Portuguese quickly regained possession, and held it until Iniesta intercepted on the edge of the box, and the Spanish countered. The Spanish attack ended with an identical interception, as well as an injury to Pedro.
Spain looked very-much on top at 102', when Cesc Fabrregas took a corner which ended in a blocked shot from Jesus Navas. Another corner started out slowly with a short pass, and ended with a Portuguese counter-attack. Navas had another shot from a tough angle at 104', but it went out wide across the pitch. Iniesta very nearly had a goal from a short distance, with the resulting corner ending up wasted. The Spanish were pulling-out the stops in extra-time, seemingly knowing that if ever the Portuguese could beat them, it would be in a penalty-shootout.
Ramos very-nearly scored off the top-left corner with a well-struck free-kick at the end of the first half in extra-time.
The second-half of extra-time started with the Spanish settling-down and maintaining possession in their own half, while the Portuguese settled-back into a defensive mindset. They did counter strongly in the 107th, but the attack was stopped by a block and a slowly-progressing Spanish possession.
The Portuguese surprised me when their defensive-stance moved forward with pressing forwards who moved-in dangerously close to Casillas.
Jesus Navas nearly ended it in the 111th, but a magnificent save from Rui Patricio kept Portugal just one goal away from a Euro Cup Final. A Spanish attack from Pedro at 114' almost ended it as well, but the Portuguese defenders got it away for a corner. The attacks continued in the 117th with a beautiful passing display that ended in an offsides, but was almost a goal-scoring opportunity. Had the Spanish played with such vigor during regular time, perhaps they might have put the game away in 90 minutes. They pressed-on into the dying moments of on-field play, but it was all for naught as the two teams entered into a penalty shootout, an event filled with drama on any stage, but especially in a competition of this magnitude.
The Shootout
| Iker Casillas |
| Rui Patrico |
1.) The first team to take a penalty was Spain, when Xabi Alonso fired away, but Rui Patrico made the save. It was a mid-height shot to the shooter's right.
Juao Moutinho took the shot for Portugal, but it too was saved, by Iker Casillas for Spain.
2.) Andres Iniesta took the second shot for Spain, scoring in the same area aimed-at by Xabi Alonso, mid-height to his right side.
Pepe took the second shot for Portugal, firing low along the ground to his left, in the lower-left corner.
3.) The third shooter was Gerard Picque for Spain, scoring low-left, just above the ground.
Portugal seemed to answer with Bruno Alves, but was switched out for Nani at the last minute. Nani scored high, just underneath the crossbar as the ball went up through the net.
4.) Sergio Ramos tried to put it away for Spain with kick number four, shooting the ball very lightly after Patrico dove out to the left and scoring.
Bruno Alves came back on for the fourth shot, but the ball came out off the bottom of the ball near the upper-right corner.
| Cesc Fabregas scored the game-winner in the penalty shootout. |
5.) All pressure was on Cesc Fabregas as he lined-up the shot that sent the Spanish to the Euro Cup final with a shot of the inside of the left-side bar, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo speechless and without taking a penalty. There was immediate speculation as to whether or not Ronaldo was scheduled last due to personal pride in his desire to take the final shot.
The game ended with a dramatic Spanish win and nine total yellow cards, although no reds and no penalties outside of the shootout.
Hero-of-the-Match
There's no doubt about it, someone had to be the hero in this close match, and the award could only go to one man: Cesc Fabregas. Though I was unimpressed by this Spanish side during regular time, their attacks in extra time and their execution in the shootout provided high drama and excitement. Somebody had to be the game-winner, and Fabregas stepped-up and took his shot, giving Spain the chance for back-to-back-to-back wins in major tournaments.
Special mentions to the referee, whose name escapes me at the moment. He did his best to call a fair game in a high-pressure situation, and walked-away without any lasting controversy. No penalties, no sending-offs, just a lot of yellow-cards and free-kicks. Good job, ref.
As a writer, and as a fan, I can only hope that tomorrow's game between Germany and Italy shows more chances, as well as a more disciplined and exciting playing-style. Penalties are exciting, but not for writers who have to comment on the other two-hours of play. It was my first experience writing-up a shootout, and I would like to know what I could do better in future penalty-situations. Please feel-free to leave a comment down below if you as readers have any preference concerning the way I write-up shootouts. I hope that my disinterest and boredom during regular time did not ruin the reading experience, but let's all get excited about the prospect of a better game of football tomorrow.
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