SOCCER/Spain 0 Italy 0:SPAIN FINALLY broke that 88-year-old Italian hoodoo last night in Vienna when they beat Italy in a penalty shoot-out that provided the most dramatic moments of a game that for long had been hidebound in a tactical stalemate. Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas was the hero, converting the fifth Spanish penalty after both Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale had previously seen their efforts saved by Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the hero of the night.
Not for nothing was Casillas pronounced the man of the match. On a night when the two hours of play rarely came close to providing attractive football, it would have been a mockery to give the award to any of the outfield players. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, rarely in the field of football can so much talent have produced so little good play. Although Spain looked a little unlucky not to be awarded at least two penalties, but the referee Herbert Fandel, seemed to lack the courage for the big calls.
Spain now face Russia in the semi-final and must fancy their chances of a place in the final. However, Arshavin, Pavluychenko et al are likely to offer a more serious challenge to the Spanish defence than that demonstrated by an Italian attack that was assiduous but lacking in both ideas and urgency.
After the frenetic excitement of Russia's 3-1 dismissal of the Dutch, perhaps we were due for a game like this as we moved to the familiar old tactical stalemate of two of European football's traditional powerhouses.
Not long had passed before it became clear that this would be a match that boasted all the attraction of watching two rather shy porcupines make love. For much of the game, it seemed as if both sides were playing in order to arrive at the penalty shoot-out, although Spain showed more conviction in trying to break through.
Indeed, it was not until extra time that any sense of real urgency crept into the play whilst the fact that only three players were booked in 120 minutes of play says much about the cautious nature of both teams' approach.
The starting line-ups had contained no real surprises. Luis Araogones reverted to exactly the side that had secured that 92nd minute, 2-1 win over Sweden. His opposite number, Italy's Roberto Donadoni had, as widely expected, brought in Massimo Ambrosini and Alberto Aquilani to replace his two suspended midfielders, namely Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo. In one sense, this was clearly a bold move by Donadoni who opted for the "quality" of Aquilani at the expense of the much greater experience of Itali-Argentine Mauro Camoranesi.
Perhaps because of their lofty international standing and certainly because of the overall quality of the two teams, both sides treated one another with exaggerated respect during a cagey first half which yielded not a single clear chance.
Spain's Xavi, Andres Iniesta and David Silva moved the ball around midfield with great pace but little penetration, playing a game that moved horizontally across the pitch rather than vertically on goal. It says much about the stalemate quality of the first half that neither side managed to get down the flanks and to the byeline.
In a first half that came as close to chess as football can come, it was Silva who came nearest to breaking the deadlock with an excellent 38th minute shot from the edge of the area that shaved the Italian post, with Gianluigi Buffon struggling to get across.
Earlier, the only effort that could have passed for a chance came in the 32nd minute when the tournament's leading goalscorer, David Villa, hit a low, well struck free kick which Buffon did well to save.
SPAIN: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Marchena, Puyol, Capdevila, Iniesta (Santi Cazorla 59), Senna, Xabi (Fabregas 59), Silva, Villa, Torres (Guiza 85). Subs not used: Palop, Albiol, Fernando Navarro, Alonso, Sergio Garcia, Arbeloa, Juanito, De la Red, Reina. Booked: Iniesta, Villa, Santi Cazorla.
ITALY: Buffon, Zambrotta, Panucci, Chiellini, Grosso, Aquilani (Del Piero 108), De Rossi, Ambrosini, Perrotta (Camoranesi 58), Toni, Cassano (Di Natale 75). Subs not used: Amelia, Gamberini, Borriello, Quagliarella, Materazzi, De Sanctis. Booked: Ambrosini.
Referee: Herbert Fandel (Germany).
