Spain beat Italy 4-0 in the final to win UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) Euro Cup Football Championship 2012 at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, Ukraine, on 1 July 2012. Spain which had earlier defeated Germany 1-0 in 2008 Euro Cup not only defended the title but also created a record by becoming the first team to claim two consecutive titles in tournament’s 52-year long history. Spain and Italy had defeated Portugal and Germany respectively in their semi final matches.
Iker Casillas was the captain of Spanish side, while the Italian side was led by Gianluigi Buffon.The four goals hit by David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata led the Spanish side to a remarkable victory, which virtually started a debate among the football followers whether this Spanish side is the best national side ever? Spain midfielder Andrés Iniesta of Spain was declared the man of the match given his match winning performance, while Fernando Torres was given the Golden Boot as he scored three goals in the Spain’s title winning campaign. Torres also became the first ever player in the history of the tournament to score in two separate European Championship finals.
The Italian Soccer team is also called Azzuri, which is its popular name. Azzurri is the plural adjective form of Azzurro which in Italian language means light blue. Since the Italian team's costume colour is blue and white, the team is called Azzuri. The nick name of Spanish soccer team is La Furia Roja which in Spanish language means the red fury.
Spain and Italy were placed in group C along with Croatia and Republic of Ireland.
Important Facts related to UEFA Euro 2012
• Poland-Ukraine jointly hosted the sporting event
• Euro Cup 2012 began on 8 June 2012 and concluded on 1 July 2012
• The winning team received the prize money 7.5 million euro, while the runner-up team got 4.5 million euro as the prize money. Teams which made to semi-finals and quarter-finals received 3 million euro and 2 million euro respectively as prize money.
• The Euro Cup 2016 will take place in France
• A total of 16 countries namely, Poland, Ukraine, Spain, Italy, Croatia, Russia, Portugal, England, Germany, Netherland, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, France, Czech Republic and Republic of Ireland participated in Euro Cup 2012
• The sixteen teams were divided into four groups, A, B, C & D
• Eight cities were selected by UEFA as host venues
• A total of 31 matches were played during Euro 2012, with Ukraine hosting 16 of them and Poland 15
• There were 10 global sponsors of the Euro Cup 2012. The list includes, Adidas, Canon, Castrol, Continental, Orange and Telekomunikacja, PolskaHyundai-Kia Carlsberg, McDonald's, SHARP
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