Funny how a dream may turn into a nightmare. In the sweltering Italian night there are no merry-go-round’s and carousels and , sadly, the carriage does become a pumpkin at midnight. This time, more than ever, the second is just the first to lose.

The Spaniards win it once again, this time with a magnificent, triumphant 4-0 goleada against Italy. Their overwhelming superiority, displayed last night for the first time in the whole tournament, made its appearance when it mattered the most, as the old saying goes.

Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and even Mata put their signature under Spain’s third intercontinental trophy, a decade of dominance that re-invented football itself and the way the game is played.

“La roja” combine perfect technique with cold blood and killer instinct: the same features of every of the many Spanish champions.  Jorge Lorenzo, Fernando Alonso, Pau Gasol, Rafa Nadal, Rudy Fernandez are but a few names from a country who is taking it all, dominating in every sport from football to tennis, from kite surf to basketball, from track and field to taekwondo, from MotoGP to Formula1.

On the other side, in the decadent song and dance following the Azzurri’s defeat, where Kiev rapidly turns into a 90-minute, post-modern Waterloo, everyone looks for a good alibi or tries to make excuses. In a TV circus where everyone needs to have a word, the most foolish of the hypothesis are taken in consideration: someone really blames it on a schedule which turned out to be too short for a full recovery.

Unfortunately, and this is nothing but my personal point of view, last night’s calamity finds its roots more in the credit of the Spanish squad than in the faults of the Azzurri. Nowadays it is hard, if not impossible, to fight Spain, a team featuring such a solid and strong personality. It all becomes even harder if you think this perfect machine keeps on getting better since its players were 18.

While, as a matter of fact, Italy and many other national teams change rosters, lineups and playbook year after year, “la roja” always sport the same  characters: 28-year-olds who already won it all from the Champions League to the Premiership, from the Euro Cup to the World Cup.

You can fight a team, but you can’t defeat an idea. Italy came home with a tie in the tournament-opener against Spain. But that was cat and mouse, when nothing was actually up for grabs.

Last night the Azzurri were destroyed and swept away by the red fury.  Their game was defused with easy. Their solidness, Bermuda-triangulated.

Hats off, then, to a team who already made it to the books, flaunting poetry-in-motion football. But, most of all hail to a nation, Spain, producing a true generation of champions, even through the thick and thin.

By Emanuele Venturoli - RTR Sports Marketing
In the picture: The Royal Crest of Spain on the Euro 2012 shirt
Picture courtesy of Adidas