![\"\"](\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7248\/7473816594_903bf36595_z_d.jpg\")
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What an amazing three weeks of football action we’ve witnessed from the cream of the European elite. On Sunday 1st<\/sup> July the grandeur of the European Championships 2012 will come to an end and one nation will wear the crown. Elysium runs the rule over the two finalists, in what we all hope will be a spectacular game of football between Spain and Italy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Man to watch:<\/strong> Andreas Iniesta<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Italy<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Andrea Pirlo has been the man of the tournament. The 33 year old has orchestrated games from the middle of the park without seemingly breaking sweat. Cesare Prandelli has demonstrated tactical nous with his selections and spot-on game plans. His bold tactics against the Germans highlighted this in all its glory.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Italian team carries an air of unity and belief that we’ve not seen for a while. Even loose cannons like Mario Balotelli have brought into the sense of belonging Prandelli has instilled. Could this be the Italian’s year?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Man to watch:<\/strong> Andrea Pirlo<\/p>\n On which team does Elysium think will win the Euro crown? This is a hard one to call, as the previous 1-1 game between the two at the very start of the group showed. Evenly matched, with both playing a passing game. The Italians showed their deft knack of counter-attack football, breaking with speed. While the Spaniards are working to an established game plan. It\u2019s a difficult choice, let\u2019s just say we\u2019re hoping for a game of high individual technical skill and flowing entertaining football. What a Sunday night this could be!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On Sunday 1st July the grandeur of the European Championships 2012 will come to an end and one nation will wear the crown. Elysium runs the rule over the two finalists, in what we all hope will be a spectacular game of football between Spain and Italy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8883,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[274,275],"tags":[836,837,335,834,835,336,406,764,718,662,824,763,765],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t
\nSpain<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/farm9.staticflickr.com\/8165\/7473798494_0b9911d2cb_n_d.jpg\")
Well, we all knew the Spaniards were very good. Holding the current World Cup and European Championships titles in their trophy cabinet demands acknowledgement. Many expected Spain to march to the final, but it’s been the way they have done so that’s surprised many.
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\nPlaying without a striker, for many of the games so far, has seen the Spaniards pack the midfield, whilst players like Cesc Fabregas makes bursts into the box as their ‘false no.9’. Playing a similar version of Barcelona’s famed tiki-taka – Spain attempt to pass the opposition to death. However the world has seen how the loss of key striker David Villa has affected the team. Accused of stifling and suffocating games, they’ve hardly been easy on the eye. However it has been effective in getting Spain the results though. Conceding just one goal (to Italy in the first game) on their march to the final justifies this.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/farm8.staticflickr.com\/7269\/7473798604_7e0027fe3a_n_d.jpg\")
The Italians have very much been the surprise package of the tournament. Negotiating a tough group with Spain and Croatia, knocking out England then bossing the much favoured Germans to reach a final nobody expected them to make. The adventures of the national team have brought much-needed joy to a country ravaged by recession and allegations of football match fixing. A similar story to when they won the World Cup in 2006 then…<\/p>\n
\nFor the Title?<\/strong><\/p>\n