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UEFA Euro 2012 final

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UEFA Euro 2012 Final
Olympic Stadium in Kyiv
The Olympic Stadium in Kyiv hosted the final.
EventUEFA Euro 2012
Date1 July 2012 (2012-07-01)
VenueOlympic Stadium, Kyiv
Man of the MatchAndrés Iniesta (Spain)
RefereePedro Proença (Portugal)
Attendance63,170
WeatherClear night
26 °C (79 °F)
42% humidity[1]
2008
2016

The UEFA Euro 2012 Final was the final match of Euro 2012, the fourteenth edition of the European Football Championship, UEFA's competition for national football teams. The match was played at the Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine, on 1 July 2012, and was contested by Spain and Italy. The sixteen-team tournament began with a group stage, from which eight teams qualified for the knockout phase. En route to the final, Spain finished top of Group C, with a draw against Italy and wins over Croatia and the Republic of Ireland. Spain then defeated France in the quarter-finals before beating Portugal in the semi-final after a penalty shoot-out. Italy were second in Group C, with draws against Spain and Croatia, and a victory over the Republic of Ireland. In the knockout rounds, Italy defeated England after a penalty shoot-out, then Germany in the semi-final.

The final took place in front of 63,170 supporters and was refereed by Pedro Proença from Portugal. Spain took the lead in the 14th minute, when Andrés Iniesta played a through-ball to Cesc Fàbregas, who ran past Giorgio Chiellini to the by-line before pulling back a cross for David Silva to head in from close range. Italy responded with shots from Antonio Cassano that were saved by Spain's goalkeeper Iker Casillas but Spain doubled their lead before half-time, when Xavi passed to Jordi Alba, who capped a long forward run with a shot past Gianluigi Buffon in the Italy goal. Fernando Torres replaced Fàbregas with 15 minutes left to play, and scored in the 84th minute – assisted by Xavi – to become the first man to score in two European Championship finals. Torres then passed the ball back with the outside of his boot for Juan Mata to sweep into an empty net for a final score of 4–0. Spain's Iniesta was named as UEFA's man of the match.

Spain became the first team to win two consecutive European Championships, and the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments – Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2012. It was the greatest margin of victory in the history of the European Championship finals, and the fourth time that teams who played each other in the group stage faced one another once again in the final (after 1988, 1996 and 2004). Usually, the winner of the European Championship gains entry to the Confederations Cup, which was played in Brazil in 2013. However, since Spain already qualified as the 2010 World Cup champions, Italy qualified automatically as the UEFA representative, with their win in the semi-final against Germany, despite losing in the final to Spain.

Discover more about UEFA Euro 2012 final related topics

Association football

Association football

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel a ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is to score more goals than the opposite team by moving the ball beyond the goal line into a rectangular-framed goal defended by the opposing side. Traditionally, the game has been played over two 45-minute halves, for a total match time of 90 minutes. With an estimated 250 million players active in over 200 countries and territories, it is considered the world's most popular sport.

Croatia national football team

Croatia national football team

The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colors reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. They are colloquially referred to as the Vatreni ('Blazers') and Kockasti.

England national football team

England national football team

The England national football team has represented England in international football since the first international match in 1872. It is controlled by The Football Association (FA), the governing body for football in England, which is affiliated with UEFA and comes under the global jurisdiction of world football's governing body FIFA. England competes in the three major international tournament contested by European nations: the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA European Championship, and the UEFA Nations League.

Andrés Iniesta

Andrés Iniesta

Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he served as the captain for three seasons.

Cesc Fàbregas

Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como.

Cross (association football)

Cross (association football)

In association football, a cross is a medium- to-long-range pass from a wide area of the field towards the centre of the field near the opponent's goal. Specifically, the intention of a cross is to directly bring the ball into the box from an angle that allows the attacking forwards to more easily aim for goal with their head or feet. Crosses are generally airborne (floated) to clear nearby defenders, but can also be hit with force along the ground (drilled). It is a quick and effective move.

David Silva

David Silva

David Josué Jiménez Silva is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Real Sociedad. Silva plays mainly as a central or an attacking midfielder but can also play as a winger or second striker. He is predominantly a left-footed player and his passing ability and possession-retaining qualities have earned him the nicknames "Merlin" and "El Mago" from his teammates and fans. He is considered to be one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.

Antonio Cassano

Antonio Cassano

Antonio Cassano is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward. A talented and technically gifted player, he was usually deployed as a supporting forward, but could also play as an attacking midfielder, winger, or as a striker. Nicknamed Il Gioiello di Bari Vecchia, and Fantantonio, he was known for his short temper as much as his skill and ability on the pitch. Cassano won an Italian and Spanish league title each throughout his career as major honours.

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres

Fernando José Torres Sanz is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, Torres came to be nicknamed El Niño. In his prime, he was praised for his pace, accurate finishing, and proficiency in heading. In 2008, he finished third for the Ballon d'Or and in 2008 and 2009 he was named in the FIFA World XI.

2010 FIFA World Cup

2010 FIFA World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, also branded as South Africa 2010, was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.

FIFA Confederations Cup

FIFA Confederations Cup

The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships, along with the current FIFA World Cup holder and the host nation, to bring the number of teams up to eight.

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup

2013 FIFA Confederations Cup

The 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup was the ninth FIFA Confederations Cup, which was held in Brazil from 15 to 30 June 2013 as a prelude to the 2014 FIFA World Cup. The most recent winners of the six continental championships appeared in the tournament, along with hosts Brazil and UEFA Euro 2012 runners-up Italy, who qualified because the Euro 2012 winners, Spain, had also won the most recent FIFA World Cup in 2010 thus securing a spot in the tournament.

Background

UEFA Euro 2012 was the fourteenth edition of the UEFA European Football Championship, UEFA's football competition for national teams, held between 8 June and 1 July 2012 in Poland and Ukraine.[2][3] Qualifying rounds were held between August 2010 and November 2011, in which fifty-one teams were divided into nine groups of five or six, playing each other on a home-and-away round-robin tournament basis. The top team in each group, along with the two host teams, qualified for the sixteen-team finals, with the remainder of the sixteen qualifying via two-legged play-offs.[4] In the finals, the qualified teams were divided into four groups of four with each side playing each other once. The two top teams from each group advanced to a knock-out phase.[3]

Spain were reigning European champions, having won the European Championship in 2008. They had also secured the title on one other occasion, defeating the Soviet Union 2–1 in the 1964 final, and were runners-up in the 1984 final.[2] Similarly, Italy won the title in 1968, defeating Yugoslavia 2–0 in the final, and were runners-up in 2000, losing 2–1 to France in the final.[2] Before the tournament, the two sides had previously met each other 30 times, Italy winning ten games and Spain eight. Italy won the most recent meeting, a 2–1 friendly on 10 August 2011 at the Stadio San Nicola in Bari.[5][6] Spain, who began the tournament as one of the favourites,[7] ranked highest in the FIFA World Rankings, while Italy ranked twelfth overall, and eighth among UEFA teams.[8]

The Olympic Stadium in Kyiv, Ukraine, the largest stadium of the eight Euro 2012 venues, was selected as the venue for the final, after a meeting held in Ukraine on 25 June 2007.[9][10] Built in 1923, the 63,195-capacity stadium had been renovated for the tournament, during which a transparent roof had been installed.[11] The Olympic Stadium had hosted three Euro 2012 group matches along with one of the quarter-finals.[12]

Discover more about Background related topics

UEFA Euro 2012

UEFA Euro 2012

The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 July 2012, was co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine, and was won by Spain, who beat Italy 4–0 in the final at the Olympic Stadium, Kyiv, Ukraine.

UEFA

UEFA

Union of European Football Associations is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach football in Europe and the transcontinental countries of Russia, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Kazakhstan, as well as some Asian countries such as Israel, Cyprus and Armenia. UEFA consists of 55 national association members. Because of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and UEFA suspended all Russian national teams and clubs from any FIFA and UEFA competitions.

Round-robin tournament

Round-robin tournament

A round-robin tournament is a competition in which each contestant meets every other participant, usually in turn. A round-robin contrasts with an elimination tournament, in which participants/teams are eliminated after a certain number of losses.

Two-legged tie

Two-legged tie

In sports, a two-legged tie is a contest between two teams which comprises two matches or "legs", with each team as the home team in one leg. The winning team is usually determined by aggregate score, the sum of the scores of the two legs. For example, if the scores of the two legs are:First leg: Team A 4–1 Team B Second leg: Team B 2–1 Team A

Single-elimination tournament

Single-elimination tournament

A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, whose winner becomes the tournament champion. Each match-up may be a single match or several, for example two-legged ties in European sports or best-of series in American pro sports. Defeated competitors may play no further part after losing, or may participate in "consolation" or "classification" matches against other losers to determine the lower final rankings; for example, a third place playoff between losing semi-finalists. In a shootout poker tournament, there are more than two players competing at each table, and sometimes more than one progressing to the next round. Some competitions are held with a pure single-elimination tournament system. Others have many phases, with the last being a single-elimination final stage, often called playoffs.

Spain national football team

Spain national football team

The Spain national football team has represented Spain in international men's football competitions since 1920. It is governed by the Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain.

UEFA Euro 2008

UEFA Euro 2008

The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA. It took place in Austria and Switzerland from 7 to 29 June 2008.

Soviet Union national football team

Soviet Union national football team

The Soviet Union national football team was the national football team of the former Soviet Union.

Italy national football team

Italy national football team

The Italy national football team has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence. Italy are the reigning European champions, having won UEFA Euro 2020.

France national football team

France national football team

The France men's national football team represents France in men's international football matches. It is governed by the French Football Federation, the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colors and imagery reference two national symbols: the French red-white-blue tricolour and Gallic rooster. The team is colloquially known as Les Bleus. They play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and train at INF Clairefontaine in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines.

Stadio San Nicola

Stadio San Nicola

The Stadio San Nicola is a multi-use all-seater stadium designed by Renzo Piano in Bari, Italy. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of S.S.C. Bari. The stadium's design resembles a flower. To create this particular design, the stadium consists of 26 'petals' and upper tiers of the higher ring separated by 8-metre empty spaces, sufficient to guarantee satisfactory security conditions.

Bari

Bari

Bari is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Italy after Naples. It is a port and university city, as well as the city of Saint Nicholas. The city itself has a population of 315,284 inhabitants, over 116 square kilometres (45 sq mi), while the urban area has 750,000 inhabitants. The metropolitan area has 1.3 million inhabitants.

Route to the final

Spain

Group stage and knockouts
Opponent Result
1 Italy 1–1
2 Republic of Ireland 4–0
3 Croatia 1–0
QF France 2–0
SF Portugal 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)

Spain were drawn in Group C alongside Italy, Croatia, and Republic of Ireland, opening against Italy on 10 June 2012. Italy took the lead in the 61st minute through striker Antonio Di Natale, who had come on for Mario Balotelli.[13] Three minutes later, Spain equalised when midfielder Andrés Iniesta assisted Cesc Fàbregas, who slotted the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.[13] In their next match on 14 June against Republic of Ireland, striker Fernando Torres opened the scoring early in the fourth minute, retaining the ball after Republic of Ireland defender Richard Dunne's unsuccessful tackle, before scoring from ten yards past defenceless goalkeeper Shay Given.[14] In the 49th minute, after Given had blocked an Iniesta shot, David Silva collected the rebound and extended the Spanish lead, after nutmegging three defenders.[14] With 20 minutes remaining, Torres scored his second goal, taking a pass from Silva and chipping the ball over Given.[14] Fabregas scored the final goal after receiving a Silva corner and shooting from a difficult angle.[14] Their third and final group stage match against Croatia on 18 June, proved to be more difficult, and Croatia had several goalscoring chances, notably from Ivan Strinić and Ivan Perišić, which Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas had no problems dealing with.[15] The match looked to be heading for a draw, until the 88th minute, when substitute Jesús Navas struck the winning goal, from an Iniesta assist.[15]

In the quarter-finals, on 23 June 2012, Spain took on France. Spain opened the goalscoring with defender Jordi Alba running to the touchline under pressure and sending a pinpoint cross to unmarked midfielder Xabi Alonso, who drove a powerful header past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.[16] Spain completed their win late in the second half with Alonso's penalty kick after France defender Anthony Réveillère brought down Pedro inside the penalty area.[16] In the semi-finals on 27 June, Spain faced Portugal in a competitive match. Portugal pressured the Spanish "tiki-taka" possession game high up the pitch, and created several goalscoring chances.[17] Spain managed to hold on, which required the match to go into extra time.[17] Spain began to take control of the match with the introduction of Pedro and Fabregas, but failed to score over both halves, leading to a penalty shoot-out.[17] Alonso, who had previously taken a penalty kick against France, had his spot kick saved by Portugal goalkeeper Rui Patrício.[17] Portugal looked to take the advantage, with midfielder João Moutinho as the next penalty taker, but his strike was kept out with a diving save from Casillas.[17] Iniesta took his penalty with precision before Portuguese defender Pepe struck his kick just past Casillas's fingertips.[17] Defender Gerard Piqué calmly scored in the same corner of the goal as Pepe.[17] Another defender, Bruno Alves, stepped up to take the third penalty for Portugal, but midfielder Nani encouraged Alves to let him take the penalty, which Nani struck high in the left corner of the goal after sending Casillas the wrong way.[17] The fourth Spanish penalty was taken by defender Sergio Ramos, who chipped the ball past Rui Patrício, in the style of former Czech footballer Antonín Panenka.[17] Portugal's fourth penalty was taken by defender Bruno Alves, who struck the crossbar with a rising shot.[17] Spain's final penalty taker was Fàbregas, who scored Spain's fifth goal, as the ball went in via the left post.[17] Spain emerged victorious, and headed to the UEFA European Championship final for the fourth time.[17]

Italy

Group stage and knockouts
Opponent Result
1 Spain 1–1
2 Croatia 1–1
3 Republic of Ireland 2–0
QF England 0–0 (a.e.t.) (4–2 p)
SF Germany 2–1

As well as Spain, Italy were placed in Group C in the group stage. Their opening match was against Spain on 10 June 2012 which ended in a 1–1 draw.[13] Di Natale gave Italy the lead on the hour mark but Spain equalised through Fàbregas four minutes later.[13] Italy's next fixture was against Croatia on 14 June. Italy were dominant in the first half of the match, and had several chances to score.[18] A foul from Croatia midfielder Ivan Rakitić on Balotelli resulted in a free kick for Italy.[18] Andrea Pirlo stepped up, and struck the free kick,[18] which went past Croatia goalkeeper Stipe Pletikosa, inside the left side of the goal.[18] In the 72nd minute, Croatia striker Mario Mandžukić headed in an equalising goal, after an assist from Strinić.[18][19] Their third and final group match against the Republic of Ireland was on 18 June. Striker Antonio Cassano struck the first goal, from a Pirlo corner, which Republic of Ireland defender Damien Duff failed to clear.[20] Near the end of the match, centre midfielder Keith Andrews was booked for the second time, after committing a foul on Pirlo, resulting in a sending off by Turkey referee Cüneyt Çakır.[20] As the match headed its way into the 90 minutes, in injury time, Balotelli struck a volley past Given, assisted by attacking midfielder Alessandro Diamanti.[20]

In the quarter-finals, Italy faced England. Both sides were dominant and had possession in the first half. Italy players, such as midfielders Riccardo Montolivo, Pirlo, Balotelli, and Cassano had chances to score, but failed to do so.[21] England players also rounded off chances, through strikers Wayne Rooney and Danny Welbeck, midfielders Steven Gerrard and Scott Parker, and defenders Glen Johnson and Ashley Cole.[21] In the second half, Italy proved to be the more dominant, but neither managed to produce a goal, and the match was taken into extra time.[21] Diamanti had the best chance to score in the first half, the ball hitting the outside of the left post.[21] Both sides still failed to score and the match headed into a penalty shoot-out.[21] Balotelli was the first penalty taker for Italy and he struck the penalty kick into the left corner, past England goalkeeper and Manchester City club teammate Joe Hart.[21] Gerrard did not hesitate, and scored into the same left corner.[21] Montolivo was the second player for Italy to take a penalty kick. He attempted to strike the ball into the same corner, but his shot went wide.[21] He was followed by Rooney, who scored to put England ahead. Pirlo was the next Italian penalty taker and scored with a Panenka-style penalty.[21] Midfielder Ashley Young stepped up to take England's third penalty, but hit the crossbar.[21] Italy now had the advantage, as Antonio Nocerino successfully scored the fourth penalty.[21] The pressure was now on England, and it proved to be decisive for Italy,[21] as defender Cole stepped up to take the fourth penalty for England, which Buffon saved.[21] In the semi-finals, Italy faced Germany. Italy dominated possession early, and after receiving the ball from Cassano, Balotelli opening the goalscoring in the 20th minute of the first half in the left corner inside the goal, heading past German goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.[22] Sixteen minutes later Balotelli struck again, this time striking into the top right corner on a one-on-one with Neuer, assisted by a Montolivo lob over the German defence.[22] In the second half, Germany improved, and were awarded a penalty in the 90th minute after Federico Balzaretti was penalised for handball.[22] Germany midfielder Mesut Özil struck the penalty kick into the right corner.[22][23] Despite this, Italy held on to their lead, securing victory and progression to the final.[24]

Discover more about Route to the final related topics

Italy national football team

Italy national football team

The Italy national football team has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence. Italy are the reigning European champions, having won UEFA Euro 2020.

Republic of Ireland national football team

Republic of Ireland national football team

The Republic of Ireland national football team represents the Republic of Ireland in men's international football. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).

Croatia national football team

Croatia national football team

The Croatia national football team represents Croatia in international football matches. It is governed by the Croatian Football Federation (HNS), the governing body for football in Croatia. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colors reference two national symbols: the Croatian checkerboard and the country's tricolour. They are colloquially referred to as the Vatreni ('Blazers') and Kockasti.

France national football team

France national football team

The France men's national football team represents France in men's international football matches. It is governed by the French Football Federation, the governing body for football in France. It is a member of UEFA in Europe and FIFA in global competitions. The team's colors and imagery reference two national symbols: the French red-white-blue tricolour and Gallic rooster. The team is colloquially known as Les Bleus. They play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis and train at INF Clairefontaine in Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines.

Portugal national football team

Portugal national football team

The Portugal national football team has represented Portugal in international men's football competition since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Portugal, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Cidade do Futebol, is located in Oeiras. The head coach of the team is Roberto Martínez, who replaced Fernando Santos in January 2023 following his stepping down after the 2022 World Cup, and the captain is Cristiano Ronaldo, who also holds the team records for most caps and most goals.

Penalty shoot-out (association football)

Penalty shoot-out (association football)

A penalty shoot-out is a tie-breaking method in association football to determine which team is awarded victory in a match that cannot end in a draw, when the score is tied after the normal time as well as extra time have expired. In a penalty shoot-out, each team takes turns shooting at goal from the penalty mark, with the goal defended only by the opposing team's goalkeeper. Each team has five shots which must be taken by different kickers; the team that makes more successful kicks is declared the victor. Shoot-outs finish as soon as one team has an insurmountable lead. If scores are level after five pairs of shots, the shootout progresses into additional "sudden-death" rounds. Balls successfully kicked into the goal during a shoot-out do not count as goals for the individual kickers or the team, and are tallied separately from the goals scored during normal play. Although the procedure for each individual kick in the shoot-out resembles that of a penalty kick, there are some differences. Most notably, neither the kicker nor any player other than the goalkeeper may play the ball again once it has been kicked.

UEFA Euro 2012 Group C

UEFA Euro 2012 Group C

Group C of UEFA Euro 2012 began on 10 June 2012 and ended on 18 June 2012. The pool consisted of Spain, Italy, Republic of Ireland and Croatia. The group was jokingly dubbed the "group of debt" by multiple media outlets, in reference to the European sovereign debt crisis facing some of its members. Spain and Italy progressed to the quarter-finals, while Croatia and Republic of Ireland were eliminated from the tournament. Republic of Ireland equalled the worst performance by a team in the group stage of the European Championships, finishing with no points and a goal difference of −8. Both Spain and Italy made it through the quarter-finals and semi-finals to reach the final for a second meeting in the tournament.

Antonio Di Natale

Antonio Di Natale

Antonio Di Natale is an Italian football coach and former professional player who played as a striker.

Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli

Mario Balotelli Barwuah is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Swiss Super League club Sion.

Andrés Iniesta

Andrés Iniesta

Andrés Iniesta Luján is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder and is the captain of J1 League club Vissel Kobe. Considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Iniesta has spent most of his career at Barcelona, where he served as the captain for three seasons.

Cesc Fàbregas

Cesc Fàbregas

Francesc "Cesc" Fàbregas Soler is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Italian Serie B club Como.

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon

Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the Serie B club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances.

Pre-match

Spain's starting line-up in the final
Spain's starting line-up in the final
Italy's starting line-up in the final
Italy's starting line-up in the final

Pedro Proença, representing the Portuguese Football Federation, was chosen by UEFA to referee the final.[25] Proença had previously been in charge of two UEFA finals, the 2004 UEFA Under-19 Championship Final between Turkey and Spain,[26] and the 2012 UEFA Champions League Final between Chelsea and Bayern Munich.[27] He had also refereed nine other Champions League matches,[28] and 18 UEFA Cup and Europa League matches. Proença was accompanied by assistant referees Bertino Miranda, Ricardo Santos, Jorge Sousa and Duarte Gomes.[25] The fourth official was Turkish referee Cüneyt Çakır.[25]

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque picked the same eleven players for the final as had played in the group match between the two sides and their quarter-final against France, played in a 4–3–3 formation.[13][29][30] The only debate was over whether Fàbregas, a natural midfielder, would start up front (as he had against Italy and France), or if Del Bosque would pick one of Torres (who had started against Republic of Ireland and Croatia) or Álvaro Negredo (who played up front in the semi-final against Portugal).[31] Spain's defence consisted largely of Real Madrid players – Casillas in goal, Álvaro Arbeloa on the right side of defence and Ramos in the centre. Barcelona's Piqué joined Ramos in the centre and Alba of Valencia played on the left. The central midfield featured Xavi and Sergio Busquets of Barcelona and Real Madrid's Alonso, with the flanks patrolled by Iniesta (also of Barcelona) on the left and Silva of Manchester City. Silva and Alba were the only two players to not play for Real Madrid or Barcelona in the starting line-up.[30][32]

In contrast with Spain's tactical stability, Italy had used different line-ups throughout the tournament, brought about by both injury and suspension. However, after the first two group games, coach Cesare Prandelli appeared to develop a distinct preference for a 4–1–3–2 formation, with playmaker Pirlo occupying the deep midfield role. He also tended to favour a forward pairing of Cassano and Balotelli. Midfielder Daniele De Rossi had occupied a sweeper role in the first two group games, but was later used as a left-sided attacking midfielder. Goalkeeper Buffon, left-back Giorgio Chiellini, and centre-backs Andrea Barzagli and Leonardo Bonucci formed a Juventus core to the defence, having gone the entire 2011–12 Serie A season unbeaten. They were supported on the right by Milan's Ignazio Abate, who returned to the team after missing the semi-final through injury, replacing Balzaretti of Palermo. Pirlo, also of Juventus, again played the deep-lying playmaker role behind his club-mate Claudio Marchisio on the right wing, Milan's Montolivo in the centre and Daniele De Rossi of Roma on the left. Milan's Cassano and Manchester City's Balotelli again played up front.[33][34]

Before the start of the match, the closing ceremonies were held, featuring a live performance by six hundred volunteer performers, performing a field march of a football match.[35] Also featured was a performance by German pop singer Oceana, performing the official theme to Euro 2012, "Endless Summer".[36][37] The official match ball for the final was the Adidas Tango 12 Finale, a silver-coloured variation of the Adidas Tango 12, and part of the Adidas Tango family. The Tango 12 was used as the official match ball throughout the tournament, provided by German sports equipment company Adidas.[38] It is designed to be easier to dribble and control than the reportedly unpredictable Adidas Jabulani used at the 2010 World Cup.[39]

Discover more about Pre-match related topics

Pedro Proença

Pedro Proença

Pedro Proença Oliveira Alves Garcia is a retired Portuguese football referee.

Portuguese Football Federation

Portuguese Football Federation

The Portuguese Football Federation GOIH ComB is the governing body of football in Portugal. The federation was formed in 1914 as Portuguese Football Union by the three existing regional associations of Lisbon, Portalegre and Porto, before adopting its current name in 1926, and is based in the city of Oeiras. The (FPF) joined FIFA in 1923 and is also a founding member of UEFA.

Turkey national under-19 football team

Turkey national under-19 football team

The Turkey national under-19 football team is the national under-19 football team of Turkey and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation. The team competes in the UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, held every year. The Under-19 UEFA tournament originally began as the FIFA Junior Tournament between 1948 and 1954. It has since been renamed a number of times, most notably referred to as the UEFA European U-18 Championship between 1981 and 2001. The tournament was renamed as the UEFA European U-19 Championship in 2002, but importantly the overall statistics are collated from 1948. In addition, every even year, the top five teams from the respective UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship compete in the FIFA U-20 World Cup the following year.

Spain national under-19 football team

Spain national under-19 football team

The Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain. It is the most successful U-19 national team in Europe with eight continental titles.

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. They won their first major honour, the League championship, in 1955. The club won the FA Cup for the first time in 1970, their first European honour, the Cup Winners' Cup, in 1971, and became the third English club to win the Club World Cup in 2022.

FC Bayern Munich

FC Bayern Munich

Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V., also known as FC Bayern, Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. Bayern is the most successful club in German football history, having won a record 32 national titles, including 10 consecutively since 2013, and 20 national cups, along with numerous European honours.

UEFA Europa League

UEFA Europa League

The UEFA Europa League is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the second-tier competition of European club football, ranking below the UEFA Champions League and above the UEFA Europa Conference League.

Assistant referee (association football)

Assistant referee (association football)

In association football, an assistant referee is an official empowered with assisting the referee in enforcing the Laws of the Game during a match. Although assistants are not required under the Laws, at most organised levels of football the match officiating crew consists of the referee and at least two assistant referees. The responsibilities of the various assistant referees are listed in Law 6, "The Other Match Officials". In the current Laws the term "assistant referee" technically refers only to the two officials who generally patrol the touchlines, with the wider range of assistants to the referee given other titles.

Jorge Sousa

Jorge Sousa

Manuel Jorge Neves Moreira de Sousa is a Portuguese international football referee who has been active internationally since 2006.

Duarte Gomes

Duarte Gomes

Duarte Nuno Pereira Gomes is a Portuguese retired football referee and media personality.

Turkish Football Federation

Turkish Football Federation

The Turkish Football Federation is the governing body of association football in Turkey. It was formed on 23 April 1923, and joined FIFA the same year and UEFA in 1962. It organizes the Turkey national football team, the Turkish Football League and the Turkish Cup.

Vicente del Bosque

Vicente del Bosque

Vicente del Bosque González, 1st Marquess of Del Bosque is a Spanish retired football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the greatest managers of all time and is to date the only football manager to have won the World Cup, the Champions League, the European Championship and the Intercontinental Cup.

Match

First half

Iniesta takes a shot on Gianluigi Buffon's goal
Iniesta takes a shot on Gianluigi Buffon's goal

Spain kicked off the match at 9:45 pm local time (6:45 pm UTC), playing in a red and dark blue kit, while Italy wore blue shirts and white shorts.[40][41] Italy had the game's first attack on 2 minutes, Cassano running down the left of the pitch to the corner of the penalty area before losing the ball, which flew towards the centre of the pitch. Pirlo then had a shot from distance, but it went high and wide. On 4 minutes, Spain went forward for the first time, Silva advancing down the right before passing towards Alonso on the edge of Italy's penalty area. Italy's defence got the ball back to their goalkeeper, and it was then cleared by Chiellini. A minute later, Chiellini hit a long ball towards the Italian penalty area towards Balotelli, but Ramos reached it first with a header and was able to clear. Balotelli was knocked over during the challenge, but there was no foul given.[40] Spain then began to control the match, with lengthy periods of possession and several chances to score, including a header by Ramos that went over the crossbar,[40] and a shot by Xavi from a Fàbregas pass, which also went over.[42]

Spain took the lead in the 14th minute, when Iniesta played a through-ball to Fàbregas, who drove past Chiellini to the by-line before pulling back a cross for David Silva to head into the net from six yards.[42] Chiellini was hampered by a thigh injury he had picked up in the earlier rounds and on 20 minutes he sliced a clearance, allowing Alonso to launch an attack down the right. Bonucci and then Pirlo cleared the danger, after which Chiellini was replaced by Balzaretti.[40][42] Italy responded to going behind with several attacks, first through Balzaretti, whose cross from the left was intercepted just before Balotelli could head it goalwards. Cassano then had two shots which were saved by Casillas on 29 and 33 minutes. On 38 minutes, Balotelli had another chance, firing a shot towards the top corner of the goal following a one-two with Mantolivo; it went over the top. Spain then doubled their lead four minutes before half-time when, after a period of passing around their defence, Casillas sent a long ball which was eventually picked up by Xavi. He then passed to Alba, who capped a long forward run with a left-footed finish past Buffon.[40]

Second half

Di Natale came on for Cassano at half-time and went close to scoring with his first touch one minute into the second half, heading over the crossbar after a cross from Abate. This was followed a minute later by a chance for Spain, when Fàbregas fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area which went narrowly wide of the goal. Fàbregas then crossed into the penalty area after beating Balzaretti on the right-hand side, leading to a goal-mouth scramble which was eventually cleared by Italy. On 49 minutes, the ball struck Bonucci's hand and Spain appealed for a penalty, but the referee deemed it unintentional.[40][43] Di Natale then had a second effort, striking a shot from 12 yards (11 m) and forcing a save from the onrushing Casillas.[42] Italy's final substitution saw Thiago Motta replace Riccardo Montolivo.[42] In the 58th minute, Pirlo sent a free kick into the penalty area which was cleared by Casillas with his palms, and then Balotelli hit a shot which went over the crossbar.[40] Motta then suffered a hamstring injury only four minutes after coming on; with all of their substitutes used, Italy had to play the last 30 minutes of the match a man down.[42]

Torres replaced Fàbregas with 15 minutes left to play, and scored in the 84th minute – assisted by Xavi – to become the first man to score in two European Championship finals.[44] Torres then turned provider four minutes later, cutting the ball back with the outside of his boot for fellow substitute and Chelsea forward Juan Mata to sweep into an empty net for a final score of 4–0.[42]

Details

Spain 4–0 Italy
  • Silva 14'
  • Alba 41'
  • Torres 84'
  • Mata 88'
Report
Attendance: 63,170[45]
Red shirt with yellow trim, blue shorts with yellow trim, red socks with yellow trim
Spain[1]
Blue shirt, white shorts with blue trim, blue socks with white trim
Italy[1]
GK 1 Iker Casillas (c)
RB 17 Álvaro Arbeloa
CB 3 Gerard Piqué Yellow card 25'
CB 15 Sergio Ramos
LB 18 Jordi Alba
DM 16 Sergio Busquets
CM 8 Xavi
CM 14 Xabi Alonso
CM 10 Cesc Fàbregas downward-facing red arrow 75'
AM 21 David Silva downward-facing red arrow 59'
AM 6 Andrés Iniesta downward-facing red arrow 87'
Substitutions:
FW 7 Pedro upward-facing green arrow 59'
FW 9 Fernando Torres upward-facing green arrow 75'
MF 13 Juan Mata upward-facing green arrow 87'
Manager:
Vicente del Bosque
ESP-ITA 2012-07-01.svg
GK 1 Gianluigi Buffon (c)
RB 7 Ignazio Abate
CB 15 Andrea Barzagli Yellow card 45'
CB 19 Leonardo Bonucci
LB 3 Giorgio Chiellini downward-facing red arrow 21'
DM 21 Andrea Pirlo
RW 8 Claudio Marchisio
AM 18 Riccardo Montolivo downward-facing red arrow 57'
LW 16 Daniele De Rossi
CF 9 Mario Balotelli
CF 10 Antonio Cassano downward-facing red arrow 46'
Substitutions:
DF 6 Federico Balzaretti upward-facing green arrow 21'
FW 11 Antonio Di Natale upward-facing green arrow 46'
MF 5 Thiago Motta upward-facing green arrow 57'
Manager:
Cesare Prandelli

Man of the Match:
Andrés Iniesta (Spain)[46]

Assistant referees:[47]
Bertino Miranda (Portugal)
Ricardo Santos (Portugal)
Fourth official:
Cüneyt Çakır (Turkey)
Additional assistant referees:
Jorge Sousa (Portugal)
Duarte Gomes (Portugal)
Reserve assistant referee:
Bahattin Duran (Turkey)

Match rules[48]

Statistics

Discover more about Match related topics

Kit (association football)

Kit (association football)

In association football, kit is the standard equipment and attire worn by players. The sport's rules specify the minimum kit which a player must use, and also prohibit the use of anything that is dangerous to either the player or another participant. Individual competitions may stipulate further restrictions, such as regulating the size of logos displayed on shirts and stating that, in the event of a match between teams with identical or similar colours, the away team must change to different coloured attire.

Juan Mata

Juan Mata

Juan Manuel Mata García is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Turkish Süper Lig club Galatasaray. He mostly plays as a central attacking midfielder, but he can also play on the wing.

Eastern European Summer Time

Eastern European Summer Time

Eastern European Summer Time (EEST) is one of the names of the UTC+03:00 time zone, which is 3 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used as a summer daylight saving time in some European and Middle Eastern countries, which makes it the same as Arabia Standard Time, East Africa Time, and Moscow Time. During the winter periods, Eastern European Time (UTC+02:00) is used.

Italy national football team

Italy national football team

The Italy national football team has represented Italy in international football since its first match in 1910. The national team is controlled by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC), the governing body for football in Italy, which is a co-founder and member of UEFA. Italy's home matches are played at various stadiums throughout Italy, and its primary training ground and technical headquarters, Centro Tecnico Federale di Coverciano, is located in Florence. Italy are the reigning European champions, having won UEFA Euro 2020.

David Silva

David Silva

David Josué Jiménez Silva is a Spanish professional footballer who plays for La Liga club Real Sociedad. Silva plays mainly as a central or an attacking midfielder but can also play as a winger or second striker. He is predominantly a left-footed player and his passing ability and possession-retaining qualities have earned him the nicknames "Merlin" and "El Mago" from his teammates and fans. He is considered to be one of the greatest midfielders of his generation.

Jordi Alba

Jordi Alba

Jordi Alba Ramos is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Spain national team. He is often regarded as one of the best full-backs of his generation.

Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres

Fernando José Torres Sanz is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a striker. He is the current manager of Atlético Madrid Juvenil A. Due to his consistent goalscoring rate as a young player, Torres came to be nicknamed El Niño. In his prime, he was praised for his pace, accurate finishing, and proficiency in heading. In 2008, he finished third for the Ballon d'Or and in 2008 and 2009 he was named in the FIFA World XI.

Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex

Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex

The Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex is a multi-use sports and recreation facility in Kyiv, Ukraine, located on the slopes of the city's central Cherepanova Hora, Pecherskyi District. The Olympic National Sports Complex Stadium, the home of FC Dynamo Kyiv, is the premier sports venue in Ukraine and the sixteenth largest in Europe. Since May 2020, the stadium is also used for the home matches of Shakhtar Donetsk due to the war in Donbas. The complex beside its stadium also features several other sports facilities and is designed to host the Olympic Games.

Kyiv

Kyiv

Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2,952,301, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.

Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas

Iker Casillas Fernández is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "San Iker" for his ability to produce spectacular saves, Casillas is widely considered to be one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is known for his athleticism, quick reactions and outstanding shot-stopping ability. Having spent the majority of his career at Real Madrid, Casillas is one of the few players to achieve over 1000 professional career matches, and holds the record for the most clean sheets in the UEFA Champions League, as well as for the Spain national team. Currently, he works for RTVE, Movistar Plus+ and Azteca Deportes.

Captain (association football)

Captain (association football)

The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game or has good leadership qualities. The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband.

Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué

Gerard Piqué Bernabeu is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Due to his tackling, ability to withstand pressure, and triumphs in his overall career, he is considered to be one of the best defenders of his era.

Post-match

Spain's players celebrating their victory
Spain's players celebrating their victory

After the match, the Henri Delaunay Trophy was handed to the Spanish captain Casillas by UEFA president Michel Platini.[50] During the post-match press conference, Spain's manager Del Bosque described his team's triumph as a "great era for Spanish football",[51] but praised opponents Italy's work effort, despite the defeat, stating that they lacked "luck".[51] He added that "the game ended" after the injured midfielder Motta came off with 28 minutes remaining and left Italy with ten players for the remainder of the match.[51] Italy manager Prandelli commented that he would leave Kyiv both proud and disappointed of his side: "When we fly over Kyiv and see the stadium lights I will have pangs of disappointment but I leave proud". He continued by describing that his players lacked "fitness" and were "tired", and added that Italy "were up against a great side, the world champions. and as soon as we went down to ten men it was game over. We had a couple of chances at the start of the second half but didn't take them and when Thiago Motta went off we had nothing left in the tank".[51]

As a result of Spain's win, Del Bosque also became the second manager, after Germany manager Helmut Schön, to lead a national side to a UEFA European Championship and a FIFA World Cup trophy,[52] and the first to have also won the UEFA Champions League.[51]

Spain became the first team to win two consecutive European Championships, and the first team to win three consecutive major tournaments – Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012.[53][54][55][56] It was the greatest margin of victory in the history of the European Championship finals, and the fourth time that teams who played each other in the group stage played each other again in the final (1988, 1996 and 2004).[57] Analysts attributed their success in part to a style of play called tiki-taka, which had been introduced by Aragonés and was continued by Del Bosque.[58][59] This style prioritises short passing, maintaining possession for long periods and patience.[60] The tiki-taka style was also adopted by Pep Guardiola with Spanish club Barcelona, who achieved success in domestic and European competition in the same period.[59] After the 2012 victory, BBC Sport's Phil McNulty wrote that the team were contenders for the greatest national team of all time. Citing their "ultimate combination of silk and steel", with the "Barcelona 'carousel' of Xavi and Andres Iniesta augmented by Real Madrid's Xabi Alonso in midfield", McNulty opined that "it would have to be a very powerful argument against Spain" being the greatest.[61]

Spain's media were highly positive about the result. Marca suggested the Spain team was "the best team of all time", and El País reported that the side played with a "distinguishing style" and that it "no longer arouses skepticism but admiration".[62] Italy's La Gazzetta dello Sport lamented that "the game was already over after the first half" and Corriere dello Sport declared the defeat as "embarrassing".[63][64] La Repubblica suggested that the Italy team were in poor physical condition.[64] Croatian newspaper 24sata complimented Spain's victory, noting "Tiki-tastic! No one in the history of the Euro has ever achieved such an impressive victory as Spain's against Italy in the Euro 2012 final."[63] Ekstra Bladet, a Danish newspaper, reported that the final provided "excellent entertainment" and that Italy played their part, "by meeting the Spaniards high up the pitch."[63] France's L'Équipe noted that Spain "controlled to perfection" the final and had "made it a question of honour to go down in history in style" while Portugal's A Bola proclaimed the Spain side to be "irresistible" and that their victory was "Historical! Unforgettable!"[63]

Usually, the winner of the European Championship gains entry to the Confederations Cup, which was due to be played in Brazil in 2013. However, since Spain had already qualified as the 2010 World Cup champions, Italy qualified automatically as the UEFA representative, with their win in the semi-final against Germany, despite losing in the final to Spain.[65]

Discover more about Post-match related topics

Michel Platini

Michel Platini

Michel François Platini is a French football administrator and former player and manager. Regarded as one of the greatest footballers of all time, Platini won the Ballon d'Or three times in a row, in 1983, 1984 and 1985, and came seventh in the FIFA Player of the Century vote. In recognition of his achievements, he was named a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur in 1985 and became an Officier in 1998. As the president of UEFA in 2015 he was banned from involvement in football under FIFA's organisation, over ethics violations. The ban will last until 2023.

Helmut Schön

Helmut Schön

Helmut Schön was a German football player and manager. He is best remembered for his exceptional career as manager of the West Germany national team in four consecutive World Cup tournaments, including winning the title in 1974, losing in the final in 1966, and coming in third in 1970. In addition, his teams won the European Championship in 1972 and lost in the final in 1976.

FIFA World Cup

FIFA World Cup

The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested among the senior men's national teams of the 211 members by the sport's global governing body - Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, except in 1942 and 1946 when it was not held because of the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.

2010 FIFA World Cup

2010 FIFA World Cup

The 2010 FIFA World Cup, also branded as South Africa 2010, was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. The bidding process for hosting the tournament finals was open only to African nations. In 2004, the international football federation, FIFA, selected South Africa over Egypt and Morocco to become the first African nation to host the finals.

Pep Guardiola

Pep Guardiola

Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Premier League club Manchester City. He is considered one of the greatest managers of all time and holds the records for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League.

Marca (newspaper)

Marca (newspaper)

Marca, stylised as MARCA, is Spain's national daily sport newspaper owned by Unidad Editorial. The newspaper focuses primarily on football, in particular the day-to-day activities of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid. Also, It has daily and fresh information about influencers, Instagram Girls, an infamous programme first dates, and other Pink press. It has a daily readership of over 2,500,000, the highest in Spain for a daily newspaper, and more than half of sports readership, as of 2007.

El País

El País

El País is a Spanish-language daily newspaper in Spain. El País is based in the capital city of Madrid and it is owned by the Spanish media conglomerate PRISA.

La Gazzetta dello Sport

La Gazzetta dello Sport

La Gazzetta dello Sport is an Italian daily newspaper dedicated to coverage of various sports. Founded in 1896, it is the most widely read daily newspaper of any kind in Italy.

Corriere dello Sport

Corriere dello Sport

Corriere dello Sport is an Italian national sports newspaper based in Rome, Italy. It is one of three major Italian sports daily newspapers and has the largest readership in central and southern Italy, the fourth most read throughout the country.

La Repubblica

La Repubblica

la Repubblica is an Italian daily general-interest newspaper. It was founded in 1976 in Rome by Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso and led by Eugenio Scalfari, Carlo Caracciolo and Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. Born as a leftist newspaper, it has since moderated to a milder centre-left political stance, and moved further to the centre after the appointment of Maurizio Molinari as editor.

24sata (Croatia)

24sata (Croatia)

24sata is a daily newspaper published in Zagreb, Croatia. As of 2007, it is the highest-circulation daily newspaper in Croatia. It is also most visited news website in Croatia and leading news source on social media platforms.

Ekstra Bladet

Ekstra Bladet

Ekstra Bladet is a Danish tabloid newspaper, published by JP/Politikens Hus in Copenhagen. It was founded in 1904 as an evening edition to Politiken. In 1905 the newspaper was established in its own right and has since focused on investigative journalism, news, sports and entertainment. It has been described as a sensationalistic newspaper. Since July 2021, Henrik Qvortrup has been editor-in-chief.

Source: "UEFA Euro 2012 final", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2023, February 16th), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UEFA_Euro_2012_final.

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Bibliography

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