Fri Jun 27 11:49:27 2008

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Spain hopes to overcome history

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Vienna, Austria (Sports Network) - When you have put together as many talented teams as Spain has over the years, yet are making just your third appearance in a major final, you tend to develop a reputation for underachieving.

Spain has certainly lived up to that label in recent years, but will hope to claim its first major championship since 1964 on Sunday with a win over Germany.

While Spain has been known to shrink when it comes to big occasions, Germany has done quite the opposite, rising to the challenge of a big match and often grinding out wins.

Since Spain last lifted a major trophy 44 years ago, Germany has appeared in five European championships and six World Cup finals, while Spain has made the finals of the European championship just once with no World Cup finals, prompting Spain's Xavi Hernandez to tab Germany as favorites heading into the final.

"For many years we haven't won anything while Germany is always up there fighting for the titles, so I would say Germany is the favorite," Xavi told Foxsports.com.

While Germany has been by far the more successful team, Spain enters Sunday's final as the in-form side, having thrashed Russia 3-0 in the semifinals.

Spain won all three of its group stage matches and then slipped past a stubborn Italy side on penalty kicks in the type of match that Spain has traditionally lost.

They looked very impressive in taking apart an upstart Russian team, and now have their sights set on knocking off Germany, which will be trying to win its fourth European championship.

German manager Joachim Loew has taken notice of Spain's first-class performance in the competition, and he knows that his club will have its hands full against Spain, especially in the midfield.

"They have played the whole tournament at the highest level and have been technically very good," Loew said of Spain on Germany's football federation website.

"They proved in impressive fashion that they were the better team against the Russians and they have a more varied game than the Portuguese.

"Their midfielders constantly change positions and keep getting forward, all of which makes them hard to work out."

The Spanish midfield should be even tougher for Germany to handle should manager Luis Aragones insert midfielder Cesc Fabregas into the starting lineup in place of leading-scorer David Villa, who will miss the final after suffering a thigh injury in the win over Russia on Thursday.

Fabregas has been a super-sub for Spain in the tournament, scoring one goal and assisting on three more while coming off the bench. With Villa out, Aragones will likely insert Fabregas into the starting lineup, leaving Fernando Torres as the lone striker with five talented players in midfield.

The young Arsenal midfielder will probably join, Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Marcos Senna and David Silva in a five-man midfield, while Mallorca striker Daniel Guiza will be the first option off the bench up top with two goals and an assist in three appearances so far.

Spain's defense appeared soft in the middle entering Thursday's semifinal, but they put together their best effort of the tournament led by Carles Puyol in shutting down the high-powered Russians.

Germany has also switched formations in the midst of the competition and is also likely to play with just one striker. Miroslav Klose will man the lone spot up top, while Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Michael Ballack will support Klose offensively.

Torsten Frings will hope to reclaim a starting spot after beginning the semifinal match with Turkey on the bench because of a rib injury. Thomas Hitzlsperger could also be in the starting 11, with Simon Rolfes also battling for a spot.

Philipp Lahm experienced both the good and the bad in Germany's semifinal win, first conceding the equalizer in the 86th minute before scoring the winner in the 90th.

Lahm is a threat to get forward on the wing, but he will have to be wary of his defensive responsibilities as he tries to help out Christoph Metzelder and Per Mertesacker in the middle of the German defense.

Germany's 3-2 win over Turkey in the semifinals was definitely dramatic, but it shouldn't have come down to the final minutes as Turkey was playing with half its team and was clearly inferior to Germany.

While Spain has been impressive throughout the tournament, Germany has played in spots and done enough to get through. They showed flashes of brilliance against Portugal in the quarterfinals, but played down to their competition against Turkey.

Germany has yet to really play its best for a full 90 minutes, and a European championship match with Spain might be what the team needs to bring that out.

Spain has not gotten a great tournament from Torres, but they will need a strong finish from the Liverpool striker to beat the Germans.

They have plenty of talent in midfield, and a defense that has not given up a goal in the last two games, but they also lack something that German players seem to be born with, and that is an ability to come through in the big game.