Euro 2012: Why Italy Can Upset the Spaniards

The teams of Group C take the stage today, and without doubt the game between Italy and Spain attracts the interest of the football (or soccer…whatever) enthusiasts. These teams are among the world’s best and have a long tradition in football. Both of them have won the World Cup and the Euro in the past.

No matter what your point of view is, Spain is the favorite to win, since they conquered the last Euro and the last World Cup. They also have a roster full of football stars and talented players in every position.

Despite that, I strongly believe that Italy can surprise the champions.

The “squadra azzura” has been overlooked and underestimated from the majority of the pundits and tipsters, not only for this game, but also as a Euro contender.

The Italians don’t have many big names and they don’t play fancy attacking football. Keep in mind, though, that they have other strong points that most people do not pay attention to.

All but three Italy players are members of Italian teams. They are familiar with a certain style of football, and they are very good at performing ably on the field. With a clear focus on defense, but also great playmakers like Andrea Pirlo, Emanuele Giaccherini and Antonio Nocerino, they are a complete team.

The absence of the “favorite” hype can only be viewed as a positive thing. The Italians struggled to play good football when they were expected to win easily. This time, they look like the underdogs and they have no pressure to prove the opposite.

Italy’s coach, Cesare Prandelli, is a hard-working man and has passed his philosophy to his players. It won’t be easy for Spain to win the ball, and they won’t have a lot of space to do their tricks.

With a focused, solid appearance, Italy can shock Spain in the first game of the day and have the upper hand for the next two games. Advancing to the quarterfinals won’t be easy, even though Ireland and Croatia are the lesser opponents.

The team that wins this game will be hard to eliminate, and I think Italy can take the three points with their conservative but strong playing style.