Euro Cup 2012 Final Spain Vs. Italy Preview: Midfield; Which Team has the Edge?

The highlight of the Spain and Italy clash will be the midfield of both teams.

Both midfields feature a host of superstars that will ultimately determine the outcome of this match.

Spain's midfield is famous (or infamous) for its possession game while Italy's reies heavily on a masterful counterattack.

Which midfield is superior?

Spain

Spain is known for its use of tiki taka in which the team passes the ball around almost endlessly looking for an opening in the opponent's defense before setting up the perfect opportunity. Spain's midfield tends to slow the pace significantly, causing not only physical but mental fatigue to its opponent.

The Spanish midfield faces one of the only teams to shut them down during this tournament in their opening clash. Italy shut down the Spanish midfield by clogging the box with defenders and putting tremendous amounts of pressure on their midfielders. Portugal already proved that an aggressive pressure in the midfield could damage the Spanish fluidity and consistent possession game; look for Italy to be that much more aggressive.

Spain's midfield is filled with perennial superstars that include Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, Xabi Alonso, Sergio Busquets, David Silva, Jesus Navas, and Cesc Fabregas (if the latter two play). All of them were on Spain's two championship winning squads and have the experience of playing in big matches. Iniesta is the biggest threat of them all with his aggressive play and timely scoring. He had a game winning opportunity against Portugal that would have gone in if not for a timely save. Iniesta of course scored the game winner against the Dutch in the final match of the Euro Cup 2012.

Cesc Fabregas has been consistent in this tournament with big plays in big moments. He scored the game-tying goal against Italy, made the game winning play against Croatia, and scored the winning penalty against Portugal.

Key Player: Xavi Hernandez

Xavi is the brain of the operation. He was the MVP of the 2008 Euro Cup and was a major reason for their rise to power in the 2010 World Cup. He has been more quiet in this tournament, but his game relies heavily on his finding lanes and openings for his teammates with his timely passes. If Iniesta and Fabregas or any of the strikers are to find chances, they will have to go through Xavi to help orchestrate them.

Italy

Italy does not have a possession based game that Spain possesses, but they have a tremendous counter attack that was instrumental in their dismantling of Germany.

Their counter is highly dependent on timely passing and speed of the team. Danielle de Rossi and Andrea Pirlo are the heart and mind of the midfield and are the only remnants of the 2006 World Cup Champions left in the midfield. They will need to bring that level of experience to the rest of the corp in what may be the biggest match ever for some of these players.

Key Player: Andrea Pirlo

Pirlo has quietly put together an MVP campaign in this tournament. Of Italy's six goals, he has factored directly in five of them. He was the catalyst on the goal that gave Italy a 1-0 lead on Spain in their opening match and is dangerous from anywhere on the field with his precise pin-point passing. Like Xavi he is the brains of the operation, though his passing tends toward more bravura display than his Spanish counterpart.

Pirlo will see less of the ball than Xavi well, so it will be essential for him to make the timely play to break through the wall that is the Spanish defense.

Advantage: Spain

Pirlo has been dominant, but Spain has far more weapons at the midfield and can easily nullify his game with their exhaustive tiki taka passing. This is essentially the same Spanish midfield that won two championships, making their experience indispensible in the big games. They are the main motor that drives Spain's two championships and will continue to do so in the final.

Who has the better Goalkeeper? Find out HERE.

Who has the better Defense? Find out HERE.

Who has the better set of Strikers? Find out HERE. 

READ MORE:

Euro Cup 2012 Final Spain Vs. Italy Live Stream, Preview, Prediction 

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