‘Spain Will Rule Euro For Years’

Thr Spanish national team, yesterday made history as they became kings of Europe again.

And they mean to stay the masters of world football for a long time yet, after giving Italy a masterclass, beating them 4-0 in the final.

Victory in Kiev last night made the sizzling senors the first side to win three consecutive major tournaments; Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, and the first to retain the European crown.

Real Madrid goalkeeper, Iker Casillas and Ex-Liverpool full-back Alvaro Arbeloa then declared: “Our aim now is to continue winning trophies in the years to come. We are very proud of what we have done.”

Goals from David Silva, Jordi Alba and subs Fernando Torres and Juan Mata sunk Cesare Prandelli’s 10-man side.

The four-goal triumph was a Euros final best and showed that to try to brand Vicente del Bosque’s superb side as ‘boring’ is a joke.

Skipper Iker Casillas said: “It’s the most marvellous moment in the history of Spanish football.

“For the players everything came out perfectly. Everyone performed brilliantly.”

Cesc Fabregas, who made the first goal for Silva, admitted: “This feels one of the best days of my life.

“Three major trophies in a row has never been done before. It’s difficult to realise what we have done.”

Torres made it 3-0 with just six minutes left to clinch the Golden Boot ahead of five other rivals on three goals.

Italy had to play the last half-hour with 10 men after losing sub Thiago Motta.

Meanwhile, AC Milan midfielder Riccardo Montolivo believes that Italy’s fans can be proud of the team’s Euro 2012 campaign despite a 4-0 defeat to Spain.

“I think Italy can be proud of us because we had a good tournament, we showed all the Italians that we tried our best and failed only at the final step. Still, it hurts a lot,” he told Goal.com.

“What happened is that Spain played better than us, they made the most of their chances and they are impossible to beat when that happens. It is true that the game was balanced in terms of possession, but they were better in every aspect.

“It hurts because I think we had a good tournament. I also think that we were not at 100 per cent physically, maybe we could not recover from the little time we had to rest in between matches.

“We also had bad luck with injuries. When Thiago Motta left the field, the game was over,” he bemoaned.

The Azzurri will now turn their focus to the World Cup 2014 qualifiers where they have been grouped with Denmark, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Armenia and Malta.

“I think we have a good team for the future, but we will think about that from tomorrow, this is not the time yet,” Montolivo added.