Sport
Mario Balotelli puts Italy in the Euro 2012 final against Spain
Italy will face defending champion Spain in Sunday’s final in Kiev, Ukraine – a rematch of their 1-1 draw that opened Group C.
“We showed we’re on Spain’s level and that’s where we started this run,” Italy midfielder Claudio Marchisio said. “It’s no longer a question of fear. Now we’ve got to pull out everything we still have inside ourselves.”
While Italy has won four World Cups, it’s only European Championship title came in 1968. Like when they won the 1982 and 2006 World Cups, the Azzurri have managed to maintain their focus despite a match-fixing and betting scandal at home.
“All I can say is that when you talk about Italy, everyone needs to be careful,” Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. “We played an extraordinary match. We displayed a model of fair play and attachment to this shirt.”
On a pleasant evening at the National Stadium Warsaw, Cassano set up the opening goal by befuddling Germany defenders Mats Hummels and Jerome Boateng to lift the ball in Balotelli’s direction.
The second goal began with a long vertical pass from Riccardo Montolivo, whose mother is German. Balotelli collected the pass with his back to the goal, controlled the ball with his chest and then sprinted forward and unleashed a blazing shot from the edge of the area as Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer again stood immobile.
With three goals, Balotelli moved level with four other players for the tournament scoring lead. After the match, Prandelli was asked if this was the best match of Balotelli’s career.
