Spain coach Vicente del Bosque hailed a “great generation of footballers” after seeing his side crush Italy in the final of Euro 2012 in Kiev on Sunday.
Spain become the first team ever to win three major tournaments in a row.
“This is a great generation of players. They have roots and know how to play because they come from a country that knows how to. We have a great bunch of lads, some playing abroad – they never used to.
“Italy had bad luck because Thiago Motta was injured and then everything turned in our favour.”
The Spain coach’s tactics had come in for criticism throughout the tournament but he stuck to his guns by choosing not to field a recognized striker while choosing Cesc Fabregas as a false nine and he was adamant it was the right decision.
“The important thing is to score goals. We have a very balanced team. We have security in our players. We have great strikers, but we chose to play with players who went better with our style.”