Wilson: Spain dominates Italy in final to win Euro 2012

With his team trailing 2-0, Dutch winger Arjen Robben sulked off the field, pouting like a… With his team trailing 2-0, Dutch winger Arjen Robben sulked off the field, pouting like a toddler after getting substituted during Holland’s group-stage game against Germany at this summer’s European soccer championships.

He wasn’t done with the theatrics, though, as he took a long, unconventional route back to the bench, speed-walking all the way around the outside of the field before going straight to the locker room with time remaining in a game that Germany eventually won, 2-1.

This is the image that sticks with me the most from the Euro 2012 tournament, a competition that ranks only behind the World Cup in terms of soccer prestige.

The various Dutch players — World Cup finalists two years ago — looked like they had ended up on the field after the manager had drawn straws to decide who would play together that particular game. The lack of chemistry — which the players seemingly made no attempt to improve — was that obvious.

Acts of baffling arrogance and individualism weren’t limited to one team or one player at the Euro 2012 tournament and aren’t anything new to professional soccer. But major competitions such as the Euro tournament bring out the worst (or from an entertainment perspective, the best) in wild cards like Robben.

The struggle between individuals and the team dynamic dominated this tournament.

Italy’s success seemed dependent on talismanic striker Mario Balotelli’s ability to minimize his tantrums for the sake of his teammates.

After scoring an acrobatic goal against Ireland in the group stage, Balotelli began to celebrate by yelling something to no one in particular before a teammate quickly moved in and muffled him. And after he scored a phenomenal goal to send the Italians to the tournament final, the mercurial Balotelli ripped off his jersey and flexed for the cameras like he was the Incredible Hulk.

But for the most part, Balotelli bought into whatever Italy manager Cesare Prandelli or his teammates asked him to, and it showed in the results, with the Italians upsetting the heavily favored Germans in the semifinals before ultimately succumbing to Spain.

France couldn’t shake its internal battle with massive egos that previously destroyed its 2010 World Cup and Euro 2008 campaigns.

An episode involving skilled French attacker Samir Nasri illustrated as much. After losing to Spain in the quarterfinals, a journalist asked for a postgame comment on the drubbing, and Nasri not-so-kindly told him where he should go and what sort of person he was.

Laurent Blanc, France’s manager, who has since resigned, reprimanded his player for his immature act only to have Michel Platini, the president of the governing body for soccer in Europe (UEFA) and former French player and manager, state that he was on Nasri’s side.

“If I got suspended every time I insulted a journalist, I wouldn’t have many [appearances],” Platini told the BBC.

Again, the professional ranks have always been full of colorful characters, but there was certainly an abundance in Poland and Ukraine, co-hosts of Euro 2012.

But in the end, Spain’s team members proved, once again, that they are the ultimate embodiment of “team,” through the selfless way they spread the ball between themselves on the field.

Even though the individual storylines seemed destined to define this competition, Spain — which has now achieved an unprecedented feat by winning the last three major international tournaments (Euro 2008, the World Cup in 2010 and Euro 2012) — has done so with the same core of players dedicated to a style of play that no other national team in the world can match.

With the dominant 4-0 score in the final in favor of the Spaniards over the helpless Italians, “La Roja” reminded the world that they are still the game’s best and silenced some of the critics who have recently branded Spain’s meticulous possession and passing style of play as “boring.”

The stats — Spain had 52 percent of the possession of the ball and outshot Italy 14-11 — don’t even begin to explain the control the Spaniards had in what many thought would be a tight final.

The final of Euro 2012 showed that in soccer, team success can’t be achieved when individuals demand center stage.

Sometimes it takes a masterful collective performance like Spain’s to remind us of that.