From Benito Mussolini to Balotelli, chokers to champions - mouth-watering Spain v Italy Euro 2012 group clash is set to be a classic

For years it has been a clash of ideologies. The stylish Spanish would always sneer at the aggressive way in which the Italians would go about their game, all the while harbouring a not-so-secret desire to be the same as them, in their success rate if in nothing else. Meanwhile, the Azzurri became one of the most successful countries in football history against an unwanted backdrop of tainted reputations, controversies and debate about the ‘right way’ of playing football.

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Spain £10.63

Draw £80.00

China £260.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Spain £11.00

Draw £90.00

China £230.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Spain £11.00

Draw £90.00

China £210.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Spain £11.00

Draw £90.00

China £210.00

Bet: £5 £10 £20 £50 £100

Returns:

Spain £10.30

Draw £110.00

China £260.00

As the years dragged on without Spanish success, so the Italians continued racking up the medals. Following their Euro 1964 victory, La Furia Roja would pass the quarter-final stage of a major tournament only once in 21 attempts, while across the Mediterranean, there were two World Cup wins, a European Championship, three runners-up spots and four further semi-finals to justify the ‘win at all costs’ Italian model.

But it wasn’t simply a case of jealousy, far from it. The Spanish had worthy reason to feel wronged. For not only were Italy winning trophies, they were rubbing their great rivals’ noses in it along the way.

GROUP C   Spain Italy Rep.Ireland Croatia

June 10	6pm	Spain vs Italy	PGE Arena	Gdansk
June 10	8.45pm	Rep. Ireland vs Croatia	Municipal Stadium	Poznan
June 14	6pm	Italy  vs  Croatia	Municipal Stadium	Poznan
June 14	8.45pm	Spain vs  Rep. Ireland	PGE Arena	Gdansk
June 18	8.45pm	Croatia vs  Spain	PGE Arena	Gdansk
June 18	8.45pm	Italy vs  Rep. Ireland	Municipal Stadium	Poznan

After a 0-0 draw in the group stage of Euro ’80, the two sides came head-to-head again in Frankfurt eight years later. Now, 68 years on from Spain’s last competitive win over the Azzurri in the 1920 Olympic Games, they appeared to have history on their side for once. A total of 17 players from the two squads had played a part when the Italians had been beaten in the Uefa Under-21 Championship final two years earlier. But again it was false hope. Gianluca Vialli netted the only goal of the game in the closing stages, and Spain’s pain was still not numbed.

The rivalry was well and truly stoked in 1994, though. In the World Cup quarter-final in Foxborough, Spain’s Luis Enrique was looking to get on the end of Ion Andoni Goikoetxea's far-post cross, but instead found himself met by a cynical elbow from Mauro Tassotti. The winger lost around a pint of blood, while his attacker would never play for his country again after being banned for eight games following TV evidence. Again, Italy went on to win, and once more they would reach the final. There was a pattern emerging.

After the Azzurri’s World Cup win in 2006, a year in which some had tipped Spain to finally break their duck, many Spaniards simply gave up hope of ever seeing their side triumph in a major finals. But June 22, 2008 was to be a date with destiny.

June 22 was a date on which La Furia Roja had been knocked out of three major tournaments on penalties before. So when they came up against an ultra-defensive Italian approach in the Euro quarter-finals in Vienna, it seemed history could only repeat itself. Instead, 88 years of hurt were finally brought to an end. Spain hadn’t played well, but it didn’t matter. Their 4-2 triumph from the spot was enough to send the country into a state of delirium. If they could win on June 22, and if they could beat Italy after nearly a century, then anything was possible.

Date Competition Venue Sep 2, 1920 Olympics Antwerp Spain 2 Italy 0  May 25, 1924 Olympics Paris Italy 1 Spain 0  Jun 1, 1928 Olympics Amsterdam Spain 1 Italy 1  Jun 4, 1928 Olympics Amsterdam Spain 1 Italy 7  May 31, 1934 World Cup QF Florence Italy 1 Spain 1  Jun 1, 1934 World Cup QF Florence Italy 1 Spain 0  Jun 12, 1980 Euro group Milan Italy 0 Spain 0  Jun 14, 1988 Euro group Frankfurt Italy 1 Spain 0  Jul 9, 1994 World Cup QF Boston Italy 2 Spain 1  Jun 22, 2008 Euro QF Vienna Spain 0* Italy 0       * Spain won 4-2 on pens

In 2010, they broke more ducks. No team had ever lost their first World Cup finals match and gone on to lift the trophy. No European side had ever won the competition outside of their own continent. Spain put both records to rest. Suddenly, all of the psychological barriers of the past were merely badges of honour to collect. And it all went back to that quarter-final in Vienna. The day they finally overcame their Italian hoodoo was the day Spain started to believe.

With the Euro 2012 draw having thrown the pair together again for the Group C opener in Gdansk on June 10, the boot is on the other foot this time around. Spain are now the side boasting the silverware, Italy are the ones with the inferiority complex.

But just as the Spaniards were boosted by a friendly win in Elche in the lead-up to the finals four years ago, so too have the Azzurri been picked up by August’s victory over the albeit-weakened world champions in Bari. Having spent three years reading of how good Spain are and how much things are going wrong in their domestic game, Italians were given reason to believe again. Cesare Prandelli needs to persuade his players that they can repeat the trick in the second week of June, having so far tried to inject some of the flair more reminiscent of Spanish sides whilst not losing his own country's identity.

There are two other sides in the picture, with Croatia and the Republic of Ireland providing considerable hurdles for the two bigger names, but the clash of the titans comes on only the third day of the tournament.

And there are set to be intriguing battles all over the pitch. Two of the game's great goalkeepers, Iker Casillas and Gianluigi Buffon, meet again, while Xavi and Andrea Pirlo, perhaps the finest midfielders of their generation, will lock horns in the centre of the park. Spain's other Barcelona-bred midfield masters, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas, will be there too, along with David Villa, whose wonderful volley settled the friendly in Elche, and the ever-exciting David Silva. And many eyes will be on Silva's Manchester City team-mate Mario Balotelli, the explosive forward who is capable of the very best but who remains as unpredictable as he is brilliant.

So with fantasy and fireworks in store from Balotelli, plus peerless passing from Pirlo, and magic and mastery from Spain's middlemen, this match promises to eclipse even the encounter between Germany and the Netherlands as the tournament organisers rub their hands in delight after Friday's draw brought up this magnificent meeting of Mediterranean minds.

And football fans in Europe and beyond can rightly be excited, too. Following the opening-day excitement of June 8 and an intriguing second day with Germany, the Netherlands and Portugal all in action, comes a real classic on Day Three of the Euros, and with repeat fixtures in the latter stages becoming a trend in the continental competition over the years, who would bet against Italy and Spain having more than one top-class tussle in Poland and Ukraine next summer?

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