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Before the continental competition four years ago, the Azzurri always seemed to have the edge over La Roja when it mattered but one night in Vienna altered all that

Ben Hayward  Spain Expert Follow on

ANALYSIS

It was the moment of truth for Spain. Coach Luis Aragones had changed the team's style of play, seen his side shine in the group stages of Euro 2008 and advance to the second round of the continental competition as big favourites to lift the trophy. But La Roja had been here before - and they had failed.

There was worse news still: Italy awaited. The two teams from the south of Europe had met four times before in major competitions and on each occasion, Spain had come off second best.

Italy were world champions at the time, having edged out a France side who had put paid to Aragones' Spain side in 2006. La Roja had crumbled that night in Germany, and the Hannover hangover had brought sadness and self-doubt - a Spanish inquisition. Now, everyone agreed, it was do or die for Spain's finest generation of players in memory. They simply had to deliver - and they did.

The quarter-final match in Vienna was a tense affair. Spain looked the better side for much of the game, but failed to create too much of note in a battle of attrition. Midfielder Marcos Senna came closest when an uncharacteristically nervous Gianluigi Buffon fumbled a long-range effort but gratefully collected as the ball rebounded safely off the post.

ITALY VERSUS SPAIN - THE MAJOR MEETINGS
1934 WORLD CUP: *ITALY 1-1 SPAIN (REPLAY 1-0)
	The two teams met in the quarter-finals and shared the spoils in a bad-tempered clash which saw Spain goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora ruled out of the replay the following day, which was decided by Giuseppe Meazza in Florence.
EURO 1980 GROUP STAGE: SPAIN 0-0 ITALY
	The next meeting between the two in majour tournaments came, appropriately enough, at the Giuseppe Meazza. Spain were the better side, but Italy defended well in a goalless draw and later advanced, along with Belgium.
EURO '88 GROUP STAGE: ITALY 1-0 SPAIN
	Gianluca Vialli scored the only goal of the game in another tight encounter, this time in the group stages of Euro '88. The defeat condemed Spain to first-round exit as Italy and West Germany advanced with four points apiece.
1994 WORLD CUP QF: ITALY 2-1 SPAIN
	Roberto Baggio struck two minutes from time to seal a place in the semi-finals for Italy in the United States in a game which will be remembered for Mauro Tassotti's cynical elbow on Luis Enrique. Italy went on to make the final.
EURO 2008 QF: ITALY 0-0 SPAIN* (2-4 ON PENS)
	With the deadlock unbroken after 120 minutes of football, this one went to penalties and Spain broke their hoodoo as Iker Casillas saved spot kicks from Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale. Cesc hit the winner and Spain went on to glory.

Extra time brought no goals, so it was to be penalties. Italy had won the 2006 World Cup final via a shootout and had history on their side against Spain, but their psychological advantage had dried up over 120 minutes of forgettable football.

This time, Spain held their nerve, Iker Casillas saved from Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale, Cesc converted and La Roja rejoiced. The release was tangible; the result tremendous.

Football, like life, is all about moments. And since that night in Vienna, Spain have never looked back. A week later, La Roja completed the job as they edged out Germany in the Austrian capital to be crowned continental champions. The wait was over.

Spain had conquered Europe in 1964, too, but far too often La Roja had failed to turn up on the big occasion. It had become a psychological problem and against Italy, there appeared to be a mental block. Before 2008, their meetings in major competitions had always been tight - but the Azzurri had prevailed each time.

Prior to 2008, Italy and Spain had met four times in major competitions. At the 1934 World Cup, Spain lost out in a replay following an intsense physical battle in Florence, which had left their legendary goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora sidelined for the second match, with others battered and bruised.

Spain were the better side when the two met again in Euro 1980 in Italy, but that game ended goalless. And Gianluca Vialli scored the only goal as the Azzurri edged out La Roja at Euro '88.

Then, in 1994, Spain squandered a wonderful opportunity to redress the balance as Julio Salinas missed a sitter which would have surely sealed victory before Roberto Baggio hit a late winner in Boston.

Indeed, for some time it was also thought that Spanish players did not have what it took to shine in Italy. The exceptions, such as Luis Suarez and Luis del Sol in the 1960s, Pep Guardiola in the 1990s and, to some extent, Martin Vazquez in the 1980s, were few. Ivan de la Pena, Gaizka Mendieta, Ivan Helguera, Javier Farinos, Jose Mari and Javi Moreno were all forgettable flops, while the likes of Alberto Zapater, Javier Garrido and Bojan Krkic have disappointed more recently.

So 2008 served to change perceptions and 2010 confirmed the power shift as Italy failed miserably with a group-stage exit in South Africa and Spain went on to win their first-ever World Cup.

In total, the two teams have met 29 times since 1920 and Italy still lead, with 10 wins to Spain's eight and 11 draws in what remains an evenly balanced rivalry. And it was the Azzurri who claimed victory in a friendly fixture between the sides in Bari last year, giving the Italians hope ahead of Sunday's much-anticipated clash in Gdansk.

This time, however, the psychological edge is with Spain and the team with a point to prove will not be the one wearing red.

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