Spain's coach Vicente del Bosque gestures during a training session.
Spain boss Vicente del Bosque
is not expecting a repeat of their crushing 4-0 victory over Italy in
the final four years ago when the two sides meet in the last 16 of Euro
2016 on Monday.
Spain destroyed the Italians in one of the most one-sided finals in
the competition's history at Euro 2012 to clinch their second
consecutive European title and reaffirm their status as the world's then
dominant side.
Del Bosque, however, believes that encounter will offer few clues as to how Monday's match in Paris will pan out.
"I think that game was conditioned by a lot things, above all Italy were very tired," the Spain coach told reporters on Sunday.
"They were not the real Italy, the Italy they are now. I think they a
lot better. They were really tired when they got to the final and we
took advantage."
Spain's victory in 2012 was a brutal demonstration of their destructive passing game at its finest.
Italy players celebrate their victory against Belgium
But a lot of water has passed
under the bridge since then -- not least Spain's dismal performance at
the 2014 World Cup where their group stage exit shredded their
reputation as the sport's untouchable force.
Italy came into this year's Euros with few tipping them for success.
Yet with a squad full of ageing stalwarts and few stand-out talents,
they have stuck to what they do best -- building a team around a rigidly
well-regimented defence.
"They have a special way of playing and it's very effective," added
Del Bosque. "We have to be careful about this, we have to be careful
about their organisational style...
"There are not great differences between the two teams, we will see on the pitch who is better."
Monday's match will be the fourth time the teams have met in the last
three European Championships and the sixth time in total, making it the
tournament's most played fixture.
Spain hold the clear upper hand in their recent meetings, with Italy
having not beaten them in a competitive match since the 1994 World Cup,
when they won 2-1 in the quarter-finals, with Italy's coach Antonio
Conte starting the match.
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