The Barcelona defender recalls the shootout win against Italy in the semi-final of the 2008 European Championship.
Cesc Fabregas, then at Arsenal, scored the winning penalty against the 2006 World Champions. The Spaniards then went on to beat Germany in the final to lift the Euro 2008 under Luis Aragones. La Roja took their fine form to the
World Cup and went all the way to clinch the 2010 World Cup.
Ahead of their Group C encounter with Italy, the Catalan defender who was unable to feature for his side, was closely monitoring his team’s progress, recalls the moment which galvanised the mentality of the Iberian side.
Prior to lifting the Euro, Spain had not won a major trophy in 64-years. Pique reckons that night in Vienna was the start of a golden era and a new chapter in the Country’s history.
“I was on holiday and I remember Cesc’s penalty. We jumped for joy. Spain changed mentality in that game,” he is quoted as saying in an interview.
The 2010’s Word Cup winning defender believes that now Vicente Del Bosque’s side are the envy of every footballing nation, and they will be taking that winning mentality in this year’s European Championships. The defender knows
that everybody thinks they are the team to beat and his side are driven by this tag.
“Now everyone thinks we are the enemy to beat. There is euphoria in us. If you do not have euphoria after winning Euro 2008 and the World Cup we might as well switch the lights off and go home,” he added.
Vicente Del Bosque’s side go in to the match against Italy on the back of three straight wins and a near perfect record in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. However, the World Champions’ bid for a successive title defence has
dealt a blow; their all time leading scorer David Villa and defensive enforcer Carles Puyol will be missing the entire campaign through injury.
Pundits and experts remain disputed on whether the Spaniards are capable of defending their European crown or will they get complacent and slip up. La Roja however, would not let a few injuries derail their title defence and will
look to start the tournament on a high.
Tags: