VIENNA, Austria (AP) -Soccer's new European champions speak Spanish. The victorious Spain team also speaks a different language on the field, and the rest of Europe better start learning it quickly.
Spain beat three-time champion Germany 1-0 in Vienna on Sunday, but a score like 3-0 would have been more accurate. The team coached by 69-year-old Luis Aragones showed how the game should be played.
Throughout the tournament, Spain used simple, close passing to cut through defenses and create top quality goals. They also were the masters of the counterattack.
The tactics drew many admirers. Among was former Scotland coach Andy Roxburgh, whose country has always underachieved on the international level. Just like Spain, which last won the European Championship in 1964.
Now head of UEFA's technical committee, Roxburgh has been examining tactics and players for several years and has watched Spain's emergence. He believes there is more to come after this European success.
``It may be interesting to know that some of us are not that surprised with the outcome here,'' Roxburgh said Monday.
``For more than a decade now the top youth teams in Europe have been Spanish and we have been watching nearly all of this squad from a very young age. We just watched the last Spanish youth team because they just won the under-17s (European title) this year in Turkey and it was one of the best performances I have ever seen from a youth team. The Spanish are continuing to create the next generation.''
The beauty of this Spain squad came from the fact that it was not just about a few stars. Its strength was clear: goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who has an able deputy in Pepe Reina; solid defense in which Sergio Ramos and Carles Puyol were the stars; and twin strikers in Fernando Torres and David Villa, the tournament's top scorer with four goals even though he missed the final because of injury.
What made it even stronger, however, was the midfield and the way Aragones used it.
Because he went with two strikers, Aragones fielded only four midfielders in most games and that meant he did something that would have horrified Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, often watching from the media seats because of his work for French TV.
Aragones left Gunners midfielder Cesc Fabregas on the bench. While the coach said that was partly because the Arsenal star was not fully fit because of an injury-induced break at the end of the season, it was also clear he didn't want Fabregas and Xavi playing alongside each other.
Aragones would start the tournament with Marcos Senna as the defensive midfielder to protect the back four, with Andres Iniesta and David Silva on the flanks and Xavi the midfield creator.
An injury to Villa in the first half of the semifinal against Russia prompted Aragones to use Fabregas in an attacking role against the Russians. The Arsenal star set up two goals in a 3-0 victory that showed the Spanish at their best.
Villa was still missing for the final so Aragones came up with the same formation. Although he removed Fabregas in the second half, his team was already ahead thanks to Torres' 33rd-minute strike. Aragones decided to solidify his midfield to protect his lead and still catch the Germans on the counterattack. Other countries like to counterattack, but no one does it as attractively as Spain.
The Germans lack consistency, as do the Dutch. The French are in decline, and the Italians must learn that spoiling tactics no longer get results.
Russia, a young team coached by the imaginative and influential Guus Hiddink, came closest to the Spanish way but lost 4-1 and 3-0 to the Spaniards. Brazil and Argentina have the individual players capable of this style but seem unable to find the right combinations.
Roxburgh noted how the Spanish try to keep the ball as long as possible.
``Spain carry the ball close to their heart,'' he said. ``They love the ball and, because they love it, they don't want to give it away and that's the root of their style. Call it possession with progression.''
Spain now has possession of the European Championship. Progression means winning a first World Cup, maybe as early as South Africa in 2010.
