Spain inflict more penalty misery on Italy
VIENNA (Reuters) - For two teams with such painful memories of penalties Spain and Italy showed precious little desire to avoid them on Sunday but few could argue with Cesc Fabregas when he described his side's win as "football justice".
A deadly dull 120 minutes provided no goals and precious little entertainment but that hardly mattered to the delirious Spanish fans when substitute Fabregas scored the decisive kick in Spain's 4-2 shootout triumph.
The victory ended their quarter-final penalty hoodoo, having lost three previous shootouts on June 22, and also meant they were the only one of the four group winners to advance to the Euro 2008 semi-finals.
Like the three who failed before them, Spain struggled to reproduce the form of the group phase, although they were more positive than an Italian team who looked to be playing for penalties from the kickoff.
Chances were few and far between and even when Fabregas came on after 59 minutes and added a touch of zest to the midfield, the final ball was still almost always inaccurate.
Italy seemed incapable of upping their own pace and their tactic of hoisting long balls to Luca Toni rarely looked like bringing any joy as the big striker appeared heavy-legged and was well shackled.
The drift towards penalties had an inevitability about it but neither set of fans could have been looking forward to it.
The Italians are world champions on the back of their shootout win over France two years ago but even that success could not completely erase the pain they had suffered previously from the seemingly simple act of trying to score from 12 meters.
WORLD CUPS
In three successive World Cups they were on the wrong side of a shootout, in the semis on home soil in 1990, in the final against Brazil in 1994 and the quarter-finals four years later.
Spain have been almost as bad. Having got off to a good start in the 1984 European Championship when they won their semi-final on penalties, they lost in the quarter-finals to hosts England in 1996.
In the World Cup they lost in the quarter-finals in 1986 and 2002, the latter particularly frustrating having got through the previous round on penalties.
When Turkey beat Croatia in a shootout in the same Vienna stadium two days ago, the result was almost a foregone conclusion as the Croats tried to prepare while still shell-shocked from conceding Turkey's last-kick equalizer.
This time there was no obvious favorite and with both teams having their captains in goal, saves always seemed likely.
Gianluigi Buffon, who had kept Italy in the tournament with his late block of Adrian Mutu's penalty for Romania in the group stage, stopped a poor effort from Daniel Guiza.
But it was Iker Casillas who took the plaudits by denying Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale.
Fabregas added the coup de grace and few can deny him and his compatriots the right, for once, to wake up with a smile on June 23.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez)
