Spanish captain Iker Casillas lifts the trophy after playing his 100th international match; the first player to accomplish that.

WE DID IT.

Spain is the first national team to ever win three international tournaments in a row. IN.A.ROW.

La Roja won the 2008 Euro Championship after  a 1-nil victory against Germany with a goal by Fernando Torres. They also won the 2010 World Cup after a lone goal by Andres Iniesta in the 116′ of extra time against the Netherlands.

And today, well, Spain pulled a three-peat after scoring four goals against their Group C counterparts, Italy. In an intense match-up between Spain and Italy, all eyes were on La Roja as they set out to lift their third international trophy, as the best soccer dynasty ever.

Fourteen minutes in David Silva scored a beautiful header from a pass from Cesc Fabregas, putting the Spaniards up early.  Italy faced some setbacks as Giorgio Chielinni was subbed out in the 21′ for Federico Balzaretti.

The Italians had a strong backline who fought hard with Spain’s three forwards Cesc Fabregas, David Silva and Andres Iniesta. But it wasn’t strong enough for Jordi Alba who found the back of the net in the 41′. When the ref blew the whistle, Spain were already up 2-nil.

The second half turned out to be devastating for Italy, who fell behind Spain’s passing and pace. Antonio Di Natale came on for Cassano, bringing the much needed fire for Italy. But another hard hit would come for the Italians after a hamstring injury caused sub Thiago Motta to be pulled off the pitch, leaving opportunities for Spain against an Italian team with 10 men.

Vicente Del Bosque, who now holds Euro, World Cup, Champions League and La Liga championships, decided to bring on a true striker as Fernando Torres took Cesc Fabregas’ place. Nine minutes later, El Nino scored Spain’s third goal. But it didn’t stop there folks! Juan Mata made his first appearance in the tournament in the 87′ only to score the final goal a minute after entering the pitch. The assist Torres provided made him the Golden Boot winner ahead of Germany’s Mario Gomez.

Italy had an amazing tournament but in the end, they couldn’t cope with La Roja’s incisive attacking play and beautiful passing, who also set the record of being the first team to win a Euro final by a four-goal margin.

Needless to say, Spain is one of the best national teams in the world. Not just by their accomplishments but by how they make them. People might say they are “boring” or “dull,” well they are far from that. They have set a standard to how beautiful football should be played by being innovators of meticulous passing.

No doubt this is the just the beginning of what promises to be a very accomplished Spanish national team.

Photo courtesy of UEFA

I think I speak for every football fan out there when I say that no one likes penalties.

Today was no different as Spain moved to the finals after out scoring Portugal in the dreaded penalty kicks.

Honesty, Portugal was the better team throughout the match. Plain and simple. And as a La Roja supporter since I was born, I know that we didn’t deserve to win the way we did.

The first half was all Portugal as they beat Spain at their own game, with 44% possession and brilliant opportunities. Pepe and Bruno Alves were astounding on the Portuguese backline with continuity and fluidity. Rui Patricio was even better in the net this match.

The only question that lingers is why did Paulo Bento leave Cristiano Ronaldo last in the line to take penalties? Had he been first, things could have turned out differently.

To those who said that the Portuguese wouldn’t make it out of the group stage, re-evaluate your thinking. Portugal is definitely an underdog, but they show more passion and play exciting football and there’s no doubt that this is the beginning of an era for them.

As for Spain, they were showing some tiredness in the first half. They found their stride in the PKs, especially Sergio Ramos, who had a very Pirlo-esque penalty, making him the Man of the Match.

A lot of controversy was surrounding La Roja these past few weeks with the deductions made by coach Vicente del Bosque.

Who will be the striker? Will there even be a striker? What about Fernando Llorente? The Athletic Bilbao striker is by far the best that the Spanish National Team has, yet he has seen ZERO minutes so far in the tournament.

Something tells me this was all part of VDB’s master plan, keep the Lion tamed until we reach the final, then let him loose to wreak havoc. Well, I hope that’s the reason because Spain really need to change their play if they are forced to face Germany.

La Roja have always been great at football, thanks to this generation, however we lack exciting football. We need change.

Tomorrow Germany play Italy at 2:45pm ET. The winner will face Spain in the final on Sunday.

Until then, may the best team win!

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer for all your continuing Euro coverage!

Photos courtesy of UEFA.com.

 The newest writer to Aerys Soccer Kendall Schoendienst will break down the groups for this year’s Euros and give you her thoughts on who to watch out for. Group C has two top favorites, Spain and Italy. But Croatia and Ireland are forces to be reckoned with. Read on to find out Kendall’s thoughts of the group! 

Now that the Group of Death is finished for the day, let’s get to the breakdown of Group C!

Group C: Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Spain

Spain and Italy are favorites to go through out of this group, but don’t write-off Croatia and Ireland. This is a tough group to call because the pressure is all on Spain and Italy, and they are dealing with internal problems — players missing and match-fixing to name a few.

Croatia has had some growing pains but they have quality players and a passionate coach in Slaven Bilic. Bilic is rumored to leave the job after the tournament and end his 6-year tenure at Tottenham. Captain Darijo Srna and Nikica Jelavic are both vital in Croatia’s attack and the team will look to them for goals. Croatia could upset Italy or Spain, but probably not both.

The most tenacious and gritty of the group, Ireland, will rely on experience to push them through the group stage. A familiar squad of veterans will take to the pitch and in turn will be stacked with leadership and confidence. Robbie Keane is the game changer for the Irish. He is the scoring machine for the team and if he fails to find the back of the net, then it could be an ugly campaign for the Irish. This team can grind out results and the entire country will travel over and make it feel like the Irish are playing at home. My concern is they could be one dimensional and that in turn doesn’t give Coach Giovanni Trapattoni many options.

Italy have been resurrected and re-invented since their disheveled and embarrassing display in South Africa two years ago. Italy has always been known for their superb defense and rather conservative attack. Coach Cesare Prandelli has been using a very innovative and surprising 4-3-1-2 formation. It enables the midfield to play a role in the attack and still stick to the Italian way of playing. Goalkeeper Buffon and the backline are very solid, but Italy lacks in finishing power. Prandelli will look to youngster Mario Balotelli (a.k.a. Bibotelli. Youtube it, it will change your life) for goals. But Balotelli is a huge liability and is likely to fly off the handle at a whim’s notice.

Spain certainly needs no introduction. The 2008 European Champions and 2010 World Cup title holders are on the hunt to be the first country to win back-to-back-to-back titles. Critics question whether the desire and hunger are still present. Espana has to overcome the absence of goal scoring phenomenon David Villa. Fernando Torres could be the point man but is the image of warming a bench in South Africa still haunting him? Also, Puyol will be missing in the backline and the likely option to replace him is Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos. Spain has a very deep bench and whoever boss Vicente del Bosque chooses to play up top will be supported by the most talented midfield in the tournament.

Predictions: 1. Spain 2. Italy 3. Ireland 4. Croatia

In their last friendly before the Euros next week, Spain had to face China in Seville. La Furia Roja were expected to put up big numbers but fell short, scoring the only goal in the 85th minute. However, entering the Euros, Spain has three international wins under their belts before facing Italy next Sunday.

The first period was in favor of China with Zheng Zhi almost netting in two goals but couldn’t get the ball past keeper Iker Casillas. The World Champions looked better in the second as both Raul Albiol and Andres Iniesta had chances infront of the net. The lone goal came from a 4-man run by Andres Iniesta who perfectly squared the ball to teammate David Silva.

This was the first match for Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao players, who were left out of the past two matches due to their Copa del Rey final last week. But Vicente del Bosque only chose to play Xavi and defender, Sergio Busquets.

It was a special moment for Spain’s keeper Iker Casillas who made his international debut for the NT exactly 12 years ago under coach  Jose Antonio Camacho, who just so happens to coach China.

As for the Euros, Spain are looking to defend their title after winning in 2008. With injuries to both Carles Puyol and David Villa and the questionable forms of Fernando Torres and Xavi , La Roja will have to prove themselves the best against their group opponents, Ireland and Italy. The Spaniards are favored to win Olympic gold later this summer as well.

The key in Spain’s success this summer lies in coach Vicente del Bosque, who as a former defender, is known for his very tactical plays. If Fernando Llorente stays up front, bringing his aerial ability, Spain will be a threat against their group.

Spain face Italy at PGE Arena Gdansk on Sunday at noon, which promises to be very entertaining.

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer for all your Euro 2012 coverage!

La Liga

Second ranked Barcelona faces Rayo Vallecano at 3pm ET which you can watch on ESPN3.com!

The RFEF announced yesterday that the abandoned match between Granada – Mallorca will be completed on December 7th after the match was cut short due to an injury to a linesman. The match will pick up where it left off, with Granada leading 2-1.

English Premier League

David Beckham, former Manchester United player, stated that the Red Devil’s crosstown rivals, Manchester City have ‘no chance’ in winning the Premier League Title this season, favoring his former club to lift the trophy. Beckham lifted his own trophy with his MLS club, the LA Galaxy this year, but could leave LA for the likes of AC Milan or Paris Saint-Germain in January when his contract expires.

Seems like a good time to pick at Manchester City this week. Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger,  have warned the Citizens to look out for Arsenal as they’ll try to knock them out of the League Cup. Wenger believes his club has ‘more experience and can step up during the match. Well this Gooner hopes you’re right Arsene.

Major League Soccer

Adios Los Angeles. Bienvenue a Montreal! Donovan Ricketts heads to Canada. Yes that’s right, the new club to enter the MLS circuit, the Montreal Impact, made an impact (no pun intended) when they picked up the Jamaican keeper who was acquired by the LA Galaxy before the ’09 season. Ricketts will leave the Galaxy with 77 appearances, making 226 saves, allowing 70 goals and sealing 27 shutouts in his three seasons with the club.

Seth Sinovic contemplated retiring at the ripe age of 24 had he been drafted to the Montreal Impact during the expansion draft. Lucky for him, he was drafted, but was traded back to his hometown (and club) Sporting Kansas City with allocation money in exchange for midfielder Davy Arnaud.

Serie A

Okay when I saw the video that AC Milan posted on their Facebook of Pato, Robinho and Thiago Silva singing, I knew I had to post it on here. Mostly because the song they’re singing has been stuck in my head for the past month. It’s called ‘Ai Se Eu Te Pego’ by Michel Telo. In Portuguese it means ‘If I’ll Get You There,” and it was made famous (well for me anyways) when Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo & Marcelo danced to it during a goal celebration in their match against Malaga. Excuse me while I go dance and sing this song now.

Spanish National Team

Vicente Del Bosque will resume as Spain’s coach through the 2014 World Cup campaign! Del Bosque’s contract was set to expire after Euro but RFEF (Spanish Football Federation) President Angel Villar convinced him to stay longer. HOORAY!