EURO Rewind: Spain become first country to retain their European crown in 2012

In 2012, the Spanish national team not only won their second consecutive European Championship, but also won their third major tournament in a row. In addition to becoming European champions in 2008, they also won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In doing so, Spain equalled Germany's European Championship haul, clinching their third title.

The 2012 squad was similar to the 2008 one, although with slight differences. This time, they were led by a different coach, Vicente del Bosque.

Veterans such as Marcos Senna and Joan Capdevila were also not called up, while Carles Puyol and David Villa - the top scorer at the previous European Championship - missed the tournament through injury.

Despite these details, Spain continued to thrive, confirming that their golden era was going down in history.

Vicente del Bosque

Shortly after the late Luis Aragones retired following his success at Euro 2008, Vicente del Bosque was chosen to continue his successful legacy.

During his playing career, Del Bosque spent most of his time at Real Madrid, where he played almost 350 games and won five titles. He was capped 18 times by the national team and participated in the 1980 European Championship, hosted by Italy.

As a coach, he managed Real Madrid's youth teams, and was assistant and interim coach on several occasions before taking charge of the first team in 1999. In 2003 he was controversially sacked despite winning the league title.

At the time, Del Bosque ruled out any possible links with the national team, preferring to leave for Turkish side Besiktas, where he spent only half a season, with some modest performances.

His move to the national team proved to be a success. He did not focus much on tactics and style of play, with Del Bosque preferring to maintain harmony in the dressing room, at a time when the rivalry between Madrid and Barcelona was at its height. Seven Barca players were present at the finals in Poland and Ukraine, while Real Madrid sent five.

Spain team seen as 'boring'

Winners of Group C, which also included Italy, Croatia and Ireland, Spain scored no fewer than 12 goals in the six matches they played in the entire tournament.

Despite this, the team's football was criticised, as Spain were deemed to be playing a more 'boring' style than in previous editions, despite scoring a plethora of goals, some of them beautifully crafted.

The main reason for this was their performances in the knockouts. In the quarter-finals, Spain beat France 2-0 after a Xabi Alonso brace.

In the semi-finals, they eliminated Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in a penalty shoot-out, after a goalless draw over 120 minutes.

Resounding final victory over Italy

The final took place at the Olympic Stadium in Kiev, the Ukrainian capital.

After their 1-1 draw in the group stage, Spain thrashed the Azzurri 4-0 in the final, thanks to goals from David Silva (14th minute), Jordi Alba (41st), Fernando Torres (84th) and Juan Mata (88th).

At the time, the Italians, with a team made up mainly of Juventus players, were coached by Cesare Prandelli. They reached the final after beating Germany 2-1 in the semi-finals. The Italian hero was the eccentric Mario Balotelli, then 22, who scored a brace.

Iniesta - Player of the tournament

In the previous edition, held in Austria and Switzerland in 2008, there was a clear top scorer - David Villa (4 goals). 

Euro 2012 had no less than six players who finished tied for the top scorer: Mario Mandzukic (Croatia), Mario Gomez (Germany), Mario Balotelli (Italy), Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal), Alan Dzagoev (Russia) and Fernando Torres (Spain).

Each of the above finished the tournament with three goals.

As for the best player of the tournament, this award went to Andres Iniesta. Four years earlier, Barcelona's Xavi was voted the best player in Austria and Switzerland.

Although he did not score a goal, he provided the decisive assist for Jesus Navas in a narrow 1-0 win over Croatia in the group stage, and was incredibly influential throughout.

Spain squad for Euro 2012:

Goalkeepers : Casillas (Real Madrid), Valdes (Barcelona), Reina (Liverpool);

Defenders : Jordi Alba (Valencia), Albiol, Arbeloa and Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Juanfran (Atletico Madrid), Pique (Barcelona) and Javi Martinez (Athletic Bilbao).

Midfielders: Xabi Alonso (Real Madrid), David Silva (Manchester City), Xavi, Iniesta, Busquets and Cesc Fabregas (Barcelona), Cazorla (Malaga), Jesus Navas (Sevilla) and Mata (Chelsea).

Strikers: Fernando Llorente (Athletic Bilbao), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Negredo (Sevilla) and Pedro (Barcelona).

Team of the Tournament

Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas (Spain).

Defenders: Fabio Coentrao (Portugal), Pepe (Portugal), Sergio Ramos (Spain) and Jordi Alba (Spain).

Midfielders: Sami Khedira (Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Italy), Andres Iniesta (Spain) and Xavi Hernandez (Spain).

Strikers: Mario Balotelli (Italy) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal).