5) Antonio Conte, the tactical mastermind
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Italian manager Antonio Conte deserves all the plaudits for setting Italy up in a way that was bound to keep Spain quiet. A rock-solid three-man defence, a sitting midfielder, two full-backs providing width and a striking duo upfront indeed turned out to be the perfect foil for a Spanish side who rely on their attacking midfielders to work their way through the hearts of defences.
They did not provide the Spaniards any breathing pace whatsoever and always had someone available to intercept a potential killer-pass from Iniesta or David Silva. When del Bosque’s side showed the urgency in the last 20 minutes, the experience of their defensive quintet (Buffon, Bonucci, Barzagli, Chiellini and de Rossi) made their experience do the talking and absorbed all the pressure quite superbly.
The departing manager will definitely be a huge miss from the Italian dugout when he joins Chelsea in the summer. Blues fans will never be more excited at the prospect of Conte’s arrival to turn their fortunes around based on Italy’s perfect set-up which he masterminded.
