Traditionally a match between Italy and Spain has always been a clash of cultures - the defensive, pragmatic and tactical Azzurri pitting their wits against the attacking, and more entertaining, yet less effective Spanish.

This rivalry has always served as a lesson to football purists that pretty football does not always succeed, and indeed results-wise substance is always more important than style.  

Comparing the World Cup records of these two teams certainly supports this theory. In 18 World Cups, La Seleccion’s best result is fourth, back in 1950, while aside from this they have only reached four quarter-finals.  

Italy, on the other hand, have won the trophy four times, finished runners-up twice, fourth once, while also reaching another semi-final and quarter-final.  

It must be pointed out though that the two countries’ record in the European Championships is relatively even, with both winning and finishing runners-up on one occasion each, even if Italy have also reached two semi-finals.  

While Italy have always tended to produce their best when it really matters, i.e. during tournaments, the opposite has been true of Spain, who are historically portrayed as ‘chokers’.  

In total, Italy and Spain have met 27 times, with the Azzurri winning nine, Spain seven, and 11 ending in draws.    

These statistics would suggest that there hasn’t been too much to separate the sides over the years. In reality however, La Nazionale have never lost to Spain in a competitive match.  

1934  

The first big meeting between the sides was in the 1934 World Cup quarter-final in Florence. The two sides drew 1-1, Real Madrid star Luis Regueiro opening the scoring, before ex-Juventus hero Giovanni Ferrari equalised. In the replay, Italy won 1-0, with the only goal scored by the legendary Giuseppe Meazza on 12 minutes. The Azzurri would go on to lift the trophy on home soil, much to the delight of Fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.  

1980  

It was almost half-a-century before the two sides met again in a competitive encounter, at the 1980 European Championships, also held in Italy. Both teams were paired in Group B, and played in Milan in the stadium now bearing Giuseppe Meazza’s name. The game finished goalless, Spain then lost their next two games to finish bottom of the group, while Italy ended the tournament in fourth place, having finished second in the group behind Belgium, and having lost 9-8 on penalties to Czechoslovakia in the third-and-fourth playoff.  

1988  

Eight years later Italy again met Spain in the group stages of the European Championships. An extremely young Italy side, with an average age of just 23, and that contained a 19-year-old wonderkid called Paolo Maldini, drew their first match of Group A against hosts West Germany. Spain meanwhile impressed by beating tournament whipping-boys Denmark.  

Spain knew that a draw would be a good result for them going into their second game against Italy in Frankfurt, and looked like they were going to achieve this until Gianluca Vialli struck with 17 minutes remaining for the only goal of the game. Spain bowed out after then losing to West Germany, while Italy defeated Denmark, before being eliminated by the USSR in rain-drenched Stuttgart in the semi-final.  

1994  

The final competitive game between the sides to date, and the most famous, came in the quarter-finals of the 1994 World Cup in America. Italy had grinded their way into the last eight, having been seconds away from elimination against Nigeria, only for Roberto Baggio to save them. Spain meanwhile had breezed through comfortably, and had thrashed Switzerland 3-0 in the last 16.  

Dino Baggio opened the scoring for Arrigo Sacchi’s men with a long-range thunderbolt, only for Jose Luis Caminero to equalise just shy of the hour mark. The game seemed destined for extra time, until that man Roberto Baggio again made his mark, latching onto a through pass, and rounding Andoni Zubizaretta in trademark fashion to send Italy into the semis.  

The game was completely overshadowed however by one of the most infamous moments in the history of the World Cup. Italy hardman Mauro Tassotti viciously elbowed Luis Enrique in the jaw right on the final whistle. The assault was so bad that Enrique reportedly lost a pint of blood from his face as a result. The action was missed by the referee, but Tassotti was later banned for eight games, thus missing the semi-final, and final, which Italy of course lost to Brazil on penalties.  

Since this meeting Italy and Spain have played three friendlies. In 1998 Filippo Inzaghi (2), Javier De Pedro and Raul all scored in a 2-2 draw in Salerno. Two years later Spain then beat Italy 2-0 in Barcelona, Alfonso and Abelardo getting on the scoresheet. The final match between these sides came in a pre Euro 2004 warm-up in Genova. Fernando Torres opened the scoring for La Seleccion early in the second half, only for Christian Vieri to equalise three minutes later to earn a 1-1 draw.

Carlo Garganese

 

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