THE PAIN IN SPAIN

Theirs has been one of the teams of the tournament, yet for many Spaniards tomorrow's game with Italy is a fixture to be endured rather than enjoyed. Glenn Moore explains why

88 years of hurt

There is a natural Iberian rivalry between Spain and Portugal but the latter's defeat to Germany in the first Euro 2008 quarter-final was not greeted with any sense of joy by their bigger neighbour. Instead a feeling of foreboding spread from the Costas to the Asturias.

For many, Germany's defeat of nimbler, more attractive opponents was a terrible harbinger of Spain's likely fate in tomorrow's concluding quarter-final against Italy. Like Portugal, Spain are the in-form team. But, also like Portugal, they usually flatter to deceive. Meanwhile, their opponents - like Germany - have a habit of peaking at the right time, and the same ability to get results against the odds.

Adding to the sense of anxiety is Spain's ingrained inferiority complex when it comes to Italy, a feeling that, for all their own good play, the Azzurri's defensive game will win through. Unfortunately for Spain the results bear this out. Only once, in nine major tournaments, have Spain beaten their Mediterranean rivals, and that was in the Olympic Games 88 years ago. Since then, in the Olympics, the European Championships and at World Cups, Italy have had the edge, often controversially so. Though countries of similar size, with clubs of similar standing, Italy's achievements far outstrip Spain's. The Azzurri have won four World Cups and a European Championship. Spain have won the European Championship once, as hosts 44 years ago. Like England the quarter-final stage is usually their nemesis, they have only gone past it once in the World Cup, in 1950, and not in the European Championships since 1984.

Thus, after Luis Aragones' second string had beaten Greece on Wednesday night to take Group D with three straight wins, the mood was fearful rather than jubilant. The night before Italy had completed their escape from Group C and every Spaniard knew the old, one-sided rivalry, was about to be resumed.

"We must have a positive attitude and forget it is Italy," said Aragones. "We have to win and with positive thinking we will."

"It is a revealing line," said John Carlin, a Barcelona-based observer of the Spanish game. "They abhor the pragmatism of Italian football. They are constantly remarking on how much better their football is. They see football the same way as bull-fighting. It is about how you kill the bull, you have to do it with grace and a flourish, not just kill it. To them the Italians are the antithesis of that attitude. Yet Italy keep beating them and even now, when everything tells you they have the better team, a lot of people think they will again."

The players know the stakes, and the history. "This is the moment of truth," added the Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso. "We have faith in our own ability, but we are aware that Italy are world champions. Though they have started poorly their quality is beyond doubt and whenever they have to give their best they perform at a very high level.

"Traditionally, the Italians have difficulties in the group stages, but then they find their best form. This is how it was in the last World Cup, and in Spain in 1982 [when Italy also won the World Cup]." Alonso added: "I would have preferred another opponent, but we beat Italy in a friendly a few months ago."

That victory was one of nine in a row Aragones' side have compiled, equalling a record that dated back to 1927, and part of a 19-match unbeaten run going back to 2006. Nearly all the players involved in the 1-0 win in Elche in March are likely to feature in Vienna tomorrow with two notable exceptions being Italy's midfield axis, Andrea Pirlo and Gennaro Gattuso, who are suspended. Spain also have the advantage in preparation. Aragones has been able to rest almost all his starting line-up since Saturday which, he said, was important as "this competition is compressed into a few days. Players have to have a very good recuperation as they are getting drained as time goes by." But then, Portugal were well rested ahead of their quarter-final.

Spain have been preparing in their Alpine retreat outside Innsbruck. It is a location that should induce a sense of peace but, in recent days, the calm has been broken. Yesterday, in training, Carlos Marchena had to pull fellow defender Sergio Ramos aside after the Real Madrid defender had an angry confrontation with Aragones. Earlier in the week the coach, 69, had reprimanded the 22-year-old for being seen in a bar. Aragones also had to speak to Fernando Torres after the Liverpool striker refused to shake his hand after being substituted, for the third successive international, against Russia.

Any tension between the pair appears to have eased since Torres played the full 90 minutes against Sweden, especially as he scored his first international goal for nine months. Torres and David Villa now have five goals between them at Euro 2008 and their partnership, and the team's form, has silenced the campaign for the restoration of Raul. Though still a fine player the Real Madrid captain's form no longer warrants his inclusion, given the destabilising effect his brooding dressing room presence is believed to have. The old divisions between the players of Real Madrid and Barcelona, and between centrists and federalists, no longer seem as acute, perhaps because of the influence of the Premier League quintet whose travels will have broadened their perspective.