Since nobody else seems to have written anything I feel it my duty as a fan of Spain to say Congratulations to "La Seleccion Espanola " !! The win on penalties last night was absolutely nailbiting stuff and , after 88 years of never winning against Italy , we finally did it !!!
The King ( Juan Carlos ) and the Queen ( Sofia ) were at the match in Vienna and I have NEVER seen the King so animated .. jumping all over the place .
I took a walk down to the Plaza de Colon about 2 hours before the match and it was complete madness ... Wow ... you'd have felt totally proud to be Spanish ! The red and yellow flags were everywhere and even faces and bodies were painted . It was the hottest day of the year too and Madrid's emergency services were all on hand with SAMUR ( ambulances ) setting up mobile medical units .
My flatmate , who hates football ( but loves his country ) was hugging me like crazy when we won and we were out on my balcony , with a big Spanish flag and screaming "Podemos" and " Viva Espana " to the neighbourhood . Madrid was going wild with shouting and fireworks .
Russia next ....
Steve

Yes, congratulations to Spain - not only finally beating the cynical dull Italians, but also beating their own penalty shoot-out jinx in major competitions, always losing on the same date as yesterday - 22 June. Not any more! Great stuff by Casillas saving 2 pens and by Fabregas for cooly slotting home the winner, surprisingly the first competitive penalty he's ever taken - but you wouldn't have guessed it was.

Looking forward now to the semi-final with Russia on Thursday, which should be a much better game than last night, but I don't see it being a repeat of the group game when Spain won 4-1 - Russia have quickly transformed themselves since then into a very good team. But Spain should fear nobody now.

After 37 years I'm finally hooked to the game!
Last night I watched the whole game alone at home (I had been invited to go watch it at a home full of Italian friends, but declined!), and once my poor (very "futbolero") husband landed and got to his hotel in Sweden where he had to work today, he there and me in Switzerland shared the experience of being on the nerve of a heart attack yelling all kinds of "improperios" to the TV screens by way of the telephone line.

Uff, the tension! And in Vienna it must have been as warm as it was and still is here, what I don't know is if the heat there is as humid....anyway, great entertainment and, in my humble opinion, a well deserved victory.
Oh, and let me tell you the Spaniard ex-pats and all the many children of Spanish immigrants from past decades....they feel sooo proud of Spain today!!!

(I had to teach class this morning at 8:00 to a Swiss of Italian parents, and we both were exhausted not having been able to sleep, but for different reasons, he, he!)

Yeah I agree ... The Russia game will not be the pushover it was the last time ! They seem to have got theit act together and Spain now have to fear Russia and maybe Turkey in the long run .
Turkey's always been a bit of a live wire and they are very very dangerous ... Let's see how they do on Wednesday against Germany .
It's funny . My brother , his Russian wife and their 3 daughters all live in Moscow and yet my nieces have been texting me supporting Spain .. Hopefully that's a good omen jejeje

Pim-on-tour .. Yeah I had an invite to watch the match with friends ( 1 American and 1 Spanish ) at their house and/or to join friends ( Spanish ) in Madrid's Plaza de Colon . I declined both coz I'm just a bag of nerves when it comes to such an important game .. Pathetic , i know , but I love this country of Spain and it'll break my heart if they don't win the competition . Difficult days ahead .jejeje

Ole,ole, ole, ole! We watched the game here in San Diego with some Mexican friends, who are also fans of Espana team (since Mexico is obviously not in the Euro cup). SD has a big Italian population and the local restaurants and bars were televising the game, but for Italian supporters, naturally, and I wanted to enjoy the game from the comfort of my own casa....
What a game! My hubby was so excited and might call in sick on Weds. just to watch the next match!
Wish I was in Spain already to be a part of the excitement! :jump:

Jajajajaja yeahhhh Call in Sick ... You know those are the days you'll remember more than the days you have to work .

Even *I* invited one friend over to watch the big game. Another invited friend oddly declined because he felt too anxious to watch it with other humans - or so he said.

And I have to tell you, thanks to the beer and pizza the game was little interesting - but really got exciting at the very end with the free kicks to decide the game. I too jumped up and down when Spain won, hugged my buddy, and shouted as loud as we could. It was a good night and last much longer than expected - as did the game.

You can be sure I'll be watching the semifinal and final games too.

Saludos, MadridMan :jump:

Yep, well done España. They're doing well and trying to play good football too - which has been a theme of this tournament generally, which the exception of the Italians.

Senna I've been really impressed with. Villa and Torres may get the headlines, but Senna and Puyol are essential to Spain's continued success.

The majority of Liverpool is also supporting Spain!