left-back, especially against sides that defend with two banks of four (when the opposition full-backs get sucked inside by the Silva and Iniesta, and the opposition wide midfielders get drawn into the midfield battle). Here, however, the Italian wing-backs simply had to track the Spain full-backs, so neither Alba nor Arbeloa had a great attacking impact on the game. Spain should have stretched Italy's back three with width from higher up, attempting to drag out of position. On the other, the lack of verticality was shocking -- Spain were content to play in front of Italy, and despite the fact they often worked the ball into a position between the lines, the next pass was never available, as no-one was making a run in behind. Many of Spain's attempts were blocked, as they shot without trying to get past the Italian back three. Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci were brave with their positioning and aggressive with their tackling, happy to close down Iniesta and Silva quickly. De Rossi stayed behind and swept up -- sometimes he was rash with his tackling, but he read the game excellently. In theory, Italy should have been nervous at the back with no spare man -- but then with Spain's 'forwards' always making runs into midfield to make a 4 v 3 in that zone, Italy usually did have a spare man. One incident involving Silva summed it up -- a pass was fired into his feet, and he would have had a clear