2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final

2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final

Event	2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Switzerland Spain 0 2
Date	25 June 2011
Venue	Aarhus Stadion, Aarhus
Man of the Match	Thiago Alcântara (Spain)
Referee	Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)
Attendance	16,110
Weather	Partly cloudy night 16 °C (61 °F) 50% humidity[1]

The 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Final was a football match that took place on 25 June 2011 at the Aarhus Stadion in Aarhus, Denmark, to determine the winner of the 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. Spain defeated Switzerland with 2–0, after goals from Ander Herrera and Thiago.

Route to the final

Switzerland		Round	Spain
Opponent	Result	Group stage	Opponent	Result
Denmark	1–0	Match 1	England	1–1
Iceland	2–0	Match 2	Czech Republic	2–0
Belarus	3–0	Match 3	Ukraine	3–0
Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts   Switzerland 3 3 0 0 6 0 +6 9  Belarus 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3  Iceland 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3  Denmark 3 1 0 2 3 5 −2 3		Final standings	Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts  Spain 3 2 1 0 6 1 +5 7  Czech Republic 3 2 0 1 4 4 0 6  England 3 0 2 1 2 3 −1 2  Ukraine 3 0 1 2 1 5 −4 1
Opponent	Result	Knockout stage	Opponent	Result
Czech Republic	1–0 (aet)	Semi-finals	Belarus	3–1 (aet)

Pre-match

Venue

After a decision made by UEFA in October 2009, the Aarhus Stadion in Aarhus, Denmark, the largest stadium of the four 2011 European Under-21 Championship venues, was selected as the official venue for the final.^[2]

Officials

Paolo Tagliavento of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) was named by UEFA as the official referee of the final.^[3][4] Having worked as a fourth official in November 2004, he was included in the international referees' list in 2007. The same year, in May, Tagliavento officiated his first match, the 2007 European Under-19 Championship Group 1 elite qualifier match between Germany and Republic of Ireland.^[5][6] He was also a referee at the 2007 UEFA Regions' Cup, where he was in charge of three matches, including the final between South-East Region and Lower Silesia.^[7] In July 2007, Tagliavento took charge of his first Champions League match, the 2007–08 Champions League first qualifying round match between Linfield and Elfsborg. He was given his first professional Champions League match in December 2010, the 2010–11 Champions League Group H match between Arsenal and Partizan.^[7] Ahead of the final, Tagliavento had officiated two 2011 European Under-21 Championship matches, one from Group A between Denmark and Belarus and the other from Group B, between Spain and Czech Republic, as well as a total of 17 UEFA Cup and Europa League matches, including a role as an assistant referee in the 2010 Europa League Final between Atlético Madrid and Fulham.^[7]

Tagliavento was joined by assistant referees Damien MacGraith from the Football Association of Ireland and Vytautas Šimkus from the Lithuanian Football Federation, with fourth official Robert Schörgenhofer representing the Austrian Football Association.^[3] MacGrath had earlier been given the role as an assistant referee in two Group A matches, Switzerland and Iceland, and Iceland and hosts Denmark and one Group B match, between Czech Republic and Ukraine, and also the second semi-final match between Switzerland and Czech Republic, while Šimkus was tasked with two Group A matches, Denmark and Switzerland and Switzerland and Belarus and one Group B match, between Ukraine and England, as well as the first semi-final match between Spain and Belarus. Prior to the final, Schörgenhofer was also the fourth official of the Group B match between Ukraine and Spain, as well as handling the second Group A match between Denmark and Switzerland, the third Group B match between Czech Republic and Spain, and the semi-final match between Switzerland and Czech Republic.

Match ball

Adidas Speedcell was the official match ball selected for the final. The ball was used throughout the tournament, and features a futuristic red and white coloured design, in honour of the Denmark flag. It features eleven lines, which denotes the eleven players on the pitch, with the official competition emblem located between the ball.^[1]

Opening ceremony

The opening ceremony consisted of volunteers were seen holding balloons, and then releasing them throughout the sky over the stadium,^{[8][9][10][11]} A field march was also performed, as they were seen holding flags, which pictured every participating team in the tournament.^[12]

Match

Details

Switzerland   v  Spain

25 June 2011 20:45

Switzerland	0–2	Spain
	Report	Herrera  41' Thiago  81'

Aarhus Stadion, Aarhus Attendance: 16,110[13] Referee: Paolo Tagliavento (Italy)

Switzerland[1]

Spain[1]

GK 1 Yann Sommer (c) RB 2 Philippe Koch CB 15 Timm Klose CB 5 Jonathan Rossini LB 23 Gaetano Berardi  61' DM 6 Fabian Lustenberger  16' RM 10 Xherdan Shaqiri CM 14 Granit Xhaka  67' CM 9 Fabian Frei  54' LM 7 Innocent Emeghara  53' CF 11 Admir Mehmedi Substitutions: FW 19 Mario Gavranović  53' MF 18 Amir Abrashi  54' MF 4 Pajtim Kasami  67' Manager: Pierluigi Tami

GK 13 David de Gea  90+4' RB 12 Martín Montoya CB 20 Alberto Botía CB 3 Álvaro Domínguez LB 17 Dídac Vilà DM 4 Javi Martínez (c)  77' RM 10 Juan Mata CM 19 Thiago CM 18 Ander Herrera  90' LM 22 Iker Muniain  85' CF 7 Adrián  80' Substitutions: FW 6 Jeffrén  80' MF 8 Dani Parejo  85' MF 11 Diego Capel  90' Manager: Luis Milla

Man of the Match: Thiago (Spain)[14] Assistant referees: Damien MacGraith (Republic of Ireland)[1] Vytautas Šimkus (Lithuania)[1] Fourth official: Robert Schörgenhofer (Austria)[1]

References

1. "Tactical Line-ups – Final – Switzerland-Spain" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
2. Suhr, Erik (21 October 2009). "Århus får EM-finalen for U21 landshold". Aarhus Municipality (in Danish). Retrieved 4 July 2012.
3. "UEFA announces referee team for Under-21 final". UEFA.com (Union of European Football Associations). 23 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
4. Hart, Patrick (24 June 2011). "Referee Tagliavento delighted to make final cut". UEFA.com (Aarhus: Union of European Football Associations). Retrieved 4 July 2012.
5. "Nine-man Germany hold on". UEFA.com (Union of European Football Associations). 16 May 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
6. "Tactical Line-ups – Elite round – Germany-Republic of Ireland". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 16 May 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
7. "Paolo Tagliavento referee profile". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
8. "Balloons over Aarhus". 25 June 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
9. "Balloons over Aarhus – Image 2". Flickr. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
10. "Balloons over Aarhus – Image 3". Flickr. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
11. "Balloons over Aarhus – Image 4". Flickr. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
12. "Opening ceremony". Flickr. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 4 July 2012.
13. "Full-time report – Final – Switzerland-Spain" (PDF). UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
14. "Carlsberg Sport Man of the Match Award – Thiago Alcántara – Spain". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 25 June 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2012.

External links

• 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Championship history at Union of European Football Associations