As Cesc Fàbregas walked up to face Gianluigi Buffon – and strike the penalty that would put Spain into their first senior semi-final for 24 years – what was running through his head was the fact he had not taken a proper spot-kick since he was 15.

Mental obstacle
If only Buffon had known. Eventually the ball went one way and Italy’s goalkeeper the other. Spain had defeated the world champions and rid themselves of many of their notorious mental obstacles to success. But that was not the whole story, not by a long way. Firstly, the midfielder almost missed. “It’s true this was the first senior competitive penalty of my career,” he grinned. “But when I practise, I have a tendency to put it to the keeper’s left. However, this time, and I don’t know why, I just hesitated a split-second longer than usual before pulling the trigger and I sensed Buffon moving to his left. I changed my mind, struck it to his right and the fact he’d just moved, momentarily, did the job. I just wanted to score, to finish them off. Life sometimes presents you with the challenge of your country needing you and that was mine.”

Assured performance
Not only did Fàbregas win the match and end Spain’s seemingly perpetual block at playing Italy competitively, at getting past the quarter-finals of tournaments and at winning penalty shoot-outs; he also performed with energy and assurance when he came on for Xavi Hernández after 60 minutes. Some judges would now find a way to break up Luis Aragonés’s winning XI and make sure the Arsenal FC man plays no matter what. Yet even in the euphoria of sharing the post-match dressing room with King Juan Carlos of Spain, who came in to celebrate with the squad, Fàbregas played a blinder, saying: “There has been so much talk about my being a substitute, about my attitude and my form, but all I want is to help my country. If the boss wants to go with the same starting lineup, if he wants me on in the first minute or the last, for extra time or penalties, I’ll be there for him, ready to contribute. And if he decides to leave me out because he thinks that’s what is needed, I won’t change my attitude either.”

Final goal
Aside from his innate talent and what Arsène Wenger has managed to impart to him at Arsenal’s training ground, one of the 21-year-old’s most valuable assets is a tremendous hunger for success. With the talk of jinxes having been scrapped, the Catalan is clear about what should happen next. “Neither Spain nor I came to this tournament simply to get the monkey off our backs regarding quarter-finals. We are here to win and we think we can do it. This is just one tiny step forward and anyone who believes they are going to see the same sort of Russia performance as in the first game is very much mistaken. There’s lots still to be done.”

After overcoming “high emotions” when making his UEFA European Championship debut against Romania on Friday, Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini is preparing for another stiff challenge, in the form of France danger men Franck Ribéry and Thierry Henry.

Promising pair
Chiellini was given his first taste of action in a major senior tournament when he was drafted into Roberto Donadoni’s Azzurri lineup for the 1-1 draw against Romania on Friday. One of five changes to the side which lost 3-0 against the Netherlands, Chiellini confessed the tension was high before the match at the Letzigrund Stadion in Zurich, but he forged a promising partnership in central defence alongside Christian Panucci, for whom he even set up the equalising goal. “Before the match I felt very emotional to be playing but then when I got on the pitch I just tried to concentrate on the match,” Chiellini said. “However, there’s no doubt the emotions were high. It takes a little while to get to know one another [in a new partnership] but Christian and I both went out of our way to help each other out and in the end it went pretty well for us.”

Buffon buffer
The 23-year-old full-back also recognises the importance of having a good goalkeeper to come to the rescue in times of need, and according to Chiellini, they do not come much better than his Juventus team-mate Gianluigi Buffon, who saved Adrian Mutu’s 81st-minute penalty to keep Italy’s UEFA EURO 2008™ hopes alive. “I’m very lucky I have him behind me all year round and he definitely makes you feel very safe and he always helps me out.” Italy are also hoping the Netherlands help them out in their final group match against Romania. An Azzurri win against France would take them into the quarter-finals provided the Oranje avoid defeat in Berne.”We’re better off not thinking about it because it would be a big mistake to waste energy thinking about the Netherlands against Romania,” said the centre-half, who has won eleven caps for his country. “Our match will be hard enough as it is as France are a tough side and we must think about them.

‘Dangerous players’
“From my point of view Franck Ribéry and Thierry Henry are the two most dangerous players. France are a great side and the match on Tuesday will be really tough. I saw their match against the Netherlands and when they were 1-0 down they had a couple of chances to equalise. They even had a good penalty shout turned down so they are not as bad as all that. Their result wasn’t a fair reflection of the match. They are a side to fear and respect but we’ll try to beat them.”

A veil of secrecy hung over the Italy camp on Thursday evening as they prepared for their crucial Group C tie with Romania at the Letzigrund Stadion.

Great form
Roberto Donadoni spoke of making major changes to the side that had lost 3-0 to the Netherlands on Monday, but was giving little away as he fielded questions from the massed ranks of Italian journalists. All he would confirm was that Giorgio Chiellini would start in defence and that Alessandro Del Piero would indeed be captaining the side. Del Piero’s inclusion has been an open secret since he brought Italy to life after coming on as a substitute against the Netherlands. He showed enough to keep his place in the side and now Italy’s most-capped player, with 87 appearances, will take over from goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as skipper. It is a remarkable turnaround for a player who was only on the fringe of coach Donadoni’s plans at the turn of the year, but whose superb form since for Juventus has forced the Azzurri coach’s hand.

‘Turnaround’
“The fact there was a chance I would not make it into the squad and now I am captain for the game somehow reflects the reality of the last couple of months,” the 33-year-old said. “Now I just need to look ahead to this game without any pressure to perform, approaching it just like I would in the league.” Do that and Italy could have plenty to thank him for. Del Piero scored ten times in the final six weeks of the season to finish the Serie A campaign wth 21 goals and will be looking to provide a similar spark for the Azzurri on Friday. “We have all worked very hard together to prepare for this match,” he said. “Now we will need to transform our desire into positive results. When the expectations are high, we usually play at our best. Keeping cool heads is important, but we do that in every game. We need a boost and we’ll play with heart.”

‘Difficult group’
Del Piero’s relaxed demeanour belied the pressure on the Azzurri ahead of a match they cannot afford to lose if they are to reach the quarter-finals. The reaction to the loss to the Netherlands back home has been one of anger, but right-back Gianluca Zambrotta is determined his side will make amends aganst Romania. “We made some mistakes in the first game but we also did some things well towards the end and created some good chances,” he said. “I think we just need to improve our mentality a bit to be successful. We knew this would be a very difficult group.”