Captain’s hat trick powers Spain to Under-21 trophy

Spain’s captain scored three goals and helped his team dominate Italy 4-2 to take home the UEFA Under-21 European crown Tuesday night in front of a sold-out crowd of 29,320 in Jerusalem.

Thiago Alcantara became the first player to score a hat trick in an Under-21 final since 1994, and did so within the first 36 minutes of the match.

The match started off quickly, with both teams scoring a goal in the first 10 minutes. But Spain soon after took the lead for a second time and never looked back.

Alcantara struck first in the sixth minute, putting the three-time European Under-21 champions ahead 1-0 with a perfect cross ball from Alvaro Mortata.

In the 10th minute, Italian midfielder Ciro Immobile’s shot tied the score up at 1-1.

Spain again took the lead in the 31st minute with a second goal from Alcantra, who fired a bullet past Italian keeper Francesco Bardi.

The third goal, however, was mired in controversy, as Italian defender Guilio Dontai was booked in the penalty box for tackling Spanish forward Cristian Tello. After viewing the play over and over on instant replay, it became clear that Dontai’s tackle on Tello was clean and that Slovenian referee Matej Jug had made a mistake.

The call was not changed and Alcantara was called upon to kick the penalty. He easily converted and put his team up 3-1 before the half-time whistle.

In the second half, the Italians still seemed stunned from the call made at the end of the first half, but continued to fight and try to keep Spain off the scoring board.

In the 64th minute, Vasco Regini committed a clear penalty on Spain’s star striker Alvaro Montoya. Isco easily scored the penalty kick and gave the Spanish a 4-1 lead with less than 30 minutes left.

Fifteen minutes later, the Italians provided their fans some excitement as they scored their second goal of the match. A strike to the bottom right corner, by Fabio Borini, narrowed the gap.

But Italy was unable to capitalize after its second goal, and the match ended with Spain winning 4-2. In the process, the Spanish became back-to-back champions of the Under-21 Championship after winning the title in 2011 as well.

Keepers on both sides made high-flying stops early in the game.

In the 16th minute, Italian goalkeeper Francesco Bardi made a spectacular stop after Alvaro Morta tried to slip the ball past him.

Later, after several Spanish attacks on goal, the Italian midfield provided a perfect pass to Allesandro Florenzi, who flicked the ball over his defender and shot a rocket at Spanish keeper David de Gea. De Gea, Manchester United’s starting goalkeeper, made a phenomenal leap to save, keeping the match squared at 1-1.

The 2013 European Under-21 Championship, which many analysts in Israel consider to be the most prestigious sporting tournament to ever be staged here, was officially tabbed as a success by UEFA president Michel Platini.

“The surfaces are great; there is a nice atmosphere. I give a grade of 9.5,” he said. Platini also said he was impressed by the organization of the tournament. “The organization was good and I want to say thank you also to the 450 volunteers who worked and contributed. I think Israel can all be proud of the organization of the tournament. “