Caught in Possession

"The first was simply a question of timing his run, so that Torres would see him in time. The second was exquisite, as was the pass from Iniesta that found him. Villa stayed level with the Russian line until the vital moment when his sprint into space enabled the pass from Iniesta - a pass so perfect that Villa only had to poke the ball into the net first time. The pass invited the single touch and sold the goalkeeper completely.

The third was different again, chasing forward from deep to receive an angled pass from Fabregas then tricking his way inside one defender and finishing intelligently, low at the near post...."

That's Phil Ball this week, waxing poetic about David Villa's hat trick in Spain's Euro 2008 opener against Russia. Undoubtedly worth a read -- just as the action is worth a look, while you can.

Having spent much of the past week on the road between DC and Austin to mark the 07 June onset of my fourth decade on earth, I've been badly Euro-deprived thus far. But displays like that Spain-Russia match are a welcome reminder of why Euro is the purest tournament in world footie these days. I'll be watching La Furia Roja -- the sublime, indefatigable Andres Iniesta, most especially -- and calculating how many light-years remain before the soccer played within our own CONCACAF region matches up.