Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon has admitted that his side were completely outclassed by Spain in tonight's Euro 2012 final.
Goals from David Silva, Jordi Alba, Fernando Torres and Juan Mata ended the Azzurri's dreams of winning their first European championship since 1968.
Despite the 4-0 defeat, Buffon believes that his country should be proud of their campaign.
"Tonight, there was no contest. They were too superior so the bitterness at losing this final is only relative," said the 34-year-old Juventus goalkeeper.
"It was a great adventure. In a final, you have to win but today we played against a team of incredible quality."
Italy were unbeaten in all three of their Group C matches and, after qualifying alongside Spain, they overcame England on penalties in the last eight and then beat Germany 2-1 in the semi-finals.
Written by
Robert Summerscales
Robert Summerscales
