The record of Spanish men’s teams in major finals since 2002 is quite remarkable. With Spain adding another victory in the Euro 2024 final, we take a look at all 27 finals won by Spanish teams in that time.
Sunday saw Spain beat England 2-1 in the final of Euro 2024.
La Roja were the most impressive side throughout the tournament, and despite a scare when Cole Palmer equalised after Nico Williams’ opener in Berlin, Mikel Oyarzabal won it for Spain late on.
It could have gone either way, though, right? In a one-off game between two sides good enough to reach a final, doesn’t it basically become 50-50?
Well, in a final that involves Spanish teams, it seems not.
When it comes to the Spain men’s national team and La Liga sides, they are near enough invincible in major finals.
Taking into account World Cups, European Championships, Champions League and the UEFA Cup/Europa League, of the last 27 men’s finals involving Spanish teams, all 27 have had Spanish winners.
That’s not to say all Spanish sides have won; four have been defeated in that time, but in all cases they have been beaten by fellow La Liga sides.
You have to go all the way back to 2001 to last see a non-Spanish team beat a Spanish one in a major final, and it happened twice.
Liverpool beat Alavés 5-4 in the UEFA Cup final with an own goal that also happened to be a golden goal in extra-time. If that wasn’t agonising enough, Valencia then lost the Champions League final to Bayern Munich on penalties a week later.
It seems the whole of Spain sat back in their seat like NBA and Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan and said: “And I took that personally.”
Here, we take a quick look at each of those 27 finals, which include 10 against English teams.
1. Real Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen – 2002 Champions League Final
The match that started it all; Real Madrid took on the surprise package of the 2001-02 Champions League campaign, Bayer Leverkusen, in the final at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Raúl gave Los Blancos an early lead but Klaus Toppmöller’s side showed the spirit that had become a feature of their season as Lúcio soon equalised.
It took a moment of genius to decide the game, with Zinedine Zidane putting Madrid ahead by firing in an iconic volley from outside the box just before half-time, and it would prove to be the winning goal in Scotland.
2. Valencia 2-0 Marseille – 2004 UEFA Cup Final
Rafael Benítez’s Valencia overcame Marseille in the UEFA Cup final in Gothenburg, with Vicente’s penalty in first-half stoppage time giving them the lead.
Vicente turned provider just before the hour when he set up Mista to double Valencia’s lead and seal victory, adding to their La Liga success that season.
3. Sevilla 4-0 Middlesbrough – 2006 UEFA Cup Final
The Premier League side had made a habit of dramatic comebacks to find themselves in the UEFA Cup final, but that was very much where momentum ran out for Middlesbrough and Steve McClaren in Eindhoven.
A Boro team that included Gareth Southgate and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink – now of England’s coaching staff – was soundly beaten thanks to goals from Luís Fabiano and Frédéric Kanouté either side of a brace from recently-appointed Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca.
Southgate played against Jesús Navas that day, who could line up for Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final.
4. Barcelona 2-1 Arsenal – 2006 Champions League Final
Despite a red card for goalkeeper Jens Lehmann in just the 18th minute in Paris, Sol Campbell gave the Premier League side a first-half lead and Arsène Wenger’s men held on valiantly until late on.
Samuel Eto’o equalised with 14 minutes to go, before Juliano Belletti squeezed in the winner just four minutes later for Frank Rijkaard’s Barcelona.
5. Sevilla 2-2 Espanyol (3-1 pens) – 2007 UEFA Cup Final
Adriano’s opener for Sevilla was cancelled out by Albert Riera’s equaliser at Hampden Park, sending the game to extra-time, where Kanouté put Juande Ramos’ side back in front, only for Jônatas to level and take things to penalties.
Walter Pandiani was the only player to score any of Espanyol’s four penalties as three successful kicks out of four handed Sevilla the trophy.
6. Spain 1-0 Germany – Euro 2008 Final
Spain claimed their first major title for 44 years after impressing at Euro 2008 in Austria and Switzerland.
A goal from Fernando Torres was enough to secure the title, with the striker running on to a ball from Xavi and lifting his finish over Germany goalkeeper Lehmann.
7. Barcelona 2-0 Manchester United – 2009 Champions League Final
It was a clash of generational managers as Pep Guardiola took on Alex Ferguson in Rome.
Unsurprisingly given the point of this list, it was the Catalans who triumphed thanks to goals from Samuel Eto’o and Lionel Messi, with the Argentine scoring a rare header.
8. Atlético Madrid 2-1 Fulham (AET) – 2010 Europa League Final
Atlético had already eliminated Liverpool in the semi-finals and came up against Roy Hodgson’s Fulham in the first Europa League final in Hamburg following the rebranding of the UEFA Cup.
Diego Forlán put Quique Sánchez Flores’ men in front in the 32nd minute, only for Simon Davies to equalise just five minutes later. Forlán struck again in extra-time to win it for Atléti.
9. Spain 1-0 Netherlands (aet) – 2010 World Cup Final
Just two years after their first major trophy in 44 years, Spain were at it again, this time winning their first ever World Cup.
In another close final it was Andrés Iniesta who fired in the winner in Johannesburg, with the game just four minutes away from going to penalties.
10. Barcelona 3-1 Manchester United – 2011 Champions League Final
A replay of the 2009 final, only this time at Wembley Stadium. That didn’t give the English side much advantage though, with Pedro putting Barça in front early on.
Wayne Rooney equalised, before Messi and David Villa’s second-half strikes saw Guardiola’s men ease to victory.
11. Atlético Madrid 3-0 Athletic Bilbao – 2012 Europa League Final
Another Europa League victory for Atlético, this time against fellow La Liga opposition. Marcelo Bielsa’s Athletic side had looked great throughout the competition, but they came unstuck against Diego Simeone’s men.
Two first-half goals from Radamel Falcao and another from Diego late on sealed a comfortable victory for Atlético in Bucharest.
12. Spain 4-0 Italy – Euro 2012 Final
By this point it was starting to feel like Spain might not let any other country win a major tournament again, especially given the nature of this demolition of Italy.
David Silva and Jordi Alba had given La Roja a 2-0 lead by half-time, before Torres and Juan Mata scored late on to give the score a one-sided look in Kyiv.
13. Sevilla 0-0 Benfica (4-2 pens) – 2014 Europa League Final
Sevilla were at it again, this time beating Benfica on penalties in Turin.
After a fairly eventless 120 minutes, Unai Emery’s side were flawless from the spot, scoring all four of their penalties. Óscar Cardozo and Rodrigo both failed with their kicks, allowing Kevin Gameiro to slot the winning penalty.
14. Real Madrid 4-1 Atlético Madrid (aet) – 2014 Champions League Final
The first ever Madrid derby in a Champions League final was a lot closer than the scoreline suggests.
In fact, for much of the game it looked as though Diego Godín’s goal was going to win it for Atlético before Sergio Ramos’ 93rd-minute equaliser took it to extra-time. Gareth Bale, Marcelo and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty then took Carlo Ancelotti’s side to victory.
15. Sevilla 3-2 Dnipro – 2015 Europa League Final
Against the surprise package from Ukraine, Sevilla managed to seal another Europa League trophy.
Nikola Kalinić gave Dnipro an early lead before Grzegorz Krychowiak and Carlos Bacca turned things around for the La Liga side. Ruslan Rotan made it 2-2 just before half-time in Warsaw, but Bacca scored the winner in the 73rd minute for Emery’s men.
16. Barcelona 3-1 Juventus – 2015 Champions League Final
This final felt like it might be over early as Ivan Rakitić put Barcelona ahead less than four minutes in at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, but Juventus fought back and equalised through Álvaro Morata 10 minutes into the second half.
However, Luis Suárez restored Barça’s lead soon after, before Neymar wrapped things up on the counter-attack deep into stoppage time.
17. Sevilla 3-1 Liverpool – 2016 Europa League Final
Emery’s Sevilla made it an astonishing three successive Europa League wins in a row in Basel, coming from behind to beat Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
Daniel Sturridge had given the Premier League side a half-time lead, but Gameiro equalised inside the first minute of the second half. Two goals from Coke swung things in Sevilla’s favour as they celebrated yet another victory in what was becoming their competition.
18. Real Madrid 1-1 Atlético Madrid (5-3 pens) – 2016 Champions League Final
Two years after the first Madrid derby in a European final, they met again in Milan.
Once more it was a close game and once more Ramos scored, this time in the 15th minute to give Real the lead. Yannick Carrasco equalised to force extra-time, and then it was penalties.
The first seven penalties were all scored, before Juanfran failed from the spot. That allowed Cristiano Ronaldo to have the moment of glory and score the winning penalty.
19. Real Madrid 4-1 Juventus – 2017 Champions League Final
Zinedine Zidane’s side returned for more glory a year later, this time dispatching Juventus in an easier manner in Cardiff.
Ronaldo opened the scoring only for Mario Mandzukic to equalise soon after with a superb strike. Second-half goals from Casemiro, Ronaldo and Marco Asensio sealed a comfortable win for the La Liga giants.
20. Atlético Madrid 3-0 Marseille – 2018 Europa League Final
The following season it was an equally simple victory for Atlético in the Europa League final in Lyon.
A brace from Antoine Griezmann either side of half-time was followed by a late goal from Gabi against Rudi Garcia’s underwhelming Marseille.
21. Real Madrid 3-1 Liverpool – 2018 Champions League Final
Anything Sevilla could do, Real Madrid could match – but in the Champions League. Zidane’s men won a third successive title in Kyiv thanks to a questionable performance from Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius and a moment of genius from Bale.
Karim Benzema scored the opener when Karius inexplicably threw the ball against his outstretched boot, before Sadio Mané equalised for Klopp’s men. A stunning overhead kick from Bale put Madrid back in front, and a long-range effort from the Welshman slipped through Karius’ hands and over the line to seal things.
22. Sevilla 3-2 Inter Milan – 2020 Europa League Final
They were back! Sevilla returned to lift another Europa League trophy in a final played behind closed doors in Cologne due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
It was a busy first half, with Romelu Lukaku’s penalty putting Inter ahead before a Luuk de Jong brace saw Sevilla go ahead. Diego Godín made it 2-2 before half-time, but it was Lukaku’s unfortunate own goal 16 minutes from time that decided things.
23. Villarreal 1-1 Manchester United (11-10 pens) – 2021 Europa League Final
Just to mix things up, it was a different La Liga side who lifted the Europa League the following season. And it was that man Emery at the helm again.
Gerard Moreno put Villarreal in front before Edinson Cavani equalised for United in Gdańsk. The eventual shootout remarkably saw the first 21 penalties all scored. It took United goalkeeper David de Gea to miss his to finally decide the destination of the trophy.
24. Real Madrid 1-0 Liverpool – 2022 Champions League Final
A repeat of the 2018 final, and a repeat of the outcome with Los Blancos coming out on top.
Liverpool had the better of the game in Paris, having 24 shots to Madrid’s four, but an inspired performance from Thibaut Courtois and a winning goal from Vinícius Júnior were enough to secure another Champions League win for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
25. Sevilla 1-1 Roma (4-1 pens) – 2023 Europa League Final
This one was fascinatingly set up. Unai Emery versus José Mourinho. Two impeccable records in European football; something had to give.
Almost inevitably, it went to penalties in Budapest after a Paulo Dybala strike and a Gianluca Mancini own goal. Mancini had a game to forget after also missing his penalty in the shootout, as did Roger Ibañez, allowing Gonzalo Montiel to score the winner for Sevilla, as he had done for Argentina in the World Cup final just a few months earlier.
26. Real Madrid 2-0 Borussia Dortmund – 2024 Champions League Final
The most recent successful final for a Spanish side was just two months ago when Real Madrid overcame a game Dortmund at Wembley.
Despite the Bundesliga side having several chances, it was Dani Carvajal who headed in the opener with 16 minutes of normal time left. Salt was rubbed into the wounds when Vinícius made it 2-0 just nine minutes later as Ancelotti and Madrid celebrated yet another Champions League victory.
27. Spain 2-1 England – Euro 2024 Final
It was all set up to be the moment when football finally ‘came home’ for England. Spain had other ideas, though.
An even and goalless first half set things up nicely at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, only for Nico Williams to give Spain the lead in the first two minutes of the second half. Substitute Cole Palmer levelled for England, only for another sub, Mikel Oyarzabal to score the winner from a Marc Cucurella cross with just four minutes remaining.
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