Eight Spain stars make it a EURO double

Eight of the squad who helped Spain claim a third successive major title have become the first players to appear in two UEFA European Championship final victories.

Iker Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández, Cesc Fàbregas, David Silva, Xabi Alonso and Fernando Torres all featured as Germany were defeated in the UEFA EURO 2008 showpiece in Vienna four years ago. All were present again tonight as Italy were beaten in Kyiv, Casillas lifting the trophy for the second time. Santi Cazorla came on in 2008 but did not make it off the bench in the Ukrainian capital.

Thirteen players had previously appeared in two finals, starting with Valentin Ivanov, Viktor Ponedelnik and Lev Yashin, who were in the victorious Soviet Union side in the first UEFA European Championship in 1960 and the team that finished as runners-up four years later.

West Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, Uli Hoeness, Sepp Maier, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck and Herbert Wimmer all came within a whisker of two final victories as their side defeated the USSR in 1972 but lost the competition's first penalty shoot-out to Czechoslovakia four years later.

Bernard Dietz also appeared in that 1976 final for West Germany but had to wait four years to get his hands on the trophy as Belgium were defeated in the Rome final. Rainer Bonhof, by contrast, was in the 1976 final lineup but an unused squad member in 1972 and 1980 – making him the only player to have two winners' medals before tonight.

Germany, by then a reunified country, were back in the final in 1992 but went down 2-0 to Denmark; four years later, they defeated the Czech Republic to claim the title for a record third time. Thomas Hässler, Thomas Helmer, Jürgen Klinsmann and Matthias Sammer appeared in both matches.