Cesc Fàbregas: I spoke to the ball before my winning penalty for Spain

Cesc Fàbregas has revealed he spoke to the ball and told it “we have to make history” before slotting home the penalty that booked Spain’s place in the Euro 2012 final at the expense of Portugal.

The Barcelona midfielder stepped up to take the fifth spot-kick after Bruno Alves’s effort rebounded off the crossbar – and Fàbregas sneaked his effort in off the left-hand post to spark wild scenes of celebration

“We had to make history,” said Fàbregas. “I had a funny feeling about the penalties and I was thinking about them this afternoon.

“They told me initially to take the second one but I said, ‘no, give me the fifth’ as I had this premonition.

“When I stepped up to take the penalty I said to the ball that we had to make history and it shouldn’t let me down.

“I talked to the ball four years ago [when he scored the winning penalty against Italy] and it didn’t let me down.”

Fàbregas, who was a second-half substitute on Wednesday, insists he is not fussed whether La Roja face Germany or Italy in Sunday’s final because he is expecting a difficult game regardless.

“I don’t mind who we play. The most important thing is we are in the final. Whoever goes through it will be tough,” added Fàbregas.

“It’s very satisfying, it’s a great victory for us. We have now reached three finals in four years, we can’t believe it. It’s amazing what football can bring you and hopefully we can be champions of Europe again in four days’ time.

“I was just thinking that I couldn’t let the country down and tried to be calm and score.”

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