AP
Spain's Cesc Fabregas (left) and Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger.

VIENNA, Austria (AP):

Today's European Championship final between Spain and Germany could be decided by which team copes best with an injured star player.

Spain already knew they would be without David Villa at Ernst Happel Stadium after the tournament's leading scorer ruptured a right leg muscle in the semi-finals, but now it looks like Germany's captain Michael Ballack could also be on the sidelines because of a calf strain.

Serious without Ballack

The Spanish have showed they can win without Villa by scoring all the goals in their 3-0 semi-final win over Russia after he was taken off, but Germany have relied heavily on Ballack to reach the final and only found out he had a problem on Friday.

"We have to seriously consider what will happen if Ballack will not be able to play," coach Joachim Loew said yesterday.

What could happen if Ballack is missing is that Tim Borowski or Bastian Schweinsteiger could be shifted to a different role to cover for his absence. Both are good players, with Schweinsteiger outstanding in the 3-2 semi-final win over Turkey, but neither has the class of Ballack.

The only man to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with four different clubs, Ballack recovered from a slow start to the season following an ankle injury to finish the campaign with Chelsea in arguably the best form of his career.

Ballack, who can both orchestrate and finish off his team's attacks, has scored two goals in five matches at Euro 2008.

He hit a fierce free kick against Austria in a first-round match and headed what turned out to be the winning goal in the 3-2 quarterfinal win over Portugal.

Wait and see

"We have to see how it develops overnight," Loew said. "They are working around the clock on him."

Loew said he hadn't written Ballack off yet.

"When I saw him this afternoon he was very optimistic, despite everything. He was not too down because the doctors say there is still a chance he could play," Loew said. "But of course, it's a disappointment for any player."

Missing the final would be just the latest blow for the unlucky Ballack.

The 31-year-old midfielder missed out on the 2002 World Cup final because of suspension and had to sit out the opening game of the 2006 World Cup because of a similar injury on the same calf.

No problem for Spain

Villa's absence looks less problematic for Spain.

Midfielder Cesc Fabregas replaced Villa in the 34th minute against Russia and provided a link with the attack that had been missing. With Marcos Senna sitting in a holding role, Spain effectively switched to a 4-1-4-1 formation that the previously imperious Russians had no answer to.

Fabregas, Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta cut apart the Russia defence, and that means Germany's midfield will have to be on top form to hold them back and stem the flow of attacking moves.

With Ballack missing, that may not be so easy. Spain are the only team at the 16-nation tournament not to lose a single game and have racked up eleven goals in five matches, even though they had to resort to tough defensive tactics for a 0-0 quarter-final draw with Italy that was resolved by a penalty shoot-out.

"I think Spain will win because we are better," said Luis Aragones, who has only lost four matches as Spain coach. "Since the start of this tournament we've entered the field with the attitude that we're going to win. Then, anything can happen."

Which is good, because thinking about the past is the last thing Spain should be doing.

While Germany can look back on three World Cups and three European Championship titles, Spain's success at the 1964 European Championship represents their only major trophy.