The feast is all over, but our bellies are full
Monday, 30 Jun 2008 18:27
Euro 2008 has been one of the most enjoyable and entertaining tournaments in living memory
The end of Euro 2008 brought tears of joy and despair from Spanish and German fans but for the rest of us, it marked the end of a wonderful three weeks of football, writes inthenews' Alistair Potter.
The feast of football that was Euro 2008 has been well and truly polished off, and you'd be hard pressed to find many fans who have not enjoyed the gourmet fare on offer.
Spain were worthy winners in the final, their sweet passing football contrasting the more savoury and workmanlike Germans, who lacked the flair or creative spark to break down their opponents.
Many have hailed Spain's victory as a victory for football itself, and it is difficult to argue with that.
The World Cup of 2006 was notable for the negative tactics of many of the teams - particularly those that reached the latter stages.
Teams like Italy, the eventual winners; France, the eventual runners-up; and even our own beloved England team were chided for their cagey and risk-free approach - looking to ride a solid defence and a bit of luck all the way to the final.
Greece performed miracles in winning the European Championships four years ago, but it was perhaps the most boring and yawn-inducing miracle I've ever watched.
Fortunately in the intervening years this approach has given way to a more expansive style.
Unfancied teams like Russia and Turkey got to the latter stages by playing on the front foot rather than the back and looking to get at teams from the start.
Instead of the chess matches of Germany, we got the slug-fests of Austria and Switzerland.
Few who watched some of the drama-filled matches of the tournament unfold will forget them in a hurry. The Turks' amazing comeback from 2-0 down against the Czech Republic in their final group game was incredible to watch, especially when Nihat struck the winner in such impressive style.
The finesse of Spain's talented midfield in dismantling Russia in their opening group game was as sublime as was to be expected when you look back on it and think you were watching the future champions begin their campaign.
The Netherlands played some scintillating football on their way to a dominant qualification from the so-called 'group of death' before tumbling out to the impressive Russians in the next round.
Add to this the shock of Germany's 3-2 quarter-final win over Portugal, and then a repeat of the scoreline against the Turks in the last-four, which had a last-minute winner thrown in for good measure, and you have some real surprises in terms of results and teams involved.
Of course there were still some very pedestrian and mediocre matches, namely the goalless draw between Spain and Italy in the quarter-finals and the even-more-boring 0-0 played out by France and Romania in their opening group game.
But the fact that these two matches were the only ones that finished without a goal from three weeks of constant football involving most of the world's top defenders suggests just how fascinating the football has been.
It is no coincidence that the name Turkey has come up more than once when recalling some of the magical moments of the Euros.
Fatih Terim's entertainers - led by example by the man himself, who bounced around the technical area game after game like a jelly baby on a gas hob - won many friends among the neutrals.
Players who had been no more than bit-part European also-rans before the tournament have had breakout tournaments and carved out possible new careers for themselves.
Russian playmaker Andrei Arshavin has seemingly earned himself a "dream" move to Barcelona, despite only playing three games at the tournament and only playing well in two of them.
More Russian stars could also be set to move to some other giants of club football after attracting attention - Yuriy Zhirkov and Roman Pavlyuchenko to name but two.
Even someone called Colin, who started his professional career at Bury's Gigg Lane, made himself a household name (even if it was a different one to his actual name – and then, just the same one twice).
Tournament top scorer David Villa is now one of Europe's hottest properties, especially as he has expressed his desire to leave Valencia this summer.
And the stock of several players has risen in equally surprising fashion - namely Mssrs Sneijder, Iniesta and Silva.
All in all, Euro 2008 has supplied enough thrills and spills to last a whole summer.
And the fact it has gripped the nation's collective attention, despite the lack of the tabloid hyperbole and national ferver that comes hand-in-hand with the England team, has only made it more obvious how enthralling a tournament we have had.
Alistair Potter