Congratulations

Now that my virus is gone, I can write a long overdue piece on Spain. Not that it will be long anyways. There wasn't much to discuss.

Well done to Spain. They were the best team in the tournament and fully deserved their 1-0 victory. No arguments. Their dominance was clear to see. After Germany's 10 minutes of fame at the beginning of the first half, Spain took over and never let the Germans back in.

They could have won by more than one goal for sure, such was the poor quality of the German defending. Jens Lehmann was responsible for keeping the score respectable, his saves thwarting Spain although they were guilty of passing up some clear cut opportunities, Sergio Ramos' point blank header and Marcos Senna missing the ball from a few yards out to mention a couple. However, no one can begrudge Spain their first major title in 44 years and they now look to be in a strong position to mount a serious challenge for the World Cup in two years time. The youth of the team should ensure that the core of this squad will be around then, providing the world with a sizeable task.

Germany were unbelievably poor. Michael Ballack put in another sub-par performance and the team went close on one occasion, Ballack shooting into the side netting. They lacked creativity and penetration, something Spain had in abundance. Their good spell created few clear chances and although they dominated possession, they did not use it well. The entire defense was not solid through the night and this was the cause for Spain's goal, Fernando Torres taking advantage of Phillip Lahm's inability to pass the ball back to Lehmann before dinking the ball over the onrushing Lehmann. The pace and the quality of the finish emphasised the clear gap in class. Germany can have no complaints.

Xavi Hernández was named the best player at the tournament, beating off the likes of Andrei Arshavin, Roman Pavlyuchenko and David Villa. Personally, I think he deserves it. Arshavin only set the tournament alight for a couple of games, Villa only scored in two games despite finishing as top scorer and Pavlyuchenko was less consistent than Xavi, considering impact on matches played. Xavi played in all of Spain's games apart from the meaningless group game against Greece, and had a profound influence in every game he played in. His consistency merits the Best Player award and there is surely more to come from him. At 28, he should be approaching his peak and his experience and quality will surely be crucial to Spain's hopes in two years time.

In transfer news, Frank Lampard's proposed move to Inter has reportedly been played down by Jose Mourinho. I thought it was done! Never trust papers, even for a second. For the moment, Lampard hasn't distanced himself from the speculation and Mourinho claims he will have Lampard playing for him by next season at the latest. Interesting. Meanwhile, Deco has finalised his move, fueling the speculation that Lampard is on his way to Inter. He might as well just go now. The saga is heading towards the level of the "Cristiano Ronaldo to Madrid" reports. I don't see this one playing out for so long however. Apparently Man Utd are confident of keeping Ronaldo at the club. As a fan, I'm not bothered whether he stays or goes. United have the advantage whatever the outcome and I'm not Ronaldo's biggest fan. Pretty boy.

I'm done for now. Withdrawal symptoms are a fixture every time a major tournament concludes. I'm already looking forward to South Africa 2010. If it's even held there. Sepp Blatter has reportedly arranged a backup nation should S. Africa fail to complete infrastructure and stadium upgrades. Good luck to them. I wouldn't mind if it's held in Asia again. At least I won't have to stay up every night.