Looking back, it could be that England’s failure to qualify for Euro 2008 was a major factor in making the whole tournament so enjoyable.  There was no need to worry about how we would do or how other results might effect us, so we could just take it all as it came.

It also meant that we were free to root for anyone we wanted to, and even change allegiance halfway through a game.  At first I was all for Croatia, as I had them in the office sweepstake, but I also wanted to see Holland and Sweden do well – largely due to very happy memories of both places – and enjoyed Spain’s style from the start.  Right up to the last minute, even seeing how Spain were outplaying them, I expected Germany to win because they are Germany and that’s what they do.

All that’s left is to dish out a few informal awards:

Manager of the tournament: Slaven Bilic.  No contest.  Euro 2008 will have done wonders for his CV and Croatia will be lucky if he is still in charge by the next World Cup, let alone Euros.  He was entertaining to watch on the touchline, obviously had a great rapport with his squad, and got some good results.  Runner-up would have to be Terim.

Hairstyle of the tournament: Puyol of Spain. His name sounds like it should be some sort of Spanish swearword, but what a great mass of hair!   Special mention to Metzelder for that beard.

Most dangerous moment: giving Aragones the bumps after the final.

Goal of the tournament: Germany’s first goal against Portugal.  Not just for Schweinsteiger’s finish but for the whole move that led up to it.

Best anthem: Seven Nation Army, although it got to be quite annoying by the end.

Team of the tournament: Turkey. They just never gave up.  After losing their opening game, they went ahead and won with a 90th minute goal against Switzerland and then came back from 2-0 down against the Czechs with three goals in the last quarter of an hour. In the quarter final they were down and out until equalising in the last minute of extra time to force penalties, and in the semi-final they were unlucky to lose against Germany.  They also deserve the ‘Colditz’ award for escapology.

Underachiever of Euro 2008: Christiano Ronaldo.  Didn’t look much like the ‘best footballer in the world’ over the last month.

Player I want to see transfer to West Ham: Despite not having a good tournament, I would like to see Frank Ribery ((easy to forget that France were ever in the tournament now)) in the claret and blue.   Failing that, Bastian Schweinsteiger: imagine him up front with Dean Ashton, opponents would think they were seeing double.