The Best* - Bonnie Tyler

Spain are the Champions of Europe again!!! 

2012 will be remembered among other things for the wonderful Euro competition! What a great tournament! Wonderful goals, super football, great drama. 

I'll remember dragging meself up in the strange hours of the morning while trying not to wake up the wife and sitting in our living room watching our small TV - it's reaching its expiry date soon! The tube is about to give way and we can see strange colours around the edges. Still, it was good enuf to follow the game (altho when i go over to me mom's place and watch it on the huge HD TV, it looked like it was a different place altogether).

Our little TV - Thanks TV3!!!!

Spain winning it in wonderful fashion is just the icing on the cake!

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No. 4

Seeing Torres scoring a goal which was  not unlike the one he scored 4 years ago against Germany was so satisfying! It was again the wonderful Xavi who set him up with that thru ball - like how he did 4 years ago. It was truly deja vu!

Spain winning by 4 goals is the highest margin in a Euro finals ever!

And Torres ended up with the Golden Boot Award! I thought he was not gonna get it - and he missed a wonderful opportunity to clinch it when he decided to set up Mata for Spain's 4th. In the end, it was counted as an "assist" and he won the Golden Boot award by virtue of scroing 3 goals, having 1 assist and playing in fewer matches! Well done!

The question now that everyone is asking is whether this Spannish team is the best footballing team ever!

I think they are the best footballing team i have ever watched! So yes, to me they are the best! While some felt bored (or even cheated) by the way they played, i found it a sheer joy to see how they passed the ball around so confidently and quickly. Some goals they scored were almost like they were passing the ball all the way into their opponents' goal!

Anyways, most of the BBC pundits seem to think they are very very good, if not the best!

Chris Waddle - "We've seen a masterclass today. Spain have been the best team in the world for the last four or five years. They deserved it tonight again, even with 11 v 11. Italy gave a lot of effort, but unfortunately they'd played too many hard games. They felt the pace and Spain, with that superior technique and movement and talent on the ball have run out easy winners. The Spanish have been criticised but they are the best team in the world without a shadow of a doubt." 

Phil McNulty - "They have now been untouchable in three major competitions and already few would back against them in South America when the World Cup goes to Brazil in 2014. They are the ultimate combination of silk and steel. They conceded one goal in Euro 2012 and have the Barcelona "carousel" of Xavi and Andres Iniesta augmented by Real Madrid's Xabi Alonso in midfield. Del Bosque felt confident enough in this brilliant side to ignore the claims of a conventional striker such as Fernando Torres, although he made a devastating late contribution against Italy. David Silva and Cesc Fabregas more than compensated - and it was all done without their great goalscorer David Villa and iconic defender Carles Puyol. The greatest? It would have to be a very powerful argument against Spain."

Martin Keown - "Spain are going to dominate for years to come. They have to be the best side ever. I can't see any other team getting near this. Spain have really set the bar high and they have time on their side. They're beautiful to watch and there's something extra special about this team. They're a group of winners." 

Alan Shearer -  "This Spain team is the best ever. We mention the Brazil sides with Pele but this is absolutely unbelievable what they have achieved." 

Alan Hansen - "People will talk about the first half of this game for 30 or 40 years' time. Before the game we said this Spanish team are arguably the best team ever, but there is no argument now. I don't think I've seen anything as good. They were picking the passes, making the angles and playing it with such pace. When they pass in that manner it doesn't really matter if they play with a striker or not. It is not only their technical ability, but also they work so hard. Look at Andrea Pirlo's performance, he has been a star in this tournament, but in the final he hardly had a kick. That was down to the pressing of the Spanish players. It was a privilege to be here to watch it and that's what every team has got to aspire to." 

Gianluca Vialli - "This tournament has proved that Italy are the most improved side in Europe, but the final proved we are not there yet. Spain are in a league of their own. They have shown how truly magical they are."

* The original version that was covered by Tina Turner.