2008 UEFA European Football Championship Online

Superior than Euro 2004, this edition of the world's best soccer delivered expectations.

Powerhouses like Italy, France, Portugal, and the Netherlands let down their fans; specially France with a horrible performance in the first round.

Netherlands after a spectacular first phase that gave their fans new illusions, didn't manage to impress and fell in hands of King Hiddink's Russia that ended as the sensation team of the Euro with players such as Arshavin and Pavlyuchenko.

Portugal spoke a lot before the tournament and were easily defeated by the Germans that with plenty of self-love and mentality reached the final after beating the tough Turkish team that couldn't have 9 regulars on the semi-final.

Spain demolished the malaria they suffered in previous tournaments when they always failed in the important moments and this time, after beating Italy on penalties, were clear favorites to win the tournament because they had the best players and the best collective play.

Torres, Villa, Iniesta, Xavi, and Casillas were the star players of the champion team.

Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrated he's not at the level of Zidane and Maradona to become a single super star player of an important tournament. Instead, newcomers stole the show and collective play again demonstrated it's the best method to win important matches.

Overall, this tournament was spectacular and very well played, with a few surprises like Turkey and Russia and few disappointments like France and Czech Republic.

Something to notice were the last minute ties or wins by Turkey and Croatia specially.

Also, there were many polemic situations like Polish press throwing insults and more to Germany who with Austria and Croatia formed the political group of the tournament.

An excellent tournament that is considered as the best Euro of all time.

England was the notable absentee in the tournament which was jointly organised by Austria and Switzerland. But as this tournament had showed, the absence from the motherland of football was not affected with what was showcased during the tournament itself.

Germany, the host nation of the 2006 World Cup, came into the tournament as one of the favourites (maybe it has to do with them being the first to qualify for the tournament, apart from the co-hosts themselves). Somehow, the Germany I once knew was not there. Their defence was questionable, and it was through the so-called German values they only managed to make it all the way to the final in Vienna even with the close calls along the way with the group stage loss to Croatia which shook the world of football for a while (especially in England where it was met with celebration, given Croatia famously denied them to be in the tournament and it was also because their old footballing rival lost), the close shave of beating Turkey at their own game in the semi-finals. But Spain taught them a footballing lesson in the final. All it takes is a goal in the final to end Spain's 44 years of underachievement and justify why the pundits had made them a secret favourite for the tournament in view of the players they have. So who says at the end of the day, the Germans will always win?

Turkey won many hearts with their tag of being the 'comeback kings' during the tournament. I swear I was almost stunned when it looked like the Czech Republic looked certain for the quarter-finals, Turkey snatched it away from their noses. It was the beginning of what's to come from Turkey. Their dramatic quarter-final match against Croatia, though the dramatic part was almost to the end of the added extra-time. Then their semi-final loss against Germany. They should had sent the Germans packing. They are the ones having the suspensions and the like and yet they gave the Germans a run for their lives. Almost.

The so-called 'Group of Death' really threw up some drama between France, Italy, Holland and Romania. The Dutch really played some spectacular football which was almost a throwback to the glory days of the 1974 World Cup when their 'Total Football' revolution came into fore then. But it was at the quarter-final stage, they met Russia being managed by one of their own compatriots and they got eliminated. Italy was actually seen as one of the favourites to win it after their victory in Berlin in 2006 but, the penalty shootout loss to eventual winners Spain in the quarter-finals ended all that. France, it was rather disappointing with how they did.

Speaking of Russia, they were a surprise package in the tournament apart from Croatia and Turkey. Russia's eventual semi-final loss to Spain which they had already met in the group stages was actually their best showing before the collapse of the then-Soviet Union (then as USSR, their biggest moment was the 1988 European Championship loss to Holland). But when you have a coach like Guus Hiddink at the helm and having a side which is said to be the youngest in the entire tournament, then that is something.

Portugal was in some way seen as a favourite but as their quarter-final exit to eventual finalist Germany has shown, football is definitely a team sport and not dependent on one person (read: Cristiano Ronaldo). Even if they do have decent players on their side.

Even though co-hosts Austria and Switzerland were eliminated early in the group stages, it was especially how Austria did during the tournament which certainly impressed me. One do not associate Austria with football, apart from their cultural exports and that they are usually good in winter sports. But, Austria once had a great team which never won the World Cup and this was before World War Two.

In this tournament, if not for the dramatic equaliser in injury time against Poland in the group stages, that would not had set a showdown of sorts for Austria with their bigger neighbour Germany which had famously lost to Croatia before their meeting. In the lead-up to the meeting between the two neighbours which once had a footballing rivalry going on between the two German-speaking countries (that is until Germany became known for what they are on the world of football), Austria dreamt once again of the famous win they had over their bigger neighbour which happened in 1978 in Cordoba. Whatever happened in Cordoba was definitely something the Germans would never even want to remember about it (because it is ranked up there among the worst moments in German footballing history). It almost happened again in the rather cagey final group match between Austria and Germany though. Because a free-kick from Germany eventually settled everything, apart from a controversy off the pitch between the two coaches of both sides.

Spain eventually became the embodiment of what football should be all about. With its footballing pedigree, it may have left some to wonder why until their win over the Germans in the final in Vienna that their 1964 European Championship triumph at their own backyard was their only major footballing title to show for it so far. But Spain had showed that with the nerves to overcome the quarter-final hoodoo which dogged them for years and a group of talented players who do know how to win it at the junior levels, it is actually possible. Their win over Germany had actually got them being removed of the unwanted underachievers tag and so it is now left to England, the motherland of football to confront to being the last major footballing nation of having that tag.

Whatever happened during the tournament, good or bad...the summer of 2008 will always be remembered as a festival of football for fans like myself. The right team won.