Euro 2008: The finale

"It is the most important day in Spanish football in many, many years." -- Spain striker Fernando Torres.

Day: Sunday, June 29

Location: Ye Olde King's Head, which charged $10 per person to watch the game. Still, the place was packed and had to turn people away because the venue had already reached capacity.

City: Santa Monica

Game: Germany 0-1 Spain

What I drank: Guinness

What I ate: Banger and hash (hash browns, that is)

Three games, no goals: Germany went into Euro 2008 as the favorites -- and it's not like they disappointed by not winning, given they did come within a goal of total victory -- but it was Spain that put together the most complete tournament. In the three knockout games -- including Sunday's finale -- Spain allowed no goals (in fact, they allowed just five shots on goal in 300 minutes of knockout stage play, including two matches against perennial powerhouses Italy and Germany). In all, Spain outscored its opponents 12-3 over six Euro 2008 matches as it won its first European Championship since 1964 and shook its reputation as a team that caves on the world's biggest stage.

Player(s) of the game: It'd be easy to present a game ball to Fernando Torres, since it was his goal that was the difference in the Euro 2008 finale, but real credit should go to Spain's defensive backline, featuring defenders Joan Capdevila, Carlos Marchena and Carles Puyol (and check out this dude's mug!). They allowed just four German shots, as goalkeeper Iker Casillas barely broke a sweat, and held Die Mannschaft's power triumvirate of Miroslav Klose, Lukas Podolski and Bastian Schweinsteiger completely in check.

Speaking of Klose, Podolski and Schweinsteiger ... How is Bayern Munich not a bigger player in European club football, competing with the likes of AC and Inter Milan, FC Barcelona, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United for Champions League titles every year? Bayern Munich's roster includes Klose, Podolski and Schweinsteiger, as well as German national teamers Marcell Jansen and Philipp Lahm. All those players spent much of Sunday's game on the pitch. Four were major players in Germany's run to the Euro 2008 finale. In addition, you might recognize the names of Luca Toni (Italy), Franck Ribéry (France) and Hamit Altintop (Turkey). Yes, they are also players for Bayern Munich. Yet, all Bayen Munich could muster in competition outside of Germany (they did claim another Bundesliga title, its 21st, which is the most in the Bundesliga) was a run to the semifinals of the UEFA Cup, where it lost to Zenit St Petersburg of Russia (it should be noted that Zenit St Petersburg went on to win the UEFA Cup final, too).

However, Bayern Munich last played in the Champions League final in 2001, when it beat Valenica for the crown (that represents the last time a German Bundesliga squad won the Champions League. Bayer Leverkusen -- which featured Michael Ballack on its roster -- played for the title in 2002, but ultimately lost to Real Madrid). That run of futility on the European stage might explain why German legend Jürgen Klinsmann will open his tenure as Bayern Munich manager on July 1.

It's a wrap: The Euro 2008 finale, which was neatly packaged as a soccer doubleheader with D.C.United's 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy (as star-studded a game as there can be in Major League Soccer), netted a 3.1 rating on ABC. That's a good number, and it beat Wimbledon (on NBC) and PGA golf (on CBS).

What does that mean? Sports fans tuned into the tournament despite the fact that there was no U.S. team participating. There was no way to compare Euro 2008's numbers to how it performed in 2004, since games were only aired on pay-per-view. This year, ESPN/ABC carried the games for the first time, with announcers calling the games from a broom closet in Bristol, Conn. Next time, maybe ESPN/ABC will foot the bill to send the guys calling the action to the game venues. Until then, soccer fans have World Cup 2010 to look forward to, where Spain and Germany figure to be featured on a short list of tournament favorites and our tour of sports bars will resume.