Spain deserved it.

All good things must come to an end at some point. Well, June 29th marked the end of the month long European Championship. I must say that I was very happy for the Spanish - they deserved it and were the best team in the entire bunch.

My old friend Sammi and I were looking back at the tourney and we made the following observations and wanted to ask these questions:

1.) While I can say I am a big fan of Germany, I have to honestly say they didn't deserve to be in the final match. During the entire tournament their play was sloppy and at time lacked conviction. German football is ALWAYS strong and definitive, almost military-like in precision. It wasn't anything near that. I also think I have found dislike in both Michael Ballack and Jens Lehmann. Ballack played like an ass in the final and I was surprised he wasn't carded off the field. As far as Lehmann goes...he is an old man who has waited in the shadows of Kahn for his chance to play...and I bet if Oliver Kahn was playing the GK yesterday (or for the entire Euro) things would have been a bit different. The only person who really stood out for Germany was Bastian Schweinsteiger, he's a real go-getter. Cheers to him.

2.) What the hell happened to France? 2 years ago they were the World Cup runner up, and now they couldn't advance past group stage, let alone win a single game? That is not French football. I don't know what kind of football that is, but it is not what I want to see from the FFF. It didn't help France to have Henry, the ONLY goal scorer for the entire French side, on the bench for a game or two and then lose Ribery to injury. Also, does anyone know why wasn't Cisse called up to play (I guess he still isn't fit from the broke leg)? Why didn't Domenech pull Coupet either? (he was truly terrible).

3.) Holland was just unlucky. A Dutch friend of mine were taking before the Quarter-Final against Russia, and he made the comment "The Russians scare me...". Little did he know he was right. Really, the Netherlands was the only team other than Spain that truly dominated during the campaign. Just unlucky, or perhaps was caught looking ahead. Either way, their exit was a shock. Cheers for Sneijder, v. Nistelrooy, and Robben for a great show. Oh, and as for my Dutch friend, he called me after the match and said "Damn Russians, I told you, damnit, sons of bitches" and promptly hung up to probably slam another Grolsch. Poor guy.

4.) Portugal showed their age. At times they were excellent, and then at times they weren't too hot. I say give this team about 2 or 3 more years and some more games together...you are looking at an already dangerous squad becoming even more dangerous.

5.) Turkey...well, where do you start? Talk about the underdogs. Commentators coined them the "cardiac kids" because of the last minute comebacks the Turkish were pulling. The entire match against Croatia in the quarters was boring. It was 118 minutes of pure rubbish football followed by 2 minutes of epic football. You had to feel for the Croatian team because they had the game in hand...they scored in the 119 minute...only 1 minute left of ET...and the WHAM top of the net for Turkey...goes to PK's. Either way it must be said that Croatia lost that game, you NEVER miss a penalty kick. Turkey should be proud of where they got to in the game...but part of me thinks it may have been a fluke.

6.) Ahh Spain...how does it feel? You deserve it. Too bad David Villa didn't get to play that last game, because I think the score would have been at least 2-0. I think he may be one of my new favorite players, David Villa. He was just fun to watch and has excellent touch and control. Additionally, Fernando Torres...is a hero for his hustle and that game winner yesterday. He is bright up-and-coming star. However, how about Iker Casillas - classy GK.

Well, there you have it. It is another 4 years until the next champ is crowned in Europe.
I'm such a nerd.