Those 44 years of hurt are over. Spain became champions of Europe for the second time after defeating Germany in Vienna on Sunday evening, and after a thoroughly impressive tournament from start to finish, nobody can question their right to the title.

Chart-toppers
Even before their 1-0 win at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, Luis Aragonés's team were the strongest participants at UEFA EURO 2008™, topping the charts in virtually all the important Castrol statistics tables, not least in the number of games won and goals scored. In overcoming Joachim Löw's team, Spain added the scalp of Germany to those of Russia (twice), Sweden, Greece and Italy, the latter having been defeated on penalties in the quarter-final. It is an impressive casualty list. Furthermore, in none of those victories could Spain be said to have profited from good fortune. They won fair and square on each occasion, not benefiting once from the award of a penalty and always playing eleven against eleven. Even in the goalless draw against Italy, they were the dominant team – with a 57-43 per cent possession advantage and twice as many shots on target. By winning that encounter, Spain became the only group winners to progress to the semi-finals.

Faith rewarded
Having been beaten twice early on in the qualifying campaign – by Sweden and Northern Ireland – there was inevitably some unrest, with Aragonés’s position seemingly under threat. However, the Spanish Football Federation stuck by its man and was rewarded for this faith with the European title. The doyen of UEFA EURO 2008™'s coaching fraternity has proved his class in Austria, both in terms of tactical mastery and clever man-management. His finest hour was probably the semi-final against Russia when he outsmarted Guus Hiddink by cutting off the supply line to in-form forwards Andrei Arshavin and Roman Pavlyuchenko.

Doughty defence
It would be remiss to pick out any star individual from Aragonés's side because they were strong in every department. Captain Iker Casillas lived up to his reputation as one of the world's foremost goalkeepers. In fairness, the penalty shoot-out against Italy aside, he did not have a great deal to do, being called upon to make just ten saves in the six games. That, of course, was a credit to the players in front of him. Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena and Joan Capdevila proved a doughty and disciplined back four, brilliantly screened by Brazilian-born holding midfielder Marcos Senna.

Productive midfield
The Spain midfield was also particularly productive. In addition to Senna, the first-choice triumvirate of Andrés Iniesta, Xavi Hernández and David Silva can all look back on the tournament with pride – as their statistics testify. A perfect blend of craft and graft, they were supplemented for the final and most of the semi-final by pass-master Cesc Fàbregas, the 21-year-old demonstrating the full range of his extraordinary talent with a virtuoso display against Russia.

Top scorer
David Villa managed to hold on to his top scorer crown despite registering all four of his goals in the opening two games and missing the final with a calf injury. He was a constant source of danger up front, although his absence in the latter stages may leave him with a bittersweet memory of the tournament. Fernando Torres might have felt slightly disappointed to have struck just once – against Sweden – going into the final but the Liverpool FC striker's brilliant match-winning strike against Germany changed all that. The first major honour of the 24-year-old's career will almost certainly not be the last.