Prologue
19.00 BST - Welcome, welcome, welcome. The anticipation is rising, the atmosphere is reaching fever pitch, and that's just here at Patty HQ, where the traditional big match pizza order is literally minutes away from arriving. Meanwhile, over in Vienna, some fans are gathering in some stadium for somesuch game of football, but that's all a side show really.
19.05 BST - I jest, of course. I really am rather excited ahead of the game today. We could have an all time classic on our hands, a game to sum up the sublime tournament we've had the pleasure of watching over the past three weeks. Or maybe, just maybe, we'll have a dour 0-0 draw followed by a cruel penalty shoot out. Still, it'll be fun either way. By the way, if you were wondering, we've opted for a cheeky 12" deep pan, with all the meats. Which all sounds rather sexual.
19.15 BST - So, Spain then. The 1964 European Championships was their sole triumph in a major finals, so long ago that none of the current squad were even glints in their parents eyes when the trophy was won with a 2-1 win over USSR (yes, USSR. It really was a long time ago). Since then, 44 years of hurt has left the country desperate for a trophy. Will today be their day?
19.20 BST - Meanwhile, Germany are as annyingly consistent as any country in major finals. This is their 13th major tournament final, though it isn't all good news, they've "only" won half of those they've appeared in, the most recent being at Olde Wembley in 1996. Damn their teutonic efficiency!
The Teams:
Germany: Lehmann, Friedrich, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Frings, Ballack, Hitzlsperger, Podolski, Klose.
Spain: Casillas, Ramos, Puyol, Marchena, Capdevila, Senna, Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas, Silva, Torres.
19.25 BST - The main team news is that Michael Ballack starts for the Germans. There have been whispers about a calf injury that he has been suffering from was to keep him from playing tonight, but no, nay, never, he starts in the heart of the German midfield.
19.30 BST - Spain's Luis Aragones has, as expected, installed Cesc Fabregas in the starting line up to replace the injured David Villa, so a switch to 4-5-1 for the Spanish. Villa can take heart that although he misses the final, he is still the top scorer at the tournament, with realistically only Lukas Podolski able to overtake his four goal tally. I'm not sure he'll take too much heart from that, to be honest.
19.35 BST - The closing ceremony is underway in the Ernst Happel Stadium. There's currently 16 puppets covered in balloons "recreating" the tournament for us on the pitch. Each time a puppet gets "eliminated", they release all their balloons into the sky. This has to be seen to be believed really. My words can't do it justice.
19.40 BST - Balloon fun over, I'm afraid. Enrique Iglesias (the man, the legend) is now performing the "Official Euro 2008 Song". It's called "Can You Hear Me", and thankfully, due to the technicalities of the stadium sound system being badly converted to the TV feed, the answer is no, I can't hear you Enrique.
19.45 BST - The teams are out, the anthems are being played, and more importantly, the pizza has arrived! It's all getting ruddy exciting, I tell thee. Incidentally, this is John Motson's final live commentary for the BBC, which is something of a blessing, to be honest.
0 mins - Spain get the final of Euro 2008 underway!
2 mins - Spain get their passing game going early. A shot of German coach Joachim Low provokes a discussion between Motty and Mark Lawrensen about his shirt.
3 mins - Oof. A horible pass from Sergio Ramos lets Klose in for Germany, but Puyol gets a crucial block in as the German striker races through. Nervy start.
5 mins - Good work from Schweinsteiger down the left, but his lofted cross drifts out of play. "Viva Espana" says The Elbow, nailing his colours to the appropriate mast.
7 mins - Capdevila is way offside for a through ball. Silly mistake. It hasn't been a great opening, to be perfectly honest. "Cagey" is probably the politest way of describing it.
The Elbow - "I fear 0-0 and then penalties."
9 mins - Decent run by Klose down the left side, Ramos is looking suspect early on. He pulls the ball back to Hitzlsperger, who shoots straight at Casillas.
12 mins - All Germany so far, Spain get a half-break but Fabregas overhits his long ball to Torres.
13 mins - Corner for Germany, swung over by Schweinsteiger and punched clear by Casillas. Or "fisted away" in Mottyspeak. The pizza has been as disappointing as the football, incidentally.
15 mins - Lovely break by Spain and Xavi slides the ball to Iniesta, who chips the ball up and it flies goalwards off Metzelder. Lehmann makes a cracking stop to prevent the own goal.
The Elbow - "More stunning defending from the Germans."
17 mins - Waste of a free kick from Xavi, who tries to tease the ball across the box, but the delivery is poor and the ball just flies into Lehmann's hands.
18 mins - Decent ball to Torres on the left of the area, but his touch has been lacking all tournament and Germany scramble it away.
20 mins - Torres wins a free kick on the right of the area, and then heads well over from the delivery from Xavi. Spain are now beginning to dominate the play a bit.
22 mins - It's getting tasty! Fabregas and Silva link up well on the right, and Silva's cross is headed onto the post by Torres. The rebound is cleared and then Capdevila's shot whistles wide. Best chance so far for Torres there.
The Elbow - "Mertesacker is absolutely hopeless."
25 mins - German corner is cleared, but Schweinsteiger has a second bite at getting the ball in the area, and his cross is headed down for Ballack to let rip. Ramos blocks the shot with his body. Just.
27 mins - Klose plays Podolski through on the left of the Spanish box, but the German dithers and Spain get it clear comfortably.
28 mins - Podolski goes over dramatically after a Ramos challenge. "I never heard the shot," Lawro acerbically comments at the dive. The free kick comes to nothing anyway.
30 mins - Mertesacker makes up for The Elbow's earlier comments, keeping pace with a breaking Torres and getting a crucial block in to concede the corner. The fussy ref Roberto Rosetti gives a free kick to the Germans for pushing from the corner.
31 mins - Spain pressure around the German box eventually sees Fabregas send a poor shot at goal which Lehmann comfortably saves.
The Elbow - "I dunno, both teams are committing a few niggly fouls here and there." - An expert retort to my "fussy ref" comment.
GOAL! Germany 0 - 1 Spain (Torres) - Torres finally gets a breakthrough. Lovely through ball from Xavi, and Torres beats the flat-footed German defence to dink the ball past the onrushing Lehmann.
35 mins - Dearie me, it should be 2-0. Another brilliant Spanish break and Iniesta finds Silva completely unmarked with a lofted pass, but the Spaniard balloons a volley about 30 feet over the goal. And that's only a slight exaggeration.
37 mins - Germany's game is falling apart here. Michael Ballack leaves the pitch for treatment after a clash of heads, so down to 10 men for now, and that would be a big blow if he stays off. Schweinsteiger sums up the current German mood by sending a free kick way over the bar. Rubbish.
38 mins - Ballack, sporting a nasty-looking cut to his right eye, is back on the pitch, at least for a bit until the ref sends him off to clean the blood up. See, fussy.
40 mins - Hitzelsperger free kick from the right channel, and the referee orders it to be retaken, allowing Ballack back on to join the attack, provoking whistles from the Spanish fans. Thankfully, in terms of potential controversy, the free kick is cleared for a corner.
42 mins - Handbag alert! Ballack squares up to the Spanish players after a bit of a niggly foul, stopping a Spain counter attack in the process, and Ballack and Casillas are both booked.
The Elbow - "The ref could've played advantage there but Ballack was throwing his weight around so best to stop it."
45 mins - Another great Spanish counter, but Iniesta dallies inside the area, even though there were players to aim for, and Germany scramble it away for a corner. Into stoppage time here.
45+1 mins - "Spain are cruising" says Lawro, and it's hard to argue with that. They have looked the better side by some distance. Mr Rosetti brings the half to a close, and Joachim Low and his team must ponder a way back into this one.
Half time - Germany 0 - 1 Spain
20.40 BST - The Beeb send the half time interval plugging their up and coming Olympic coverage. If I said that The Foot had promised to oversee Patty's coverage of the Olympics, would that be the best thing ever? Oh yes.
20.45 BST - Marcel Desailly is a hard man to please. He isn't impressed with the way that Spain are playing, even if they have bossed the game. Meanwhile, crazy Martin O'Neill would make changes if he was Joachim Low, he'd have Mario Gomez on, who was rubbish earlier on in the tournament. Crazy, crazy Martin. Jake Humphrey is in the "fanzone" for the Beeb, and is being mobbed by drunk Spaniards. Lovely.
The Elbow - "Maybe the script is written for Mario Gomez, awful tournament to final hero?"
20.50 BST - The Beeb also show some goals of the tournament, intrermixed with local commentary. The Turkish "Goal, goal, goaaaaaal!" after Nihat's winner against the Czechs being the pick of the bunch. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Turkish football fans are better than your country's football fans. Fact.
46 mins - We're back underway. Marcell Jansen is on for Germany for Philip Lahm. A weird choice, I'll be honest. He's been almost as awful as Gomez.
49 mins - Iniesta can't quite get a pass through and a Spanish attack breaks down. A quiet start to the second half too.
50 mins - Torres is bundled over by Mertesacker, and he was the last man too. Nothing doing for Mr Rosetti. And now Klose is down injured, after a naughty off the ball slap from Marchena. It was a nudge in the "danger area", if you catch my drift. Tut tut.
The Elbow - "That was a Klose encounter..." - I'm sorry for that.
54 mins - First chance of the second half sees a Xavi shot flash wide. Corner given, despite Lehmann not getting a touch to the shot.
The Elbow - "As a Newcastle fan I'm fairly used to seeing awful defending, but the Germans really are taking the biscuit."
55 mins - Ooh, the corner comes to Silva, who shaped to shoot first time but instead takes a touch, and his shot goes wide again.
56 mins - Torres nearly gets away again, but this time Lehmann times his charge well and he smothers the ball with relief. Similar chance to the Spain goal. "Would have been Groundhog Day for the Germans", says Lawro. "Would it not," opines Motty. Still all Spain here.
58 mins - Germany make their second change. Kevin Kuranyi is on for Hitzelsperger. Striker for a midfielder there, indicating that things are getting desperate.
60 mins - Jansen does something good! He wins the ball in the corner, swings a cross over and the knockdown allows Ballack to shoot, just flashing the ball wide. And then Kuranyi gets a through ball in the penalty area, but his first touch is nonsense.
61 mins - Germany beginning to threaten more, a Ballack cross is clawed away from the head of Kuranyi by Casillas. Dramatic stuff.
63 mins - A slip from Marcos Senna, his first real mistake all tournament, and Germany have a break, but Schweinsteiger's shot is deflected wide. And Cesc is off for Spain! Whistles from the crowd as the Arsenal playmaker is replaced by Xabi Alonso.
64 mins - More handbags! Silva and Podolski get a bit touchy-feely off the ball, and the Spaniard seems to headbutt the German in the afterwards. Just a free kick given from the referee. He's a lucky boy, is Mr Silva. The free kick is garbage, drifting aimlessly wide despite a packed penalty area.
66 mins - Aragones immediately reacts, taking Silva off before he does anything else silly, and Santi Cazorla is on in his place. The bite has gone out of Spain's attacking just at the moment.
67 mins - Forget I said that. What a chance! Great delivery from a Spanish free kick, the German defence is all over the place again, and Sergio Ramos, unmarked, heads goalwards, only for Lehmann to scrape it away. Chaos from the corner as well, and Iniesta's shot is cleared off the line.
69 mins - Iniesta gets the ball in the area and just seems to stop, finally hitting a weak shot that Lehmann saves with a bit of fortune. Spain are suddenly all over the Germans, but they still can't kill the game off.
71 mins - German free kick from the left hand channel. Frings takes and it is punched easily away by Casillas. Germany are wasting too many promising free kicks here.
73 mins - Ballack, still showing injury wounds, is just offside after a through ball from Kuranyi. And then Torres gets booked for a niggly foul.
75 mins - Into the last quarter of an hour, equaliser notwithstanding. Torres is away again, but his knock past the last German defender is too far for him, and Lehmann gathers.
77 mins - Lawro conspiratorially mutters that "you know the Germans will get one more gilt-edged chance". Spain waste a decent break when Alonso knocks down for Torres, who can't get his pass across the area.
78 mins - And the goalscorer is off. Torres has been subbed in every appearence so far, and Daniel Guiza is on in his place.
The Elbow - "Aragones taking a bit of a risk there no? What if Germany pick up an equaliser?"
80 mins - Spain still pressing, but their final ball is lacking. Germany make their final change, as The Elbow's favourite, Mario Gomez, comes on for Klose.
81 mins - Germany just can't get the ball. Great run from Senna, and the cross is headed back across by Guiza, just past the outstretched foot of Senna. That would have been game over.
The Elbow - "Senna misses...James Allen heard to shout "Hamilton would've scored" at his TV."
83 mins - Weird free kick from Spain. Iniesta plays it short to Alonso on the edge of the area, and he has ages to time his shot, though it ends up being rubbish. Approaching the last nervy 5 minutes...
85 mins - The Elbow says Chris Waddle reckons the Germans are "done in" on the radio commentary. Why he hasn't got Motty on, I don't know. Well, I sort of do know. Decent free kick position for the Spaniards sees Xavi loft the ball well over the bar.
87 mins - Spain are simply not allowing Germany to attack here, it's brilliant stifling stuff. Kuranyi gets booked for a frustrated foul on Senna.
90 mins - Germany pile into the penalty area, the ball nearly breaks to Schweinsteiger, but the whistle goes for a foul on Capdevila. Stoppage time now. Three minutes of it.
90+1 mins - Germany break, but Ballack's cross is awful. And Spain clear, just a game of keep ball for them now, as the "ole"s begin from the fans.
90+3 mins - The Germans are looking beaten, and Spain are controlling the last few seconds brilliantly here. Puyol makes a vital clearence as Germany lump the ball forwards aimlessly.
Full time - Germany 0 - 1 Spain - Spain are European Champions!
21.38 BST - And that is that! The Spanish bench floods onto the pitch in celebration as Mr Rosetti blows for full time. You really cannot say that they have not deserved this.
21.45 BST - "A victory for football" is how Alan Hansen describes it in the BBC studio. The gushing over Spain continues, as the players prepare for the lengthy presentation ceremony.
21.47 BST - Some interesting whistles from the crowd as the match officials collect their medals from UEFA President Michel Platini. The referee Roberto Rosetti fussily collects his own medal.
21.50 BST - The defeated, sombre looking German team collect their runners-up (i.e. losers) medals. All the players, subs, managers and possibly even the bus driver get a medal here, so this is taking forever.
The Elbow - "Would be funny if Platini just pushed Gomez, Metzelder and Mertesacker out of the way and told them they didn't deserve medals."
21.51 BST - At long last, here come the Spaniards. Iker Casillas is the captain and he'll be lifting the trophy after the massive Spanish line of people get their own medals.
21.53 BST - And there we go, Casillas joyously lifts the European Championship trophy in the air (it's the one in our picture, by the by), cue fireworks, cue cheering, cue flashbulbs, cue bedlam.
21.55 BST - The smoke clears, and the Spanish players are off on a lengthy lap of honour. The stadium PA is pounding out "We Are The Champions" for the fans. The old ones are the best.
22.00 BST - So, there we go. In the end, the better team won, and they played some lovely football on the way. Congratulations to Spain, and Patty will be returning to more familiar F1-based territory now, starting with the British Grand Prix next weekend. I'm sure you can't wait.
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