大象传媒

Vienna

So that's it. Euro 2008 is all over. And I still haven't heard Ultravox's 1980 hit ''. Did you know it never made it to number one? It was kept off top spot by Joe Dolce's 'Shaddup You Face'. I have a disturbing feeling I may have bought that, although it's certainly not in my record collection anymore.

I'm not going to do the whole highlights/lowlights thing. I'll leave that to others. What I will say is this: Vienna has been a wonderful host. Sometimes it's felt like the tournament was being played in another country far, far away, but I'd view that as a plus rather than a minus. It has certainly allowed me to retain a much-needed sense of perspective. You can get a little carried away in the hysteria that sometimes grips the big tournaments.

There have been more than 100 postings on this blog in the last three and a bit weeks and hopefully we've given you a flavour of what it's been like over here during the 23 days of competition. Fletch's blogs have certainly proved illuminating - and he plans to write one final entry once he's safely back on home soil - but we've had some great input from all our bloggers. I hope you've enjoyed them. Feedback welcome via the comment box below.

It's not quite time to turn our focus to the next European Championship - after all, there is plenty of football to be played between now and 2012 - but judging by the success of this tournament, have a lot to live up to.

Who knows if we'll have any home interest then. But the chances of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales qualifying for the 2016 championships will no doubt be enhanced if Uefa's plans to expand the competition from nations get the green light. It looks very likely that will happen. Again, if you've got an opinion on that development, drop us a line below.

Anyway, congratulations to Spain. They certainly deserved their triumph. Auf wiedersehen.