Reece Killworth salutes Fernando Torres after his goal won Euro 2008 for Spain.
Reece Killworth salutes Fernando Torres after his goal won Euro 2008 for Spain.
In the end, Michael Ballack's fitness and Cesc Fabregas' inclusion mattered little.
For while the former laboured and the latter buzzed around in an impish Spain midfield, it was ultimately a moment of magic from one of their fellow headline acts in the Premier League that decided the Euro 2008 final.
Step forward Fernando Torres.
A tally of 24 Premier League goals in his first season in England was only enough for Liverpool to finish fourth in the top flight once again, while his six Champions League strikes couldn't book the Anfield giants another European final appearance.
But finishing second behind Cristiano Ronaldo in the goalscoring charts just a year after changing clubs, countries and cultures showed the class the 24-year-old has.
Class act
And while Euro 2008 largely passed him by - prior to the final he had only scored a solitary goal against Sweden while strike partner David Villa had grabbed all the headlines - when it mattered most, he came to the fore as all great players do.
With 33 minutes on the clock in Vienna, Xavi slid one of his trademark slide-rule passes into the inside-right channel and Torres exploded out of the traps.
True, Philip Lahm should have been much stronger in repelling Torres' rapier thrust, but once the baby-faced frontman had nipped in there was no stopping him and his dinked finish over Jens Lehmann was a masterful touch.
Earlier, Torres had struck a post with a powerful header and only the onrushing Lehmann would later deny him a carbon copy of his goal, but one was enough as Germany never truly threatened what would have been an undeserved equaliser.
Ballack went close with a snapshot which had Iker Casillas scrabbling across to his right, but it was one of the few moments the Chelsea midfielder made an impact.
Niggling presence
How much he was restricted by his calf injury probably only he will know, but this was not the vintage Ballack who ended the Premier League season impressively.
Against a Spanish midfield that has been far and away the best unit in the tournament, Ballack was helpless to turn the tide and was involved in a series of niggly incidents which threatened to mar what was otherwise a trouble-free final.
Having clashed with Sergio Ramos in an incident that saw rival captain Casillas race from his goal - both were booked - he would spend much of the rest of the game sniping away at the officials at what he felt were a series of injustices.
Fabregas was much more understated, but far more effective.
Not the stand-out performer we have become used to at Arsenal (no disgrace given the presence of Xavi and Andres Iniesta), yet the 21-year-old did more than enough to keep Spain pushing forward and keep Ballack and Co on their heels.
Torres genius
And when he was withdrawn just after the hour mark as Germany enjoyed by far their best spell of the game, there was no relief for Joachim Low's men as Liverpool midfielder Xabi Alonso came on and - typically - never wasted a pass.
Alonso looks set for a big-money move to Serie A giants Juventus in the coming weeks with Gareth Barry his likely replacement at Anfield, and the Aston Villa captain will have big shoes to fill judging on this brief cameo.
But with the willing (and more than able) Torres leading the line so superbly for club and country, Barry will quickly realise he is in the presence of genius.
