We would both like to say a massive thank you to all the people that logged on to our site to make it a success. We never anticipated getting 1,000 hits, let alone 10,000, so thank you all so much.

Hopefully you all enjoyed the tournament and reading our daily updates.

Once again, thanks and enjoy the upcoming season.

AFTER a thoroughly enjoyable tournament and 16 days of watching eight teams battle it out in four different locations, it was the Germans that came out on top.

On our walk back to the hostel after the night of the final myself and Mark both discussed which players would make it in to our teams of the tournament. So similar were our selections, we decided to combine them and post them as one.

So here is the team we decided on:

GK - Manuel Neuer (Germany) – A commanding figure throughout the whole competition and made a whole host a top notch saves, especially in the semi-final against Italy, to keep his side in the running.

RB - Andreas Beck (Germany) – Always looked to get involved from right-back and capped a fine semi-final performance with a goal.

CB - Jerome Boateng (Germany) – An integral part of the German defence that only conceded one goal all tournament.

CB - Benedikt Howedes (Germany) – Along with Boateng, provided the solid foundations for his country’s triumph, whilst also scoring the opener against Finland in the group stages.

LB - Kieran Gibbs (England) – Despite England’s leaky defence, always looked confident and composed on the ball and dealt with any threats down his flank well.

RM - James Milner (England) – Arguably England’s best player, the Aston Villa midfielder’s superb work rate and versatility were crucial in helping his side reach the final.

MC - Gonzalo Castro (Germany) – An unsung hero in the heart of the German side. Popped up with two goals in two games against England and his forward runs created problems throughout the tournament.

MC - Mesut Ozil (Germany) – Finished with the most assists and saved his best performance for the final. Always looked dangerous on the ball and able to unpick the tightest of defences.

LM - Sebastian Giovinco (Italy) – The little magician was at the heart of everything the Italians created going forward. Played a delightful through ball for Mario Balotelli’s goal against Sweden and caused problems throughout the whole competition.

CF - Ola Toivonen (Sweden) – Constantly creating chances for himself and his team, the fair haired Swede firmly established himself as a fans’ favourite.

CF - Marcus Berg (Sweden) – An impressive seven goals in just four games meant he took home the golden boot and almost sent his country into the final, but his header came back off the crossbar in the semi-final against England. Looks likely to have earned a big-money summer transfer.

Subs

GK - Andrea Consigli (Italy) – Displayed an impressive range of saves, especially in the opening game against Serbia and the semi-final against Germany.

RB – Marco Motta (Italy) – A solid leader for the Italians and joined in with attacking play well.

DC – Micah Richards (England) – Put his body on the line countless times and his dominance in the air paid earned him a goal against Finland.

CM - Gojko Kacar (Serbia) – Proved to be a real box-to-box midfielder and his hard work was rewarded with a bundled goal against the hosts Sweden.

CM - Sergei Kislyak (Belarus) – Scored a stunning goal against the hosts and then found the net again against Italy.

RM - Rasmus Elm (Sweden) – Creative influence from midfield for the hosts.

ST - Robert Acquafresca (Italy) – A real poacher for the Italians. Always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

JUNE 29, 2009. The date of the Final, and our last full day in Sweden.

To my excitement, England were still alive – just – after scraping through on penalties against the hosts, with Stuart Pearce’s boys up against the Germans (who else) in the showpiece occasion.

We opted to spend the hours leading up to the finale trawling the streets of Malmo, with a farewell Pizza Hut buffet our first stop. And after the longest ‘brunch’ of my life we left for a spot of shopping at around 2pm, having left the hostel just after midday.

I made the extremely overdue purchase of a pair of flip-flops from Intersport - if only I had been aware of tennis legend Bjorn Bjorg’s extensive beach wear range before spending so much time emptying sand from my trainers at every seaside stop.

The flip-flops were joined by an under-21 Euro 2009 t-shirt to complete my relative spending spree and supply of Swedish souvenirs.

Houlker spent his dosh on some very colourful Bjorn Borg underwear, both of us reluctant to return home with an excess of Swedish Kronor given the current rate.

We then set our sights on Malmo’s revolving tower in the north of the town, resulting in a stroll in the general direction of the office block which, judging by the photos in various tourist guides, wouldn’t look out of place in Manhattan.

A couple 0f snaps later, Houlker had set his sights on the play park across the road, where he looked strangely at home climbing to the top and rewarding himself with the slide route down, appearing near the bench I occupied like a parent keeping an eye on a care-free child.

Refusing to leave until after I joined him on some sort of cycle-roundabout, we decided to catch the bus back, the bumpy ride hardly improving my feeling of dizziness acquired thanks to Houlker’s manic pedalling and thus too many rotations for my liking. Wow, I’m really sounding like the life and soul now.

Our return to the hostel was delayed by McDonald’s meals 21 and 22, and some cheap booze from the supermarket to lighten the mood ahead of the night’s showdown on the pitch.

We left for the ground with an hour to spare until kick-off. Equipped with the essential England attire and flag of St George, I set about filling Daniel in on our national anthem - he having confessed to not knowing all the words back on day one. Shocking, I thought!

In fact, the new patriot among us was worrying me with his confidence of an England win on the night, having become accustomed to Houlker’s pessimistic pre-match predictions on England’s so far successful path to the Final.

Two hours later, my pre-judgement that this sudden enthusiasm for our boys to succeed was a bad omen seemed accurate, and certainly more so than my heart over head pre-tournament forecast that England captain Mark Noble would ultimately lift the trophy.

England had been soundly beaten, taught a lesson in the typically German arts of performing on the biggest stage and taking chances when they come. Even if the 4-0 scoreline was exaggerated, it was hardly unjust in favour of Germany.

We had spent the entirety of the ninety minutes trying to suck in an England goal, switching ends ourselves in the stands at half-time to see England attack from close quarters. In hindsight, maybe our collective sighs merely resulted in blowing Mesut Ozil’s free-kick agonizingly over the line to put the trophy beyond England.

Dismayed, we stayed behind in a near-empty Swedbank Stadion to recognise Germany’s achievement - the arena having been predominantly filled with locals, few Germans and perhaps even less England fans. Overall, interest from outside the host nation had been disappointingly lacking throughout the tournament.

And as for Mark Noble, the closest we got to seeing him was when Houlker struck up a conversation with the midfielder’s father when we confusingly found ourselves being escorted with the players’ families in a bid to reach the lads themselves, though we were soon set straight by an unconvinced FA official.

There was still time for Houlker to try and fulfil his ambition of smuggling home a UEFA advertising net on his way out as a ’souvenir’. Unfortunately, this only succeeded in irritating a steward to the extent that he shouted for security, prompting a quick exit that left Houlker in a bad mood eclipsing that established by the result.

As we returned to the hostel for one last bad night’s sleep, we were confronted on entering the dorm by the most horrific volume of snoring either of us had ever known. It was to the extent that it was hardly worth  trying to fight it, so we salvaged our sheets in the dark and headed to the TV room.

Trust me, this wasn’t an over-reaction either. Oddly, despite the let-down of England’s display and realising we were in for an awful night’s kip, the situation just provoked barely containable laughter as we struggled to comprehend the noise coming from one man’s nostrils.

The closest we came to an accurate comparison was ‘attempting to sleep with someone trying to drag a table across a large room’ – rather like that Will Smith scene in Men In Black*, just less high pitched. Some things are just so ridiculous that they’re funny, and this scenario was definitely one of them.

And so, Houlker lying on a solid floor and me cramped between two chairs, we tried to make the best use of the worst sleeping arrangements I can ever recall on a holiday.

It was a tough last night, but one we shall no doubt remember for a long while to come.

Highlight of the day - Our excitement at the chance to see England in a Final against the Germans.

Lowlight of the day – The outcome on the field, and then being greeted by that horrendous snoring on our return hardly made for a perfect last night.

*Video – Imagine sleeping with this in the same room… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_fSOTE6Q_I

Here are all our snaps from the final between England and Germany.