The European Championship has already ended, while the question is how "Germany 2024" will be remembered.
The European was a success. It may not have always been a great tournament for football, but it has been good for the reasons that really matter.
It was successful for the millions of fans who traveled to Germany and for the shared experiences they had while watching football together and having a good time. It was also a pleasure for the hosts. In Germany, comparisons were made with the 2006 World Cup. The comparison was inevitable, but not real.
However, there was no second "summer tale". Euro 2024 wasn't the best tournament ever, but it wasn't disappointing either. It was far from the latter actually.
Sunday's final was the 51st match of the 31-day tournament. Germany played Scotland in the opener on 14 June. Not all matches were outstanding. To be honest, some of the matches were boring. But such are the big tournaments. But again there were enough entertaining matches at every stage of the tournament.
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One of the things that became the theme of this European was how the small teams have surprised with performances. They have played more attractive football than some of the big representatives.
But it was the fans who stood out from the start. Tens of thousands of Scotland supporters in Munich, at the opening of the European Championship, will not be forgotten. Their celebration will be remembered even after Scotland lost badly to Germany. It was the same in almost every city where there were European matches.
There have been very few incidents. From a fan safety perspective it was a peaceful tournament, which is brilliant.
The massive march of Dutch fans to the stadium, which they always do, was impressive. Or even the noise that the Romanian fans created during the match with Slovakia.
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"I have seen the country and the tournament from the point of view of a German, an expert and a football fan. And I enjoyed every aspect. The combination of watching football and meeting like-minded people was a beautiful thing. One of the best matches I've seen in Europe ended with a result that hurt the Germans - Germany losing to Spain. The match could have gone the other way, but Spain advanced successfully. It is a sin that Germany had to play Spain in the quarter-finals", analyzed the former representative of Germany, Thomas Hitzlsperger, who was engaged as a football analyst during the European Championship.
He appreciated Germany's performance, although it stopped a little early. Early on, other big representatives were also eliminated. But the best were in the finals. And the best won.
