More than 300,000 Germany fans welcomed their defeated team home on Monday at a colourful ceremony at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on Monday, paying tribute to the runners-up of Euro 2008.

Waving black, red and gold German flags, crowds packed a fan mile in front of the Berlin landmark monument at the start of a public viewing area that stretched two kilometres west to the 'Victory Column'. Some 600,000 fans watched the finals of the Euro here.

'It's disappointing to go so far in the tournament, get to the final and then lose,' captain Michael Ballack told the big crowd after the team returned from Vienna. 'That's always bitter.' But Ballack, who has now lost in a total of 10 final matches in his club and international career, said that the team had felt the support from the huge crowds that filled public viewing venues across Germany all the way to their hotel in Switzerland.

'I don't think we'd have gone so far without these great fans,' Ballack said. 'We all saw the TV pictures of what was going on back here and it felt like we had an extra man on the pitch all the time.'



The squad's plane from the Austrian capital even made a series of low-flying passes over central Berlin to get a closer look at the crowd packed into the center of the German capital, which included thousands of children missing school to be present. Draped in the national colors and flags in a relaxed display of German patriotism unimaginable just a few years ago, many held placards thanking them for a thrilling run to the final.

'We were all pretty sad last night but I think we achieved a lot with second place and I think we can all be proud that we were in the final,' coach Joachim Loew said. 'Spain were a great team throughout the tournament and they were a class act last night. But if we meet Spain in a tournament again, we'll beat them next time.'

Goalkeeper Jens Lehmann admitted giving away the goal was going to haunt him. 'That's one I wish I could have stopped,' Lehmann said. 'It's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. But even though we lost it's still great that the people are so enthusiastic.'



Team mate Bastian Schweinsteiger said: 'This feels really good to be here after the deep disappointment last night. It helps the healing process.'

The hour-long tribute, broadcast live nationwide on several networks, included rock music and short interviews with all 23 players on the team. It was concluded with the traditional beer shower.

There was a similar tribute for Germany after the 2006 World Cup. But the spirit was clearly better there after the team had won the match for third place against Portugal the night before. This time, the defeat in the finals was still fresh on the minds of everyone present.

3 German players were picked for the UEFA's best XI of the Euro 2008.

Goalkeepers: Buffon (Italy), Casillas (Spain), van der Sar (Holland).

Defenders: Bosingwa (Portugal), Lahm (Germany), Marchena (Spain), Pepe (Portugal), Puyol (Spain), Zhirkov (Russia).

Midfielders: Hamit Altintop (Turkey), Modric (Croatia), Senna (Spain), Xavi (Spain), Zyryanov (Russia), Ballack (Germany), Fabregas (Spain), Iniesta (Spain), Podolski (Germany), Sneijder (Holland).

Striker: Arshavin (Russia), Pavlyuchenko (Russia), Torres (Spain), Villa (Spain).

Germany lost 1-0 to Spain in the finals of the Euro 2008 tournament. Spain put on a commanding display throughout the game and after Fernando Torres scored in the 33rd minute, Germany were never able to really get back into the game and threaten the Spanish goal.

Heavyweights in European football who produce a constant stream of individual talents, Spain had not won a major tournament since 1964 but finally shook off their tag of being chokers, not able to cope with the pressure of the highest stage.

They have also been perceived as a nation divided by their regions - the lyrics to their national anthem are not used - but full-back Sergio Ramos had kept mentioning the word "united'' this week, and when Torres secured the Henri Delaunay for them they were just that.

Just shy of his 70th birthday, Luis Aragones will now leave his post as coach, probably for Fenerbahce, as a champion. Vicente del Bosque has been tipped to take over and he will inherit a young squad who have their sights on the World Cup.

While Portugal appeared destabilised by Chelsea announcing Luiz Felipe Scolari as their new coach during these finals, there were no signs of the same happening to Spain following Fenerbahce's statement revealing Aragones as their new boss on the eve of their semi-final.

They finish as the tournament's top goalscorers, helped by Torres who took the Premier League by storm with 33 rookie goals for Liverpool.

He was not on the top of his game for the whole of the tournament, but the 24-year-old stepped into the shoes of David Villa when Spain needed him.

"Viva Espana'' sang their fans before the sangria started flowing.

This was billed as a clash of Germany's efficiency and power versus Spain's fluidity and creativity which were on display as Russia were swept aside in the semi-finals.

Germany's drive came from Ballack, with the Chelsea midfielder passed fit despite carrying a calf injury on the eve of the final.

'Against the odds we will win the trophy', read one headline from a German newspaper on the day of the game - and Ballack was seen as the key to their chances.

They had been inconsistent in the group stages, then stuttered past Turkey after outmuscling Portugal.

Only Ballack's level of performance had been high throughout all of it but he ends the tournament a 'nearly man' again.

Six years ago he missed the World Cup final through suspension just after Bayer Leverkusen missed a trio of chances for silverware.

This season Manchester United pipped him to the Premier League and Champions League - and he finds himself the bridesmaid once more.

Facing Ballack was a Barcelona-bred wall of Xavi, Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas in midfield, with Arsenal's youngster getting his chance following Villa's injury.

But before they were allowed to impose themselves on the game, Germany had already wasted two early chances.

Ramos lost his bearings and gifted a pass straight to Miroslav Klose, whose poor touch let him down as he sped past Carles Puyol - and the opportunity had gone.

Then Thomas Hitzlsperger was teed up on the edge of the area by Klose but could not get purchase on his shot.

Spain started to move through the gears after their double reprieve, never looking back after they were let off the hook.

Their opening chance came after a Xavi pass had split the German defence to find Iniesta on the left. When the cross came over, Christoph Metzelder sliced towards his own goal and Jens Lehmann, the oldest player to feature in a European Championship final, athletically tipped around the post.

The post came to Lehmann's rescue when Torres climbed above Per Mertesacker to meet Ramos' centre - but the Liverpool man was not made to wait long for his goal.

It came 12 minutes before the break when Xavi played the ball beyond Philipp Lahm. The full-back was favourite to clear but Torres used pace and muscle to get around him and chip over Lehmann before celebrating his goal by sucking his thumb.

It could have got worse for Germany had David Silva not volleyed over wildly when found at the far post by Iniesta.

And German fans feared the worst when Ballack was forced off with a cut eye, but he returned after getting the bloodied injury treated twice. He was also booked along with opposing captain Iker Casillas for talking back at the referee.

Spain had chances to make it comfortable after the break, with Lehmann saving from Ramos' header and Iniesta getting a drive cleared off the line.

Their own indiscipline almost cost them when Silva butted his head towards Lukas Podolski - but no card was shown.

Torres was taken off in the 78th minute, with his job already done in waking the sleeping giants of European football.

Ballack has been declared fit to play for the final.

Here is Germany's starting line-up:

Lehmann, Friedrich, Lahm, Mertesacker, Metzelder, Schweinsteiger, Frings, Ballack, Hitzlsperger, Podolski, Klose.

Löw sticks with the XI that started the second half of the 3-2 semi-final victory against Turkey.

Germany captain Michael Ballack is doubtful for Sunday's Euro 2008 final against Spain because of an injury to his right calf, the German Football Association (DFB) said on Saturday.

Ballack missed training on Friday back at the team's base in Tenero and he was unable to join the eve-of-match session at the stadium in Vienna on Saturday. The DFB said the question of whether he could play was 'fully open' with just over 24 hours to go before the final.

The 31-year-old midfielder has scored two goals during the tournament and was the outstanding player in the 3-2 win over Portugal in the quarter-finals. He was less impressive against Turkey in the semi-finals but his absence would be a huge blow to the German team, who are bidding for their fourth European Championship title.

Ballack has never played in a major final for Germany. He missed the final of the 2002 World Cup through suspension and was part of the team that lost the 2006 semi-final to Italy.

German President Horst Köhler and German Chancellor Angela Merkel will be in the stands on Sunday to watch Germany take on Spain in the Euro 2008 final. "The chancellor will be in Vienna to cheer on the Mannschaft," government spokesman Thomas Steg explained.

Merkel was in Basel on Wednesday to witness Germany's narrow victory over Turkey in their semi-final. Several government ministers will also attend the final. Among these are Wolfgang Schäuble, Minister of the Interior and responsible for sports, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Norbert Lammert, President of the Bundestag.

Spain has confirmed that King Juan Carlos and Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero will be at the match, after the Spanish side booked a place in the final by beating Russia 3-0 on Thursday.

Harrison Ford, Spanish opera singer Placido Domingo and Jamaican reggae artist Shaggy, singer of the tournament's two mascot songs, are among the invited guests from the entertainment industry.

Former top sportsmen and sporting officials due to attend include German ex Formula One champion Michael Schumacher, 1974 World Cup winner Franz Beckenbauer, International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge and FIFA president Sepp Blatter.

Germany will now face Spain in the European Championship Finals to take place on Sunday. Spain won in convincing fashion against Russia in the other semifinal game 3-0 to book their place in the finals.

Looking at the form of the two teams, Germany will certainly have to up their game to be able to match Spain, after an unconvincing win against an understrength Turkish side.

Germany coach Joachim Loew has praised Torsten Frings for his attitude on Thursday after the disappointed midfielder was not called up by Löw in the game against Turkey. He later came off the bench at the start of the second half to play a key part in the Euro 2008 semi-final victory over the battling Turks.

Read more about what Löw had to say about Frings.>>

In case you missed the exciting semifinals between Germany and Turkey, here's the highlights from the game.

"We are absolutely delighted to have won this semi-final – an incredible feeling. The players themselves are thrilled to have won a game like that. It was a fantastic fight, a great drama, and with the late goals it had everything. After conceding their second goal, we were strong enough mentally to come back and it was an excellent move that resulted in the third goal. It was hard to take conceding at 2-2, but it was a clear sign of our strength of character that we then produced an excellent attack and a brilliant finish. I think we played very well, and I also think they played very well. Technically they are excellent and there were spells in the match where we struggled. It was difficult, but we were clinical and scored three goals which made the difference, from fewer chances than against Portugal in the quarter-final. We showed a winning mentality. Early on, we gave the ball away easily and lost our rhythm. They kept possession well and we ended up hitting long balls. Second half, we might have benefited from a second striker to help keep the ball up front, but the five midfielders were important as they stopped us from being overrun – because Turkey passed the ball really well through midfield. I coached in Turkey and I know that once they get into the groove in a game or in a competition, they are hard to stop. They have great enthusiasm and are fantastic technically. We were worried, but we were lucky to score in the 90th minute. Congratulations to Turkey for a fantastic show."

Germany won Turkey 3-2 to book a place in the finals of Euro 2008 after a fantastic strike in the 90th minute by Philipp Lahm. Klose scored in the 79th minute with a header that looked like it was going to be the winner but Turkey once again leveled in dramatic fashion in the 86th minute. With the game looking to go into extra time, Germany decided it was time for them to take a page off the Turks. Lahm made a run down the left and played a nice one-two with Hitzelsperger to end up nicely placed with just the goalkeeper to beat. He cooly sent the Turkish goalkeeper diving the wrong way, slotting the ball into the net at the near post.

Thus, the result ends the Turkish fairytale that has dominated headlines at Euro 2008. Turkey had come back 3 times in the last 3 games with late goals and it looked like it was going to happen again when Semih Senturk scored in the 86th minute to level things at 2-2. The much-weakened Turkey side had dominated the first half but were only level at half-time after Germany's Bastian Schweinsteiger had cancelled out Ugur Boral's 22nd-minute opening goal within 4 minutes.

The second half was a more evenly-matched game and looked to be going to extra-time after Germany striker Miroslav Klose and Semih Senturk of Turkey had each scored in the final 11 minutes. Germany took the lead through Klose in the 79th minute. Rustu was coming out from his goal to claim Lahm's lofted cross into the area, but Klose beat both the goalkeeper and Topal to the ball to send a glancing header into an unguarded net. Astonishingly, the Turks managed to net yet another late goal 4 minutes from time when it seemed like Germany were all set to go into the finals. Sabri sent over a low cross and Semih managed to poke the ball past Lehmann at his near post.

But there was still time for Lahm to smash home the winner as three-times European champions - twice as West Germany in 1972 and 1980 - reached the final, where they will meet either Spain or Russia.

Michael Ballack's lung-busting performances for Germany at Euro 2008 can be directly attributed to the Chelsea midfielder's experience of playing in the Premier League, according to national team coach Joachim Löw.

Statistically, Ballack has been one of the players who has covered the most ground in the European Championship, and his displays have been vital in helping Germany set up a semi-final showdown with Turkey in Basle tonight.

Ballack joined Chelsea from Bayern Munich in 2006 and Löwbelieves the midfielder's fitness levels are noticeably better since he switched to England.

'Michael Ballack in the past few matches has really run a great deal and in the last two years he has played in the Premier League in the UK and he's had excellent progress physically - we noticed that when he joined us with the national squad in Germany,' said Löw. 'He was injured for half a year but he worked hard in that period of time, so physically speaking he developed nicely playing in the Premier League because they play fast-paced football at a high-intensity. So at the moment he is in very good physical shape and he is capable of doing long runs in a match and at high speed. This is a development that we have seen in the past few months.'

Captain Ballack may have another tiring night in store against the Turks, a side who have proven themselves virtually impossible to keep down during Euro 2008 so far. Turkey may have lost their opening match 2-0 to Portugal, but since then they have won three successive matches to reach their first European Championship semi-final. It has been the manner of those wins that has been the most impressive thing though, with Fatih Terim's side fighting back from deficits in all three matches before clinching last-gasp victories.

Löw believes that Turkey's never-say-die attitude is something that has been developed over the last few years. 'They have very strong runners and very technical players, and they have come up with great performances and have been highly motivated in the tournament,' Löw said. 'They have always been excellent players and it's always been fun for them to play, but when they've been down they tended to be demoralised, but the have learnt never to give up and in particular to keep on running. Maybe this was not the same 10 years ago.'

Torsten Frings has recovered sufficiently from his fractured rib and could return to the Germany team to face Turkey in Wednesday's Euro 2008 semi-final. That is according to coach Joachim Löw, who said that the experienced midfielder trained on Monday. Frings trained with a protective bandage and reported no major problems, except for a nagging pain.

Frings, one of Germany's most experienced midfielders, broke his rib in the 1-0 win over Austria in their final group game. That put him out of the quarterfinal against Portugal. Thomas Hitzlsperger and Simon Rolfes stepped in with excellent performances in the centre of midfield. Löw could now be faced with a tricky decision whether to stick to the successful formation used against Portugal last week or to switch back to his old 4-4-2 system with Frings starting beside Ballack.

...there's a great woman. Man of the Match Bastian Schweinsteiger attributed his success to a little encouragement from the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. Schweinsteiger revealed: "She said that I should not do the same foolish things, that I should just play as I did before.", and that "[when] Mrs Chancellor says you have to do something, you have to do it."

It is perhaps fitting that Germany's football-mad leader should have indirectly led the German football team to victory as well.

Read more about Schweinsteiger's performance in the Germany vs. Portugal match.>>

Full highlights from the Germany vs. Portugal match. This time in English.

It seems like the Germans are happy with the results of the 2nd quarterfinals game played yesterday between Turkey and Croatia. 3 players of the Turkey team will be suspended in the semifinals following yellow cards they picked up in the quarterfinals. Turkey has a host of other players who are out injured as well so Germany will be once again regarded as the favorites in their upcoming semifinal encounter with Turkey.

Read more about defender Arne Friedrich's thoughts about the game.>>

In case you missed the match, here's the highlights of the Germany - Portugal Euro 2008 quarterfinal clash in Basel, Switzerland.

Germany stormed past Portugal 3-2 in the quarterfinals, scoring 2 goals in the first half and adding 1 in the second. Schweinsteiger, Klose and Ballack were all on target for the Germans and they held on in a tense last 10 minutes of the game as Portugal scored a late goal to try to revive their hopes. However, it was too little too late for Scolari's men and they are now out of Euro 2008.

Before the match begun, there was much talk about Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo as everyone expected him to shine in the game. However, his opposite number in the form of Bastian Schweinsteiger stole the show with a commanding performance to put the Germans through to the semifinals. The Bayern Munich winger scored one and setup two others from free kicks to snuff out the hopes of the Portuguese.

Germany now face either Turkey or Croatia in the semifinals, with a possible rematch of their group stage loss to Croatia, forcing the Germans to fight to the end of the group stage so that they could progress.

Joachim Low, banned from the touchline due to a sending off in the last group match, made three changes to his starting lineup. Fritz, Gomez and Frings, who was suffering a broken rib, were taken out in favor of Schweinsteiger, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Simon Rolfes. Scolari, on the other hand, started with the same eleven that had breezed through the first two group games.

Germany controlled the tempo and the possession in the early stages of the game. Hitzlsperger had the first shot with a ninth-minute free-kick but Deco blocked it, and the Stuttgart midfielder let rip another left-footed effort towards the goal moments later which went into the side-netting.

Simao made Jens Lehmann work for the first time just before the quarter-hour mark when he found himself well placed on the right-hand side of the area following good build-up play from Pepe and Deco, but the former Arsenal stopper confidently held on to the winger's effort. Gomes then looked to put Cristiano Ronaldo through but Arne Friedrich got across swiftly to put the ball out for a corner.

Portugal's best chance in the first half came when Jose Bosingwa fired in a cross from the left towards Joao Moutinho. It arrived at an awkward height for the Sporting Lisbon midfielder, who seemed unsure of what to do with it and ended up diverting the ball over the bar with his knee. The miss proved costly as the Germans went a goal up shortly after in the 22nd minute.

It was a wonderfully worked goal too, some swift one-touch passing between Philipp Lahm, Ballack and Lukas Podolski advancing the ball down the left, with Podolski bursting clear to drive in a low cross which Schweinsteiger converted with a sliding finish. Löw had told the midfielder he had a "debt" to his team-mates after his red card against Croatia and he certainly made sure he repaid it by opening the scoring against Portugal.

Four minutes later, Germany doubled their advantage when Schweinsteiger, now on fire from his earlier goal, floated in a perfect free-kick and Klose glanced a header past the onrushing Ricardo.

As if things couldn't get any worse, Portugal suffered a further blow to their dimming hopes when Moutinho hobbled off with a knee injury, to be replaced by Raul Meireles.

The Portuguese slowly began to find their way back into the game again, as Ronaldo and Simao combined well just after the half-hour to force Per Mertesacker into a scrambled clearance. Gomes halved the deficit in the 40th minute, reacting first to fire into the bottom-left corner off the right boot of Christoph Metzelder after Lehmann had parried a Ronaldo shot towards the middle of his goalmouth.

That goal set-up an interesting last 5 minutes of the first half as the Germans tried to restore their lead when Ballack cut in well from the left onto his right foot, but Ricardo saved well at his near post to deny the German captain.

The second-half began in a rather ragged fashion as Friedrich and Lahm were both shown yellow cards for tackles on Ronaldo and Simao respectively. Hitzlsperger had a chance five minutes after the restart but sent his left-footed strike high over the top. Pepe then gave up a good chance to draw level when he headed over in the 57th minute after Deco had flicked on a corner.

The Portuguese immediately paid for their wastefulness when Ballack met Schweinsteiger's free-kick from the left to head past Ricardo in the 62nd minute, restoring the two-goal cushion they had earlier.

Portugal's hopes of going through looked decidedly dim after that, although Scolari tried to turn things around with less than 30 minutes left by throwing on attackers Nani and Postiga.

Podolski almost put the result beyond doubt 12 minutes from time when his fierce long-range drive whizzed just past the right-hand post with Ricardo not able to react to the shot. Nani then set up fellow substitute Postiga to head home a second late in the game to give Portugal a slim chance to level things in the last 3 minutes of the game.

Germany pulled everyone back to form a solid defensive wall against Portugal in the dying minutes as they tried to fend off the few remaining attacks mounted by the Portuguese. However, there was no way past for Portugal and Germany, under the temporary guidance of Löw's assistant Hans-Dieter Flick, are now through to the semifinals of European Championships for the first time since their 1996 triumph.

The game also brings Luiz Felipe Scolari's five-year reign as the Portugal coach to an inglorious end as the team crashes out, unable to improve on their past two outings in the European Championships. He now heads off to become Chelsea manager on July 1.

Here's the German's starting lineup for the game:

Lehmann will be keeping goal as usual.

In front of him, the back four will consist of the same that played against Austria, namely (L to R): Lahm, Metzelder, Mertesacker, Friedrich.

The midfield will have a bit of a shake-up following Schweinsteiger's return and Frings' injury. Rolfes has been handed his first start at the Euro. The four midfielders are (L to R): Hitzlsperger, Ballack, Rolfes, Schweinsteiger.

Upfront, Gomez has been taken off in favor of Podolski partnering Klose.