Euro 2012: Spanish team return home to a heroes’ welcome

Published on 03/07/2012 00:00

TRIUMPHANT Spanish players carried the European Championship trophy back to their native land yesterday, ready to accept a heroes’ welcome and lead their economically troubled nation in a second night of jubilant celebration.

Team captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas proudly held the tournament cup as he emerged from the plane in Madrid with coach Vicente del Bosque a day after Spain’s crushing 4-0 win over Italy.

The Iberia plane that brought them from Kiev bore the logo “proud of our national team.”

The players filed off wearing red and yellow shirts and blue shorts. They were to meet with King Juan Carlos later in the day, then take an open-air bus ride through the Spanish capital to the adulation of tens of thousands. Madrid’s central plaza was all geared up for a victory rally.

Their outstanding performance in the Euro 2012 final raised spirits across a country drowning in financial woes and made them the first team to bookend a World Cup triumph (2010) with two European Championship successes (2008 and 2012).

It even had some Spaniards offering a tongue-in-cheek suggestion: Why not have them run the country instead of Spain’s feckless politicians?

In one newspaper cartoon, Del Bosque is surrounded by Casillas and other stars such as Xavi Hernandez and Andres Iniesta, who are all dressed up in suits for a new line of work.

“The solution to our problems: the government of prime minister Del Bosque and his ministers,” read the vignette in El Mundo.

As the country recovered from a national hangover of elation, pride and booze, Spaniards soaked up sweet memories of a night of football celebration that no-one will forget.

For a few hours, the realities of 25 per cent unemployment, a grinding recession and a banking bailout from the European Union to the tune of up to e100 billion (£80 billion) were put aside.