EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP: THE HERO of the night, goal scorer Fernando Torres, admitted to a huge sense of pride when he met with the world's press after last night's final.

"It's a privilege to be in the national team and to live through this most beautiful moment and we're proud that it has given so many people enjoyment. I hope this will be good for football because the team that played the best football won and that does not always happen."

Asked what it felt like to have won the European Championship for Spain with his goal, Torres struck a modest note, saying: "I'm happy, my job is to score goals and I did my job tonight, but I am just one of the group, this is a victory for the unity of the group, a group that gets along very well with one another."

Describing his goal, Torres suggested he had been greatly helped by a slight error by German defender Philip Lahm.

"Lahm was in front of me, but he relaxed for a second and that let me in . . . It's been a fantastic season for me at Liverpool and in the national team. I have to keep going now and win more titles . . . This was obviously my best moment in the tournament, scoring the winning goal in the final. This is the most important day in Spanish football for many, many years."

Torres had warm words for his manager, Luis Aragones, in charge of Spain for the last time last night.

"Our manager is like another player for us, a father. He likes to play good football and maybe he is the most important figure in our set-up. He is now in Spanish football history and we're very happy for him."

That same father figure was also adopting a modest, if clearly contented profile, explaining his side's success in simple terms.

"We've put together a group that plays well, controls the ball well and it's difficult to stop them. This is a happy day for Spain because we've won this tournament in a brilliant manner.

"I'm happy for everybody. I'm happy for Fernando (Torres), he is a great player, both for us and for Liverpool. He can go anywhere, he does everything well, he could become one of the greatest players in the world.

"All those that love football like this team, they like watching a side that plays good combinations to get into a goalscoring position. At the beginning, I said that if we managed this group well, then we would become champions. People thought I was just trying to encourage the players but it was really true because this is a very talented squad."

Beaten German coach Joachim Loew was generous in defeat, conceding that the better team had won.

"First of all I have to congratulate the Spanish team. You have to recognise that they have played well throughout the tournament. Of course, we're disappointed, but we did well and this defeat and our performance in this tournament will be an incentive to work hard in a number of areas so that we qualify for the World Cup in 2010.

"I spoke to all my players, obviously we're very disappointed but, in the end, we got to the final and that was something special.

"I would say that Spain clearly had the best chances tonight. The Spaniards were constantly good in this tournament and played at a high level throughout."

Asked if he was disappointed with the performance of his captain, Michael Ballack, whose presence was in doubt right up to the kick-off, he said: "I was glad when I heard that Ballack would be able to play . . I'm not going to comment on individual players but I will say that I was glad to have him there. He's very important for our team and he did a lot of special things at this tournament and he represented the team and Germany very well

"As for the Spanish, technically speaking, they are of a very high quality. They're all playing in the Champions League, at a high level. When it comes to ball possession, they're very good and you can see that even with their youth teams."