Ceballos voted Player of the Tournament, Saúl top scorer, but...
The U-21 squad can come home with their heads held high. Being runner-up in a major tournament is frustrating but it's still an excellent achievement. On the night, Germany were the better team, it's as simple as that. Are we seeing a boom in German football? Euro U-21 champions, a "B" team finalists at the Confederations Cup in Russia and with maybe some influence from Spain after DFB officials spent many months here studying our training methods. There are certainty elements of a "Spanish style" visible with the current national German team.
Ceballos and Saúl
Regarding "La Rojita", I have certainly had a feeling throughout the tournament that there was something missing from our overall play and last night when facing a potent rival we were lacking in a defensive midfield capacity. I feel that Celades' side features some excellent talent but lacking the gel that binds these individuals together. I was pleased though for Ceballos who won UEFA Player of the Tournament as I was for Atletico's Saúl who won the award for top-scorer in the competition. The team did themselves proud and simply came up against a solid, well drilled opponent in he final.
The future's bright...
Spain started slowly in Krakow last night and only really took the game to the Germans in the final twenty minutes of play. They improved with the introduction of both Gayá and Williams with Borja Mayoral not having enough time to impose himself on the action. This time it wasn't to be with Pollersbeck stopping well from a Saúl drive and Ceballos coming close for "La Rojita". Asensio worked tirelessly and once again I was worried from what Deulofeu offered. A player that was set to explode with his amazing ability to take players on seems to be on the wane. The overall feeling however is of a excellent tournament from the lads who created plenty of interest throughout the country for the duration of the competition. Spanish football has a bright future, that's a certainty.