| Madrid had promised a party to remember - and Spain's victorious national team got a welcome it'll be hard to forget.
Spanish team celebrate their trophy win with a victory parade
The Euro 2008 champions returned home with the country's first major trophy for 44 years and received a rapturous reception.
Even the Spanish air force display team staged a fly past, trailing smoke in the national colours of yellow and red, to create a spectacular finale against the Madrid sunset.
It seemed like the whole of Madrid had turned out to say a big thank you to the players. And it was a scene repeated across the country.
Led by coach Luis Aragones and dressed in squad shirts, the Spanish players took a victory tour on an open-top bus from Madrid airport to the city's packed central Plaza de Colon.
There had been 65,000 fans there to watch the final itself - there seemed to be even more now.
On the stage, the players took in turns to thank the fans for their support. But these are fans who still seemed shocked that their long wait for football glory was over.
Student Marcus told me: "I haven't been home since the final, lots of people haven't, they just want to keep on celebrating. Everyone has a hangover but they also have a smile.
"For once, I am proud to be a Spain fan."
Huge crowd gathered in Madrid
Some of the squad have talked openly of Spain's chances at the next World Cup in South Africa in 2010. Such is the confidence victory in Vienna has brought.
"Why not?" said one jubillant young woman, as she emerged from a dousing from the Madrid fire brigade. "We are the best in Europe, we can be the best in the world. We don't have to fear anyone anymore."
Certainly coach Aragones says Spain's victory should encourage other countries to feel confident in playing a more open and expansive game at international level.
If endless choruses of Queen's We Are The Champions in Madrid are anything to go by, that winning feeling is well worth the bravery and effort.
Maybe the other great under achiever of Europe, England, will learn a few lessons on how to turn around a miserable losing streak.
The Spanish have a few tips on how to party too.
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