Blowers to throw out the champions, ham, beer and apples: what was not seen from the celebration of Spain in Rotterdam

“I want to talk”. Before the common cry, Dani Carvajal asked to speak in the locker room. With everyone silent, he produced a minute of speech that put a knot in the stomach even of people who, inside that dressing room, do not believe too much in such things.

“I have been lucky enough to play in many finals, and to win them, and always as a starter. I think this is the first final in which I am a substitute, but I want to win it more than any other, because winning with your team's shirt is incredible, but winning with this shirt…”, and he grabbed his the height of the shield, and everyone began to shout and cheer and make a circle in the center of the dressing room. It was the beginning of a night that the protagonist himself closed with a Panenka that gave way to a lot of joy, a lot of relief and some rancor.

Canales, with his wife and son. AFP

The team spent more than an hour on the grass after the trophy was delivered. Carvajal, who the second thing he did after scoring and celebrating was to go and give Modric a hug (remarkably pissed off), danced with his brother-in-law, Joselu, to the music of “My great night”, by Raphael, while Morata played with his children in one of the goals. In the other, Ansu centered balls for his little brother to finish off. Luis de la Fuente, meanwhile, set up a machine to distribute hugs and even took people who passed by to clean up.. That was when the president left him, Luis Rubiales, who grabbed his coach by the neck like a friend who has had a lot to drink does and listened to him for a minute. What did he tell you? “Nothing, a chat between two old friends,” summed up De la Fuente.

Fran, Madrid's new left-back, was lonelier than one in a corner, making a video call with someone, presumably with his family, or his girlfriend, or his friends. Namely. The little ones had fun while the president bought another machine to distribute hugs like the one De la Fuente had, and no one there had the slightest intention of leaving. In a hundred and some years of history, it was the fifth official title for the team, so we had to celebrate it, what the heck. The operators of the bathtub, which is the name of the Feyenoord field, to whom yesterday's final mattered the same as today's ONCE draw, decided to cut their losses and, blowers in hand, cleaned the grass of papers (those who threw when they gave the cup) and Spanish human beings who were celebrating the title. If it hadn't been for the blowers, some would still be. By the way, Joselu took to the net of one of the goals.

Ansu Fati, during the celebrations. PA

Already with the commemorative shirts on, they went down to the locker room. The ham, loin and cheese did not last long, and that Le Normand, for example, does not like cheese. small french. or often spanish. Tercios de Victoria, very cold (Victoria is the official beer of the selection) helped not to get cold. One of them was holding the good old Yeipi, which is what Yeremi Pino likes to be called. Just behind, Asensio was passing by on his way to the bus with an apple in his hand. Beer and apple, what things. There was much more of the former than of the latter in one of the function rooms of the nHow Hotel in Rotterdam, where the national team party continued once the bus finally left the stadium, at around ten to two in the morning. . Some have slept very little and today at eight in the morning they were already at the airport. From there, almost directly, to La Zarzuela.