On Sunday Spain ended a 44 year trophy drought with victory against Germany in the final of 2008. At times during the tournament they passed the ball with such artistry and flowed forward so seamlessly that few would argue they were not worthy winners of a competition that had, for the most part, dazzled and delighted spectators.
That Spanish superiority was achieved with a midfield measuring up at an average height of under 5ft 9 pours scorn on Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's assertion this week that he chose not to take the risk - as he saw it - of signing Luka Modric this summer, because the player is 'too small'. In the learned professor's opinion, the Croatian play-maker, who stands at 174cm (5ft 7), possesses too slight a frame to be a success in the Premier League.
Wenger quickly dismissed comparison with his own Cesc Fabregas, who stands only 3cm taller than Modric, saying the Spaniard was short and stocky while his Croatian counterpart was thin and wiry. Yet Fabregas is not the only vertically challenged player Wenger has invested in. At 179 cm Tomas Rosicky is hardly a giant and he too endured question marks over his ability to cope with the rough and tumble of England's top division. The same could be said of Theo Walcott (175cm) but both players have shown they are not intimidated by bulkier or taller opponents.
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It would seem likely that Wenger's words are, in part, the mind games of a manager who has seen one of Europe's most precocious talents slip through his fingers. It's pretty petty as even with the potential loss of Aleksandr Hleb this summer, the Frenchman still has a formidable array of attacking talent at his disposal. He speaks as if Modric was his for the taking but he decided to pass, opting instead to recruit Marseilles Samir Nasri, who is, incidentally, only 2cm bigger than Luka Modric.
Yet it seems ridiculous that a man so devoted to his side playing 'proper' football - even in the face of defeat - would criticise a player, regardless of his height, who adheres so impressively to his own philosophy of sharp, inventive passing. During the last twenty days Modric has shown that his style of play is very similar to that of Fabregas, or Xavi or Andrés Iniesta, in that his ability on the ball counters his lack of stature.
On the face of it, Modric and Tottenham are well placed to follow the Spanish blueprint of success. Against the comparative colossi of Germany and Russia, Spain proved that guile can be the match for brawn, and Juande Ramos' side can do so too. In Modric, Dos Santos (174 cm), Aaron Lennon (165cm) and Steed Malbranque (1.68cm) the Spaniard has at his disposal some of the smallest players in the league but this is not necessarily a big issue.
Through the purchase of Modric and Mexican international Dos Santos, Ramos has clearly identified that his side lacked flair and the ability to keep possession. Geovani is a student of La Liga, a competition where retention of the ball is key. The leagues top players not only possess the ability to pass to a man in the same shirt time and time again but also the close control and technical expertise to operate in tight situations and escape with the ball.
It should come as no surprise that in recent years conferences attended by some of the top minds in the game - including Jose Mourinho, Phil Scolari and Jurgen Klinsmann - have championed the importance of possession in the modern game. These coaches talk passionately about 'transitions of possession', a phrase given to the moment one team cedes the ball to another and how teams can fully exploit that situation.
Using this philosophy a side employs two smaller, quick wingers who sit deep alongside at least one striker who is significantly taller (think Adebayor or Drogba) who has the ability to hold up the ball and act as the focal point for the counter-attack. This tactic sees a team flood the opposition box with numbers as quickly as possible after winning back the ball deep in their own half, effectively overwhelming a defence who can't get back quick enough to cover all the gaps. It's is not unthinkable that Ramos may adhere to a similar framework.
It isn't the case that our vertically challenged midfield shouldn't be a cause for concern, and it likely that, in the coming months, a player of greater physical stature will be added to add a more combative element to the spine of the side. Yet, although Wenger would have us believe otherwise, it is also lazy and unfair to suggest a player like Luka Modric cannot succeed in England because he needs a yellow pages to be effective from set pieces. Maradona and Michel Platini were hardly giants and few would have scoffed had they graced our top league.