The Champions League final gave reporters a strange mix of the epic and the dull

The reputation of England fans abroad meant that we spent all weekend on edge, worried that there would be some incident among drunken, sun-stroked fans

(Reuters)

Being in Madrid to cover the Champions League final this weekend was to be part of a massive but ultimately benign British invasion of the city. There were two Premier League teams, of course, hundreds of British journalists and more than 100,000 Liverpool and Spurs fans, many of whom had no chance of getting a ticket, but just wanted to join in the biggest party of their lives.

The reputation of England fans abroad meant that we spent all weekend on edge, worried that there would be some incident among drunken, sun-stroked fans. But in reality the fans behaved impeccably, given the circumstances, and the few incidents that did happen owed more to the heavy-handed local police. Given this era of national embarrassment on a European stage, I did feel some pride at this positive display of collective good behaviour.

This also meant we were freed up to focus on the football which was in one sense epic, the climax of two long journeys endured by the two teams, but in another sense very boring. Not just the queueing and waiting that comes with any big event, but in its own way the turgid grind of the game itself.