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.

Liverpool and Spurs both pride themselves on physical intensity but here, in humid 30C heat even at 9pm, after three weeks of training without a match, they both looked clumsy and heavy-legged. Our chief football writer Miguel Delaney said it was the worst of the 11 Champions League finals he has covered.

Once the game was over, the players were in no rush to speak to the travelling press, which meant waiting until almost 2am to get them to share their thoughts. Even then most of the players were either too heartbroken or too elated to speak at length.

We all left at almost 3am, drained by the heat and the sweat and the emotional contrast that stood between one English team on top of the world and the other in deepest despair. If you are paid to cover football you have won the lottery of jobs, but it does still take something out of you.

Yours,

Jack Pitt-Brooke

Football reporter