MADRID: Waving flags and dressed in Spain's red and yellow colours, tens of thousands of people jubilantly greeted the country's triumphant Euro 2024 men's football team on Monday during a parade in Madrid.
"Champions, champions!" fans shouted out to the players and coach, who celebrated the win in an open-top double-decker bus, with the trophy placed on the front and the message "It's only the beginning" emblazoned. Spain beat England 2-1 in Sunday's final in Berlin.
Spanish authorities praised the players' victory and style of play, while some fans said they were fostering unity in a country with a history of territorial tensions and political polarisation.
"We are a great country. In days like today it's important to remember that this flag represents all of us," a young fan named Borja told national broadcaster TVE.
He praised Spain's 17-year-old rising star Lamine Yamal, who is Black, with his father hailing from Morocco while his mother was born in Equatorial Guinea.
"We are seeing the (ongoing) problems with racism. Lamine Yamal will define an era because people in Spain are of all colours," Borja added.
Standing on balconies and crowded sidewalks, excited fans, many of them kids and some who had travelled from distant parts of Spain, waved at the players who were wearing white t-shirts reading "Kings of Europe" accompanied by a big number four to mark Spain's fourth continental title.
"I want to thank you for your efforts and for the way you played, with the joy you do it," Spain's King Felipe VI told the team in a ceremony at his palace, accompanied by Queen Letizia and his two daughters dressed in national jerseys.
"A joy like this one was good for us," he added. - REUTERS