Finally, World Champions!

Madrid and all of Spain itself is still reveling in the glory of winning the World Cup last night–and in more than a few cases, nursing a celebratory hangover.

Madrid’s emblematic Plaza de Cibeles and the Paseo de Recoletos was closed to traffic for the event–a sea of red T-shirts, Spanish flags waving feverishly, and singing, screaming, ebullient fans who celebrated Spain’s first World Cup title well into the early morning.

The final game of the World Cup pitted the aggressive Dutch team against the determined Spanish team, but even “Paul” the octopus oracle (“Pulpo Paul”) predicted a Spanish win. Most of the first 90 minutes was pure agony for Spain though; the entire country watched on their television screens as the Dutch team tried to stall and protest their way through the game in Johannesburg. However, that didn’t matter anymore the moment Iniesta scored the long-awaited goal that sealed Spain’s victory: the Spanish capital erupted in cheers, shouts of joy, rockets going off, people embracing one another, and emboldened fans simply going crazy. The revelry and euphoria continued for hours.

[Photo: Warrenski]