Lehmann blasts ref for being 'arrogant and biased'

But when asked about Torres's quality, Lehmann said: "Well, he scored and that's what you have to do as a striker but you're asking someone who played together for years with Thierry Henry and he was a God, performance-wise, when he was in England. So when you take him and compare him to other strikers, there's a difference and Torres is definitely still not at Thierry's level."

Asked if the 24-year-old could reach that standard, Lehmann - who has yet to decide whether he will play on at international level - shrugged: "Yes he could get there - but it will take him a while."

Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas, fresh from savouring what he called the best day of his life, revealed that Spain's critics back home had inspired them to their first major victory for 44 years.

"We won well and we have proved wrong all the people who

didn't have any confidence in us. For those who did we would like to thank them because they helped us get here," said the Arsenal man.

Fabregas, who was flying back with his team-mates today to Madrid where they will enjoy an open-top bus parade, believes this could be the start of a great new era for the Spanish game.

He said: "I think we've tried to play the game the way it should be played.

We're a young side and in two years, we can fight for the World Cup."

Chelsea's German captain Michael Ballack, whose seeming jinx of losing major finals struck again as he battled through the match with a calf injury, was tipped by his team-mates to bounce back strongly.

Coach Joach Loew said: "He is our captain and did lots of special things for us during this tournament. He represents Germany and the team very well."