Germany coach Joachim Low conceded that Spain deserved to beat his side in the Euro 2008 final in Vienna.
“Spain played better, we couldn’t match their level. We did not play at our best,” he admitted after Spain’s 1-0 win.
“We will analyse over the next couple of days what went wrong and work on that for the near future.
“Spain played very well during whole tournament and they were technically excellent. We had no answer after Spain found their rhythm.”
But Low praise his side for reaching another major final.
He said: “I have to compliment the team for what they have achieved over the past few weeks.
“It has been fantastic. The players are obviously disappointed, but they have every reason to hold their heads up high.”
The defeat was another disappointment for Germany captain Michael Ballack, who can now add the Euro 2008 final to defeats in two Champions League finals as well as being suspended for the 2002 World Cup final in Japan.
The 31-year-old said: “It is very sad to lose when one has come such a long way. All the team battled away.
“This tournament has come at the end of the season and physically it has been tough. However we have made too many errors in this match.”
Germany midfield man Thomas Hitzlsperger expressed his sympathies for Ballack, and added: “We are all disappointed, he has played in many finals and lost some of them.
“Hopefully we can get him in another final in two years time, he has that quality to lift the side.”
Germany’s 38-year-old keeper Jens Lehmann believed his side received no favours from the match oficials.
“The referee was a catastrophe and sometimes I think it is fixed when I see such a referee who is biased and not correct in his decisions,” he said.
“For example a Spanish player (David Silva) head-butted our player (Lukas Podolski) and the referee saw it and the linesman saw it.
“I am disappointed, but I will feel the real disappointment in the next couple of days, weeks, maybe years.
“This was for sure my last European Championship match. That’s why losing is so hard to bear at this moment.”
