This is how the final was (Spain 4 - Italy 0)

Just one tiny, minute corner of Spain, up in the mountains, in the white villages of the South, in Jimena de la Frontera - it was as crazy as in the center of Madrid. Something to celebrate in the midst of doom and gloom. ¡Y viiiiva España!

This was the semifinals - what will the final be like?

JIMENA We spent the semifinal match between Spain and Portugal at one of Jimena watering holes, Bar Vecina, near the main square, where we also watched the previous Euro and the World Cup. Almost the same people,certainly the same drinks and a great atmosphere. We will be watching the Final at the same place. We have been told they are putting up a large screen in El Paseo, the same one as they had for the World Cup Final, which was fine when it got dark but not really before. Anyway, the atmosphere one breathes in this small village on these occasions is magnificent. It.is worth coming into the village just to enjoy harmless fun - providing Spain wins, which we hope they do! (Tell us about your EURO 2012 experiences in Spain)

Thirteen arrested in fake Euro 2012 team kit operation

The real thing
(Illustration only)

ALGECIRAS (Agencies) Thirteen people were arrested at Algeciras port recently, when the Treasury authorities and the Guardia Civil found almost 3,665 fake kits being introduced into the country. Most of them, 3,161, were forged replicas of the Spanish team's gear, mainly shirts and track suits; the rest were fake German kits. With a street value of some €380,480, all of the merchandise came from Morocco, and had the logo of a well known sports equipment manufacturer, who was contacted to confirm that these were falsifications, as t EU law requires. The Spanish authorities have been especially vigilant about these matters, starting a campaign in March that will continue well after the end of the EURO 2012 competition. They  also report that there has been a considerable increase in the number of arrests and operations aimed at stopping the fake merchandise reaching the market. (Prospero note: Does this mean the Moroccans know who will be in the final?)

We can, and we did - back then

This was taken from the old JimenaPulse site, the mother of them all around here. It read: "In case you hadn't heard, it’s the UEFA Cup final tonight at 8.45 – SPAIN vs. Germany. Thought you should know which side we support"  That was on June 29, 2009. Tonight's match with Croatia is almost as important. (BTW, we have photos of the celebrations when we won the cup that year - and we hope to get some more recent ones soon enough.)

Jimena fans in Poland for Euro 2012

Photo: TioJimeno

JIMENA (sort of) They appeared in a Spanish sports programme, Punto Pelota, last night. These are four football fans who are in Poland to support the Spanish team - you can't tell they're Spanish, can you? From left to right: Fernando Silva, José Ramírez, Celio Cuenca, a Polish copper, and Ernesto Cuenca - no idea who that is on the floor, though. Celio's burro, first presented in public at a Carnival in Jimena, is acquiring notoriety, having before travelled all the way to South Africa for the last World Cup.