Auf Wiedersehen. Arrivederci. Ciao. Yes, it’s good night from our friends in Germany, Italy and Spain, three of the world’s established footballing powers.
This sad trio, all ranked in Fifa’s top 10, are going home. The Czech fans were singing Auf Wiedersehen long before Milan Baros scored the winner at the Jose Alvalada Stadium in Lisbon on Wednesday night.
Even at 1-1, they were going home, thanks to coach Rudi Voller playing just one striker and Czech boss Karel Bruckner putting out plenty of hungry reserves, desperate to make an impression.
The Germans won the European Championship in 1972, 1980 and 1996. They reached the final in 1976 and 1992. They got to the semis in 1988.
Yet here the stereotypically efficient Teutons were axed before the quarterfinals. Hysterically historical.
You can imagine how much sympathy their plight evoked here in England. Yup.
Zilch.
But what about Spain? They only needed a point against the under-performing hosts, Portugal, but all their galacticos, Raul Gonzalez, Carles Puyol, Iker Casillas and the rest, couldn’t put a point together again.
And Italy? Yeah, they can claim Denmark and Sweden contrived a 2-2 draw to deny them a place in the final, but it took them 90 minutes to conjure an equaliser against the bulging Bulgarians, so they deserved to take the not-too-arduous journey home, with world stars Alessandro del Piero and the misfiring Aussie Italian Christian Vieri showing just how temporary class can be.
The wonderful thing about these huge tournaments is how the experts get things so wrong.
Did anyone predict the world number 10-ranked Czechs would cruise through with nine points? Or that the Latvians would hold the Germans to a draw?
And how about Greece beating the hosts in game one to qualify ahead of the Spanish?
Sweden and Denmark suddenly look dangerous, Greece are as slippery as ever and Euro 2004 has become as unpredictable as any tournament in years.
May the best team win. Me? I predicted Holland from day one … they were 9-1 at the bookies.
They were extremely fortunate to get through, even though they crushed Latvia 3-0 in Braga on Wednesday night: Dick Advocaat can thank those Czech mates for the privilege.
Though there’s a lot of uncertainty ahead, I still reckon orange may be the fashionable colour this year.
But I ain’t betting on it.