Northern Ireland's Will Grigg who became a hit during the 2016 Euro Championships. Photo / Getty
Euro 2016 has been and gone, leaving only the memories of a month of questionable football behind.
Like every international tournament, there were low points and highlights, while there were also just ridiculous moments that will live long in the memory of anyone watching.
Sportsmail has decided to hand out awards for the moments of Euro 2016. Not for goalscorers, not for the best players, but for the more sensational events of the tournament that deserve to go down in history.
Usain Bolt will have been quaking in his shoes after watching France against Germany. The ball fell kindly for Olivier Giroud, who set off for goal with nothing between him and Manuel Neuer. Calling it a sprint would be kind. The Arsenal striker was so slow that time almost seemed to stop. Great empires rose and fell, masterpieces were written and Britain left the EU in the time it took him to line up a shot, only to see it blocked by Benedikt Howedes, not exactly the fastest man in France, who had caught up.
This is a tough category to decide, as it would be at any international football tournament. Ricardo Quaresma's olive branch trim on Sunday night was spectacular. However, he would have had to go quite far to beat the undisputed champion of ridiculous Euro 2016 haircuts. Patriotism is all well and good but not when it leaves you looking like a tablecloth. Croatia's Ivan Perisic did not get the message, having a red and white pattern dyed into the side of his hair ahead of the competition. Not a look for autumn/winter.
The final already had some pesky intruders planned, not least David Guetta repeating his set from the opening day of the competition. As the build-up got underway, it became clear that there were almost as many moths as there were fans in the stadium. It felt like a Hollywood horror film, one that would climax with Cristiano Ronaldo hitting an overhead kick through the swarm to win the game. In the end they just perched on his face as he was forced to come off with injury. Were the moths to blame? Why were they there? It turned out the ground staff had left the floodlights on on Saturday night and accidentally attracted the moths. Alternatively, it was Lionel Messi looking for revenge on Ronaldo.
Most managers have surely realised that they are being watched at all times. That leads to the conclusion that Joachim Low simply does not care what people think of him. He did not care what people would think when he reached down his trousers, had an itch and then smelled his hands. He did not care what people would think when he did the same with his backside. He cared so little that he decided to do it again in training. Low feels so comfortable as Germany manager that he treats the touchline as he would his living room. For that, he has to be saluted.
Which song's on fire, whose eardrums are terrified? There was only ever going to be one victor in this category, and not Super Victor, the commercially friendly mascot for the competition. Will Grigg has become an internationally renowned footballing celebrity, almost entirely courtesy of a man in Wigan deciding to set a chant to GALA's Freed from Desire while filming himself in front of his computer. Grigg did not even play a minute of football, but fans from across Europe ended up singing his song. Hamburg supporters even put together a petition to get their club to sign him. Should a big move be ruled out? Nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah nah.
This is a tough category to decide. Ultimately it boils down to which set of supporters helped the most confused French people change their tyres and who sang the most lullabies for babies. By that remit there is only one set of champions - the Republic of Ireland fans. As England were making headlines for the wrong reasons, the contingent from just across the Irish sea were doing the exact opposite. They may not have got further than the Round of 16 on the pitch, but off the pitch they were a complete success.
Every year has a song. Last year belonged to Hotline Bling by Drake, an ear worm of a tune that was both a smash hit and also sounded a bit like elevator music. It was an absolute phenomenon, not least because of Drake's dance moves which were a unique combination of globally renowned rapper and full-on dad. Antoine Griezmann decided that he liked what he saw and decided to add it to his repertoire. After both of his goals against Germany he turned his hands into phone shapes and started jiving to the song in his head. Grizzy did Drizzy.
Northern Ireland competing at a major international tournament was strange enough, but it got odder when their game against Ukraine had to be delayed as hail stones the size of baseballs fell from the sky. The players, to their credit, tried to play on, but the referee Pavel Kralovec was forced to pull them off the pitch as the hail could have genuinely hurt someone. It was not exactly a scene that anyone was expecting, and is not likely to be repeated any time soon.
The sight of Joe Hart jumping up and down pre-match, babbling on to everybody around him while no one listened boded badly. There was something about how he psyched himself up that suggested he was not actually ready for the game or any game. Even his mascot looked slightly sympathetic towards him. It told. Hart made a series of errors, letting shots slip through his grasp, including the decisive goal against Iceland as England exited the competition.
