VIENNA, Austria — Spain, European champion.

It's been a long time.

It has taken 44 years, to be exact. With teams as talented as most opponents in the major championships they qualified for, the Spaniards always fell short. They were called underachieving, short on heart, even chokers.

With one magnificent month, Spain put all those shortcomings in the past, emphasizing its rise with a 1-0 victory over Germany on Sunday night in the European Championship.

"We are proud to see so many people enjoying it and we have peace of mind that we done what we want to do," said Fernando Torres, whose goal in the 33rd minute was the winner. "It is to me the most important day in Spanish football in many, many years."

Since 1964, when Spain won Euros as the host. The only other major final it made was the 1984 Euros, losing to France.

That all changed at these Euros, where the Spaniards swept their first-round games, eliminated World Cup champion Italy by penalty-kicks in the quarterfinals, then routed Russia 3-0 in the semifinals.

"We played the best for the entire tournament and we beat some great teams," Torres said. "We beat Italy, the World Cup champion, and we beat Russia and now Germany. That is how you become champion."

And here is how you celebrate a championship:

The entire Spanish squad ran over to the huge rooting section of red and gold, exchanging hugs, while many of the spent Germans collapsed to the turf.

When Spain goalkeeper and captain Iker Casillas accepted the trophy on a stage, the Spanish fans began chanting the melody to their national anthem, which has no words. Thousands of camera flashes went off as the players jumped in place, then headed onto the field to show off their prize.

The Spaniards weren't close to finished with their celebration that was so long in the making. They marched to their rooting section, hoisting the cup and saluting their flag-waving, firecracker-exploding fans.