For the players, it was the biggest game of their lives. But Portugal versus Greece in the Euro 2004 final in Lisbon was a rather tense, frenetic affair that did not live long in the memory, despite the shock factor created by a 1-0 victory for the unfancied Greeks. Still, that game attracted 273m television viewers, the biggest audience of any single sporting event in 2004. Put into context, this comfortably surpassed the opening ceremony of the Athens Olympics, the men’s Olympic 100m final at those games, the Super Bowl and the Monaco Grand Prix.

Come June 29 and the final of Euro 2008 in Vienna, Uefa can safely assume it will generate even more impressive ratings, such is the popular interest in European football played at the highest level. Uefa’s much-acclaimed Champions League has done the most to feed that interest. That competition, which features Europe’s top professional clubs, brings in revenues that leave not just some European domestic leagues but those of other premier sports in its wake.