So, last night has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth, realising as I did – that despite the gravitas of the European Cup final, this is the last of English football we’ll see in Europe until English mid-table cloggers take to the mire of the InterToto cup and grimly slog their way through a summer of turgid games against the likes of Kazakhstani legends Tobol.

However – the show must go on, and now fair English fans it’s time to pick our teams for Euro 2008 and get all excited – for out of last night’s hangovers and shout-scarred throats comes ‘Random round up Thursday’ – we need a theme tune!

Firstly – it’s over to our good pals at World Cup Blog to bring you news that may well have slipped under the radar - that 35 year old Jan Koller is retiring after the tournament finishes, whether he leads his country to glorious victory or slips away in ignominious defeat. In 83 games he has scored 52 times, a record for both the Czech Republic and ‘The Artist Formerly Known as Czechoslovakia’. Farewell giant Jan – the world stage will miss you!

Oh and don’t expect to see too many bookings for German defenders this year (except for handball perhaps), as it seems that coach Jogi Löw has invited Denis Wucherer, who played for Germany’s basketball national team, to teach the players a bit about how you defend in basketball. Hoping that shooting the hoops against them will help Philipp Lahm and co learn how to block the ball with the body and fairly winning one-on-one situations, we’ll soon see if it has had any effect.

Next, it’s over to Holland and the irrepressible Dirk Kuyt who, despite having an inconsistent season at Liverpool (what with occasional loss of form and Rafa’s rotating ridiculousness) is confident he will make coach Marco van Basten’s definitive squad. Reports in Holland have suggested the Anfield-based striker could miss out on final selection, but Kuyt believes he has the necessary qualities to make it into van Basten’s definitive squad, despite only scoring 11 in 48.

“If I show the same here as I did in the recent months at Liverpool, I don’t have to worry,” he told the club’s official website. “I think I will be a part of the squad.”

And what better way to finish than by jetting off to France and revealing the best X1… No, not the starting line-up but some rather attractive French models showing their er… ‘big-hearted’ support for the lads! Don’t watch if partial nudity offends.