A shopkeeper selling shirts commented that “sales always increase when there are championships of this nature, but this year the figures have been beyond belief”. The official shirts cost in the region of €70 each, but even so, several shops had sold out completely. Sales of team shirts, both official and unofficial, caps, scarves and flags made up 10 per cent of all sales, with one owner wishing he had invested more money as he could have sold far more. Another shopkeeper in San Antonio commented that the crisis had not helped, as “people were more interested in the price than the article they were buying, and went for the cheapest”.

The hike in VAT on electrical goods from the 1st July had also encouraged customers to exchange their old televisions before the beginning of the month.

However, it appears the country’s success at football’s premiere tournament could go a great deal further, and give a welcome boost to the economy. It was a stance taken by the Industry Minister, Miguel Sebastian, who said just days before the final that if Spain won the government would revise its gross domestic product forecast for this year upwards. The government currently predicts that the Spanish economy, Europe's fifth largest, will contract by 0.3 per cent on an annual basis in 2010, and with unemployment now over 20 per cent, any good news will be well received, especially in a country where consumer confidence hit a record low at the beginning of the year. Most economists, like Josep-Maria Sayeras of the Esade business school, believe Spain's 1-0 extra-time defeat of Holland may temporarily offer some relief to problems that ail the Spanish economy by shoring up consumer spending. "It will aid consumption," he said.

Similarly, Juan Carlos Martinez Lazaro, an economist at IE Business School, said the World Cup victory "is like a free advertising campaign, which would especially benefit the football-mad cities of Madrid and Barcelona."

The head of the Spanish Commerce Confederation, which represents nearly 450,000 retailers, Miguel Angel Fraile, said "consumption will certainly rise, but we do not know by how much. When a society is happy, that always has repercussions on consumption.”

An ABN Amro Bank study into the macro-economic effects of the tournament taken after the 2006 World Cup in Germany suggested a World Cup win provided a GDP gain of 0.7 percentage points, although some experts view this as slightly high.

Meanwhile, many of the national team players were taking a well earned break on the island after their efforts in South Africa.

Reserve goal-keeper Pepe Reina was the first to show up, followed by several other team-mates including Gerard Piqué, who spent his time in San Antonio watching the sunset and, after dining in a local restaurant, went to the Pachá Discotheque with friends. He is expected to be joined this week by team mates, Cesc Fábregas, Carles Puyól, David Villa and Xavi Hernández.

In fact both finalists were present in numbers as John Heitinga, sent off in that final game, married his long-time girlfriend Charlotte Zenden, in a civil ceremony at Cap des Falcó. Several other players attended, including Rafael van de Vaart, Gregory can der Wiel and trainer, Henk Ten Cate. Other famous names at the event included Frank de Boer and former Chelsea and Middlesbrough star, Boudewihn Zenden, the brother of the bride.

The pair met six years ago during the World Cup when it was played in Portugal, where he was playing for his country and she was supporting her brother, Boudewijn, and they have been inseparable ever since.

They held a pre-wedding party in the Ocean Drive Hotel in Talamanca the night before the wedding, attended by close family and friends.

Steven Gerrard, the English football team captain, has also been on the island with several friends, including fellow team-mate Jamie Carragher, enjoying a holiday in the sun. Recently there have been tentative negotiations between his team Liverpool and Real Madrid for his transfer, but the €60 million price tag put on him seems to be a stumbling block, as Real Madrid are not prepared to pay more than €30 million for a player who is already 30 years of age.