On Wednesday night, one of the most curious international careers in modern football came to an end. In a flurry of tears, Mexican waves and selfies, an icon of the German game was gone.
Lukas Podolski's 130th and final appearance for the German national team was a bitesize fairytale of the kind football rarely manages to write.
Allowed to wear the captain's armband, Podolski gave everything for Germany one final time, and scored the winner with a trademark left-foot net-buster into the top corner. With the game over, he spent what felt like an eternity on his final lap of honour, taking selfies and signing autographs for his adoring fans.