Off the pitch
Millions of Greeks celebrate a dream come true
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| Greek fans celebrate after their team scored against Portugal, 04 July 2004 at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, during the Euro 2004 final match between Portugal and Greece at the European Nations football championship in Portugal. AFP PHOTO Lluis GENE |
Only seconds after the final whistle of the Euro final, flares detonated, church bells rang and car honks reverberated on the streets of Athens in a prelude to the biggest party the country has ever seen.
"We got it! It's such a huge success. We saw victory coming, we believed in it," said one fan.
Street celebrations in Athens began the moment after team captain Theodoros Zagorakis lifted the cup, capping an extraordinary performance at Euro 2004 in which the 150-1 outsiders eliminated defending champions France and beat hosts Portugal twice.
Portugal will win next time says PM
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| Portugal's Prime Minister, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso (R) is seen, 04 July 2004 at the Luz stadium in Lisbon, during the Euro 2004 final match between Portugal and Greece at the European Nations football championship in Portugal. AFP PHOTO Franck FIFE |
Portugal's outgoing prime minister said Sunday the 1-0 defeat by Greece in the Euro 2004 final was hard to take but he was convinced his side will win the next European championships in 2008.
"I am very sad, like all Portuguese, but we have to accept with fair-play the Greek victory," said Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso.
"Portugal promoted its image abroad with the Euro finals, it was a big event for Portugal," he added.
"We did not win but we are European vice-champions. At the next tournament we will be the champions of Europe, that is my firm conviction."
Toronto's Greektown explodes in joy
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| Greece's captain Theodoros Zagorakis (C) surrounded by team members holds up the trophy, 04 July 2004 at Stadio da Luz in Lisbon after the Euro 2004 final football match between Portugal and Greece at the European Nations Championship in Portugal. Greece won 1-0. |
Toronto's Greektown exploded in a cacophony of joy on Sunday, as thousands of people massed in the streets to celebrate Greece's stunning Euro 2004 triumph over Portugal.
Crowds waving blue and white Greek flags, and chanting "Hellas, Hellas" and "Ole, Ole" thronged Toronto's Danforth Avenue, the centre of the city's large Greek diaspora after Greece beat host nation Portugal with a 1-0 victory.
Greek immigrants and second and third generation Canadians of Greek descent partied on balconies, on top of ice cream vans owned by Greek Canadians and spilled out of restaurants and bars along the street.
Football fever hits Portuguese troops
Portuguese troops were given a night off by their colleagues in the multinational forces patrolling Iraq to watch their national team's hotly anticipated Euro 2004 football final with Greece on Sunday.
All 119 men and four women serving here were expected to watch the big game beamed live from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon on to a white sheet that has been set up as a big screen.
"We'll sing our national anthem, just like at the other matches," said Captain Paulo Silverio.
The Portuguese will be aided by Portuguese wine, beer and sangria.
Portugal in party mode
Thousands of Greece and Portugal fans flooded the streets of Lisbon on Sunday ahead of the final between the two nations which will see one of the teams win their first-ever major football title.
Fans honked car horns, chanted and waved flags as they marked time until the kick-off at the 65,000-seat Stadium of Light.
Scalpers were charging 1,000 euros (1,230 dollars) for a ticket for the sold-out match.
Thousands of cheering flag-waving fans lined the 45-kilometre (28-mile) route taken by the bus carrying the Portugal team to the stadium from their headquarters just outside Lisbon.
Man drowns in Portugal ahead of final
A 55-year-old man drowned on Sunday at a riverside "Fan Park" in Lisbon where thousands of football supporters had gathered to watch the Euro 2004 final between hosts Portugal and Greece on a giant TV screen.
A 35-year-old woman who fell into the Tagus river along with the man survived the accident and is in a Lisbon hospital hooked up to a ventilator, said reports.
The death was the third linked to the tournament over the past three weeks.
An England fan was stabbed to death by a pickpocket and a young Spanish doctor died on Thursday after she was struck by a car during celebrations.
Rooney 'proposed at a petrol station'
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| England forward Wayne Rooney shoots and scores against Croatia, 21 June 2004 during their European Nations football championships match at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. Croatia and England are competing in Group B with France and Switzerland. AFP PHOTO Francois Xavier MARIT |
England superstar Wayne Rooney has revealed that he proposed to his fiancee Coleen McLoughlin at a petrol station.
"I'd picked it (the ring) up from the jeweller and told her we were going out for a Chinese meal, but we stopped at a BP petrol garage because Coleen had to get the money to pay for the meal.
"When she was getting it, I got the box out of my pocket and had it open. She got back into the car and I asked, ‘Will you marry me?'
"She said, ‘Yes', and we kissed and had a bit of a hug.
"Asking Coleen to marry me was far worse than walking out for England."
'Rosbif' Hoddle wants France job
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| Glenn Hoddle speaks at a news conference at the Lancaster Park Hotel in London 02 February after the announcement that his contract as England coach had been terminated, following his remarks about disabled people attributed to him in a newspaper. |
Glenn Hoddle is a surprise candidate to be French coach it was revealed by 'The Independent on Sunday'.
The former England handler has been out of a job since being sacked by Spurs, and was the only foreigner to apply and sent his Curriculum Vitae to the French Federation, days after Santini's announcement he would be coaching Spurs next season.
Hoddle is to be accorded an interview for the post on Tuesday, though he is regarded as the outsider of the three candidates on the shortlist - Jean Tigana and Laurent Blanc are the other two.
English FA target mid-season break
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| England's Nicky Butt sits and watches after being ruled out of the rest of the tournament on injury during a training session of the English national football team at the Cidade de Coimbra stadium in Coimbra 16 June 2004, ahead of their 17 June clash with Switzerland. AFP PHOTO PAUL BARKER |
Football Association (FA) chief executive Mark Palios says they are working on a mid-season break in the domestic calendar to ease the stress on England's tired footballers.
"I have been speaking to people at UEFA and they feel the gap between European competitions and the European Championship is too small," he said. There is not sufficient a gap to enable top players to come to a tournament fresh.
"Everyone knows Sven (Goran Eriksson) believes (a mid-season break) is part of the answer. Indeed all the Premiership clubs know this would be beneficial to them in the quest for Champions League success.
Wenger the best man for France - Deschamps
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is the only person up to coaching France says World Cup and Euro 2000 winning captain Didier Deschamps.
"There is only one person up to the job: Arsene Wenger," said Deschamps, who ruled himself out of taking on the post having committed himself to his position at Monaco.
"He is intelligent, he has charisma, he knows how to handle people and he has experience at the highest level.
"But it is up to the ones who take that decision to decide for themselves,"