Off the pitch
Greek Joy
Athens exploded with joy on Saturday after Greece beat Portugal 2-1 at Euro 2004, with fans draping the central Omonia square with flags while gleeful motorists blared their horns in celebration.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis had this to say: "After this historic victory our football has won the esteem of the whole of European football and filled our people with joy."
Two hours earlier the city had fallen under an eerie calm as the vast majority of the inhabitants settled down before their tv sets to catch the action.
Right formula
|
| English BAR-Honda driver Jenson Button smiles in the pits of the Monte-Carlo racetrack after the qualifying session on the eve of the Monaco Grand Prix, 22 May 2004 in Monaco. Italian Renault driver Jarno Trulli won the Pole Position. AFP PHOTO JEAN-LOUP GAUTREAU |
For Formula 1's Olivier Panis and Jenson Button, the England v France rivalry has already begun. Instead of wearing their usual outfits the two donnned their respective country's football shirts for a press conference after the first practice sessions at the Montreal Grand Prix.
France's Toyota man was predicting a 2-0 win for Les Blues while Britain's Bar-Honda man Button was leaning toward a 2-1 win for England.
Beckham in appeal to fans
|
| An English fan blends into a group of Swedish supporters in central Lisbon early 12 June 2004 ahead of the 2004 European Nations Championship. Host nation Portugal take to the field here Saturday to bring the curtain up on the 31-match European championships when they face rank outsiders Greece. |
David Beckham has once again appealed to England's fans to ensure there is no repeat of the hooligan behaviour that marred Euro 2000.
"It is important the fans are like they were in Japan rather than in Belgium," Beckham said. "Hopefully the fans realise that by now. They have to.
"It has been drummed into them enough. We don't want any trouble. We want fans to come and enjoy the games. There is going to be children, wives and mothers at these games. That's the thing to think about at the end of the day."
Opening ceremony show
|
| General view of the Euro 2004 opening ceremony taken 12 June 2004 at Dragao stadium in Porto, before the beginning of the Euro 2004 group A first football match between Portugal and Greece at the European Nations Championship in Portugal. AFP PHOTO Francois Xavier MARIT |
Euro 2004 officially got off the ground at Porto's Dragon stadium Saturday with an opening ceremony under the theme "Portugal discovered the world. With Euro 2004 the world will now discover Portugal."
The 15-minute spectacular set a lively tone for the three week festival of football and featured over 900 carefully-choreographed performers, who took to the impeccably-manicured pitch in the late afternoon sunshine to give a colourful snapshot of their country's proud seafaring past.
History favours England
France may be the favourites but England go into Sunday's Euro 2004 clash with history on their side.
|
| England captain David Beckham leads the team in the first training session at the Estadio Nacional after their arrival in Portugal for the Euro 2004 Football Tournamnent. 08 June 2004 near Lisbon. AFP Photo Paul Barker |
Since their first international meeting, in Paris on November 1, 1906 ended in a 15-0 victory for England, the two countries have met a total of 35 times.
England have won 23, drawn five and lost only seven times, scoring a total of 128 goals against 38 conceded.
The imbalance is largely the result of England's dominance in the early part of the 20th century.
France's last competitive victory over the English dates back to February 1963, when they won a Euro-64 qualifier 5-3 in Paris.
Seven men questioned after raid
Seven men detained by police in a raid in Oporto, ahead of the Euro 2004 football finals opener, will appear before magistrates on Saturday on illegal immigration charges.
The men were part of a group of 15, all of Arab origin, who were detained at a budget hotel after Dutch authorities warned Lisbon that a "dangerous citizen" was in Portugal.
"We had information from the Netherlands that a dangerous citizen was here in Portugal and based on that information our police and intelligence services worked together in a successful operation," said a security official.
Greek defender joins FC Porto
|
| Greece's defender Giourkas Seitaridis (L), midfielder Vasileios Lakis (R) and defender Michails Kapsis play during a training session at Dragao stadium in Porto, 11 June 2004, on the eve of the opening ceremony of the 2004 European Nations Championship. Greece will play the Euro 2004 opening match against Portugal 12 June. AFP PHOTO/ Aris MESSINIS |
European champions FC Porto have signed Greece defender Giourkas Seitaridis from Panathinaikos.
Porto will pay three million euros (3.6 million dollars) to secure his services and have agreed to play a pre-season friendly against Panathinaikos.
Seitaridis, 23, will be given a three-year contract and will earn 700,000 euros a year plus bonuses.
The defender played against Portugal in the opening match of Euro 2004 on Saturday.
Many of Porto's star players are attracting the interest of top European clubs following their Champions League triumph.
Grammy-winner writes Euro song
|
A song by grammy-winning Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado is the official anthem of the Euro tournament.
"I am very excited, I wrote the song 'Forca' especially for the tournament. It is about the love of the game," said the singer.
Furtado will perform the upbeat song, whose title means "strength" in Portuguese, before the start of the final on July 4 in Oporto.
Furtado grew up in the Canadian west coast province of British Columbia, the daughter of immigrant parents from Portugal's mid-Atlantic Azores islands.
She won a Grammy in 2002 for her catchy first single "I'm Like a Bird,".
Trapattoni prays for calm
|
| Italy's coach Giovanni Trapattoni (C) exercises as his players run during a training session at the Restelo stadium in Lisbon 09 June 2004. Italy will train in Lisbon until 14 june when they fly to Porto for their first EURO 2004 match against Denmark. AFP PHOTO/ Vincenzo PINTO |
Italy's Giovanni Trapattoni likenes his role as coach to that of a priest as he tries to keep every member of his squad happy.
Gennaro Gattuso and Massimo Oddo have said they were too good to sit on the bench, but Trapattoni is trying to keep harmony.
"Sometimes I am like a priest rather than a coach," said the 64-year-old.
"That's because I always pop into the players' rooms and tell them why they have been picked, or why they haven't been picked and explain the reasons behind my decisions.
"Everyone wants to play and that is natural - I would be very disappointed if they said nothing and didn't express themselves".
Abramovich sails in
|
| The 100 million euros yacht "Pelorus" belonging to Russian Oligarch Roman Abramovitch, owner of London Chelsea football club, is seen anchored at Lisbon harbour 10 June 2004. Pelorus requires a crew of forty and costs some 10 million euros a year to run according to a Sunday Times story dated 14 May 2004. Abramovitch fortune is estimated around 11 billion euros. AFP PHOTO / MLADEN ANTONOV |
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, the owner of English club Chelsea, has two luxury yachts moored in the port of Lisbon where he will follow the action at Euro 2004.
The yachts, called Grand Bleu and Pelorus, are each valued at 100 million euros owned by the man reported to be the richest in Britain.
Abramovich is likely to keep a close eye on Saturday's Group A clash between Russia and Spain which follows the opening match between Portugal and Greece.
Ambramovich has hired a Portuguese coach in Jose Mourinho to lead Chelsea's fortunes next season.