Off the pitch
PM's lucky tie sees Portugal through
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| Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Barroso (R) and the Dutch Prime Minister J.P. Balkenende stand for the national anthems, 30 June 2004 at the Alvalade stadium in Lisbon prior to the Euro 2004 semi-final football match between Portugal and The Netherlands at the European Nations championship in Portugal. AFP PHOTO FRANCK FIFE |
Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso on Wednesday credited a lucky tie which he has worn to Euro matches for helping Portugal reach the final of the tournament with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands.
"Since I started wearing this tie we have always won, we only did not win the first match and it must be my fault because I did not use it then," he told state television RTP after the match was over.
Durao Barroso was appointed the next president of the European Commission on Tuesday.
Buses and church get into the spirit
An evangelical church in the Lisbon suburbs has a new religion: football. Every time host nation Portugal play, a giant screen is erected to entertain the faithful who come decked out in scarves and hats.
"In the match against England, we shouted so much that we lost our voices at the end," said pastor Joao Eliseu.
A village in northern Portugal has painted its bus stops red and green in support of the national team. "The bus shelters really needed to be painted and we thought we'd use the opportunity to show our support for the national team," said the town mayor.
Football comes first
Dutch politicians were allowed to watch the national team play in the semi-finals of Euro 2004 on Wednesday evening.
The speaker of the Dutch parliament announced he would close Wednesday's evening session at 1800 GMT so that members of parliament and their staff can get home to see the match against Portugal, slated to start 45 minutes later.
Despite the fact the Dutch beat Sweden in the quarter-finals employees of Swedish furniture giant IKEA in the Netherlands were also given the evening off to enjoy the semi-finals.
"Football will pass before work," IKEA said.
Meier receives death threats
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| Swiss referee Urs Meier is seen during a training session for the referees of the Euro 2004 at Sol Verde Hotel in Espinho near Porto 23 June 2004. AFP PHOTO/ Javier SORIANO. |
Swiss referee Urs Meier said on Wednesday that he feared for the security of his family after receiving death threats from English football supporters infuriated at his disallowing a last minute goal in the quarter-final defeat by Portugal.
Meier revealed that he had been offered police protection for himself and his family after receiving the threats because of his decision.
"I am not afraid for my life but for those of my family and close friends," he added.
"When they begin to involve my family and invade my private life, that is intolerable. They are trying to destroy me," added Meier.
Superstition keeps Portuguese chief away
Why was the president of the Portuguese Federation, Gilberto Madail, not planning to attend his nation's Euro 2004 semi-final against the Netherlands on Wednesday? It is after all the national team's biggest game since the Euro 2000 semi-final. Madail said he was quite simply superstitious and believed his presence could bring bad luck to the team. "Superstitions are what makes football what it is," he said.
Dutch PM to toast whoever wins clash
Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Portugal's newly anointed European Commission president will be the model of harmony at Wednesday's semi-final.
Balkenende will be a guest at the match of Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, who on Tuesday was nominated by European Union leaders to succeed Romano Prodi at the helm of the EU executive.
"I hope that the best team wins..If the Portuguese win, I will raise a glass to Mr Barroso and I will raise a glass to Portugal. I am sure Mr Barroso will do the same (if Holland win)".
Sweet Bird of Youth delights Zoff
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| England's midfielder and captain David Beckham (R) and teammate midfielder Frank Lampard (L) congratulate forward Wayne Rooney after his goal, 17 June 2004 at Coimbra's stadium, during their Euro 2004 group B football match at the European Nations championship in Portugal. AFP PHOTO Mladen ANTONOV |
The emergence of young stars like Wayne Rooney and Milan Baros has been the highlight of Euro 2004 for Italy's 1982 World Cup winning captain Dino Zoff.
"The only new thing about this Euro was the emergence of the youngsters," said Zoff. "Milan Baros, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo are proof of that.
"It is they who have illuminated this tournament".
"England failed again because they sent a bunch of exhausted players to the tournament and while Italy once more turned out a good team they could not as is the norm with them cope with the pressure.
UEFA fines Russia, Bulgaria and Sweden
UEFA have fined Russia 14,000 Swiss francs (9,200 euros) for picking up six yellow cards in their 2-1 defeat to eventual Euro 2004 semi-finalists Greece. Bulgaria and Sweden were also fined 5,000 and 2,000 Swiss francs respectively for the behaviour of their supporters.
Bulgarian fans threw objects on to the pitch during the 2-1 defeat against Italy, while a Swedish supporter ran on to the field in the 2-2 draw with Denmark.
France also face an investigation into why their players took so long to return to the pitch for the second half of their 1-0 defeat to Greece in the quarter-finals.
Wimbledon weathers the Euro 2004 storm
Wimbledon was left rueing England's run to the quarter-finals of football's European Championships as first week attendances slumped by almost a fifth down on last year.
Kick-off times in Portugal clashed with the evening's action at the All England Club and those who would have taken the tickets of football followers leaving early stayed at home to watch England's defeat to the hosts on penalties.
A quarter of a million spectators watched the first week at Wimbledon in 2003 but this year, just over 200,000 made it through the gates.
History favours Portuguese over Dutch
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| Portugese fans dance Samba as they celebrate their team's victory over England at Rossio square in central Lisbon 24 June 2004. England's dreams of glory at Euro 2004 ended in heartbreak 24 June after more than two hours of gut-wrenching drama ended in a penalty shoot-out defeat to Portugal. After finishing 90 minutes of regulation time and two 15-minute periods of extra-time tied at 2-2, the two sides were finally divided by the heroics of Portugal's goalkeeper Ricardo. |
If history is any guide - and in the unpredictable world of football it likely is not - Portugal should have the edge over the Netherlands in Wednesday's semi-final in Lisbon.
The two nations have previously met eight times with Portugal winning four, drawing three and losing just one, while the tournament hosts also knocked the 'Oranje' out of the 2002 World Cup qualifiers.
The sole Dutch victory came 13 years ago in a European Championship qualifier.
The last meeting of the two countries came in April last year, Kluivert again on target before Simao Sabrosa levelled.