The Centurian

Fernando Couto passed the milestone of 100 international caps in 2003 after more than 13 years at the heart of Portugal's defence and has enjoyed a trophy laden club career that has seen him shine at the very top in Italy and Spain as well as in his homeland.

Portugal's Fernando Couto (R) goes for a header against Turkish Hakan Sukur (L) 24 June 2000, during the quarter-final match Turkey vs Portugal of the Euro 2000 soccer championship in Amsterdam. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE)

Though he will be 34-years-old at Euro 2004 his formidable partnership with Jorge Costa in Portugal's central defence saw him escape new coach Luis Felipe Scolari's mass culling of the side that crashed out of the 2002 World Cup in the first round.

Portugese defender Fernando Couto (L) fight for the ball with English forward Alan Shearer during their Euro-2000 Group A first-round soccer match in Eindhoven, 12 June 2000. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) EPA PHOTO EPA/TIAGO PETINGA/lln/kr

Portugal's World Cup record in recent years has been miserable.

Portugal's Fernando Couto (R) vies for the ball with Korea's Ahn Jung Hwan (L), 14 June 2002 at the Incheon Munhak Stadium in Incheon, during first round Group D action between Portugal and Korea in the 2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan. AFP PHOTO/CHRISTOPHE SIMON

They failed to make either the 1994 or 1998 finals and surprised pundits and fans alike with a dire 2002 campaign despite a multi-talented side.

The European Championships has been a happier hunting ground with a run to the quarter-finals in England in 1996 before suffering a bitter semi-final defeat to the brilliant French in 2000.

The Midas touch

When Couto retires and empties out his locker he'll be taking with him a veritable haul of silverware from his club career.

He won three Portuguese League titles with Porto before switching to the Serie A joining Parma in 1994.

Fernando Couto(L) of AC Parma stretches for the ball as tackles Bayer Leverkusen's Paulo Sergio(R) during the first leg, semi-final UEFA Cup match 04 April. AC Parma beat Bayer Leverkusen by 2-1. AFP PHOTO

In his first season Parma enjoyed a run to the 1995 UEFA Cup final in Moscow, where they thrashed French side Marseille 3-0.

The talismanic stopper then joined Barcelona in 1996 where his international teammate Luis Figo was also enjoying a purple patch.

With the Catalan giants he picked up two Spanish Cups and his first Cup Winners Cup medal with a 1-0 win over Paris Saint Germain in the Rotterdam final, a certain Ronaldo scoring the winner in May 1997.

The following year Barcelona reigned supreme on the Iberian peninsula, winning a domestic league and Cup double, Couto leaving on that high and joining Roman club SS Lazio in July 1998.

In Rome Couto's wheel of fortune has brought both the good and the bad.

AS Lazio' s Portuguese international defender Fernando Couto (L) and Lazio' s President Sergio Cragnotti address a news conference at Lazio' s Formello training ground 05 April 2001. Couto confirmed on Thursday he had tested positive for a banned substance but said he was confident he would be cleared. Couto failed an initial post-match dope test after the Italian club's 4-1 win at Fiorentina on January 28. The results of the analysis of the second sample will be announced later this month. The nature of the banned substance has not been revealed.

First came another Cup Winners Cup medal in the 1998-99 season with victory over Real Mallorca at Villa Park, Birmingham.

Then came the staggering feat of another domestic double.

With Sven Goran Eriksson at the helm Lazio gained ten points over Juventus in the last eight league games to pip them to the title on the last day of their 1999-2000 centennary season.

The one blemish to his glittering record came in 2001 when he failed a doping test showing positive for the steroid nandrolone.

Couto has always denied having taken forbiden substances but his 'b' test confirmed the finding and he eventually served four months of a nine month worldwide ban for the offence.