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'Culture of winning' World champ France closes in on historic double
Posted: Friday June 30, 2000 02:42 PM
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- France's dramatic 2-1 win over Portugal didn't just send it to the Euro 2000 final. Zinedine Zidane's penalty “golden goal” put Roger Lemerre's team 90 minutes away from a historic World Cup-European Championship double. Only twice has a defending world champion reached the final of the European Championship -- Germany in 1976 and 1992. On both occasions the Germans lost, but France looks well-placed to go one step further. Lemerre praised his players' Euro 2000 performances and believes his squad has the perfect balance of youth and experience. “There is a culture of winning with players like Djorkaeff, Dugarry and Blanc and there is a new generation. Anelka has changed, he is happy and learning and the same is true of Henry and Wiltord,” Lemerre said on Thursday. “The experienced players are giving a lot to the younger generation, who are learning very quickly. And in the next four years I think we will see a new generation come through,” he said. France has played some spectacular soccer at Euro 2000. Crucially, when its standards slipped, the world champion fought its way out of perilous situations with determination, teamwork -- and a little luck. In its quarterfinal with Spain, Raul missed an 89th-minute penalty that would have sent the match into extra time. In Brussels on Wednesday, France found itself a goal down at the break but came out blazing in the second half. It fully deserved its victory, even if Portuguese defnder Abel Xavier was unfortunate to be penalized for handball in the incident that led to France's penalty golden goal. “A little luck is necessary but the win was also deserved. In the tournament we have been able to reorganize and reconstruct the group without a second thought,” Lemerre said. “They all have a tremendous will to win.” “The players did exactly what was expected of them. Our game plan was excellent. The Portuguese have had a marvelous run and we never underestimated them.” Zidane banged in a 117th-minute penalty to earn France a 2-1 win. Earlier, Nuno Gomes struck a breathtaking 19th-minute goal to give Portugal the lead but Thierry Henry equalized in the 51st minute. “During the whole match each team could have given the knockout blow to the other. To win in the last minute is extraordinary,” Zidane said after France's win in Brussels. “The hardest part will come on Sunday. We will need to recuperate because playing close to two hours is difficult,” he said France's win over Portugal shows how the current side has added steely determination to its traditional flair. Before the last World Cup, France had a notoriously bad record in the latter stages of big tournaments, having lost five of its six semifinals in World Cups and European Championships. Now, it is almost impossible to beat. France has lost only five matches since the darkest night in its soccer history in November 1993, when it conceded two late goals at home to Bulgaria to miss out on the 1994World Cup. A place in the history books beckons, though for the moment France is just happy to be in Sunday's final, where it will face either the Netherlands or Italy “We had a difficult match against Spain after which we had only three rest days. Now, we have four days to recover for the final,” Lemerre said. After their grueling match against Portugal, French players were given Thursday afternoon off. Lemerre also canceled a planned Thursday evening training session to allow his players to watch the second Euro 2000 semifinal between the Netherlands and Italy. France has no injury worries for Sunday's final in Rotterdam. 'The team is well-prepared and four days will be enough for them to recover,” Lemerre said. France jubilant at victory over PortugalPARIS -- Senior politicians and joyous French fans joined together in congratulating the French team for its victory over Portugal to reach the final of the Euro 2000 soccer championships. The 1998 World Cup winners narrowly defeated Portugal 2-1 on Wednesday night in overtime when team star Zinedine Zidane scored a “golden goal” to lead the world champion to its second major championship final in a row. France meets the winner of Thursday night's game between Italy and the Netherlands in Sunday's final. Crowds of supporters flocked to the Champs-Elysees early Thursday to celebrate the French win. Drivers honked their horns, joyous fans waved the French blue, white and red striped flag. Some people shouted “We are in the finals, we are in the finals.” French President Jacques Chirac, who was in Brussels for Wednesday's game, visited the French players in the locker room after the match to offer his congratulations to the team. “Bravo” and “Thank you,” Chirac told the players. “I am proud of you. France is proud of you and we will all be with you Sunday for the final.” Chirac also wished a happy birthday to goalkeeper Fabien Barthez, and congratulated team Captain Didier Deschamps for winning 100 caps. French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin was not to be left out of the stream of congratulations, and issued a statement late Wednesday, saluting the “courage and talent” of the team. “The qualification of the French team for the final of Euro 2000 is an extraordinary performance. All the French will be with you Sunday for another exploit,” Jospin said in a three-sentence communique. The French victory was front-page news Thursday in all the major French dailies, with the popular Le Parisien daily summing the win up in a one-word headline: “Yessss.” Deschamps celebrates 100th cap with winBRUSSELS, Belgium -- Didier Deschamps might not be quite the same player he once was, but the tough-tackling French captain keeps writing himself into the record books. Deschamps, who lifted the World Cup two years ago, became the first French player to win 100 caps Wednesday when he led his team to a 2-1 extra-time win in the Euro 2000 semis against Portugal. If France goes on to win Sunday's final, the 31-year-old would join Germany's Franz Beckenbauer as the only players in soccer history to have captained teams to both the World Cup and European Championships. Not that everything is rosy for Deschamps right now. Since joining Chelsea one year ago, his club form has been spotty and on Wednesday he often struggled to impose himself on a competitive Portuguese midfield. Angry at criticism among the French press of his recent performances, Deschamps has boycotted the media since the start of Euro 2000. He again refused to speak with reporters after the win against Portugal. Chelsea teammate Marcel Desailly, who played with Deschamps as a teenager for Nantes, praised his captain for winning 100 caps and staying at the top for 11 years. “He is my friend and as far as I'm concerned, I will never manage to reach such a result,” Desailly said. “It is a marvelous achievement, no one will ever match it.” Deschamps has a chance of lifting the European Championship trophy after helping his side squeeze through the semifinals on a golden goal. In Sunday's final France will take on either co-host Netherlands or Italy, who meet Thursday in the other semifinal. “I think we have everything we need to be champions,” said Patrick Vieira. “We have great players, great mentality. It was a very difficult game, Portugal played well but luck was with us tonight.” Vieira believes the current French team is stronger than the one that lifted the World Cup on home soil two years ago. “Two years have gone by since the World Cup and we are stronger with more experience and all of us want to win,” he said after France's win against Portugal. France needed the resolve of world champion to come through against Humberto Coelho's team. It won with a Zinedine Zidane penalty given 23 minutes into extra time -- though Portugal's remonstrations with match officials about the award went on for so long that the goal was officially timed at 117th minute. Nuno Gomes had struck a breathtaking 19th-minute goal to give Portugal the lead but France came out with all guns blazing after half time and Thierry Henry equalized in the 50th minute. France was overjoyed to avoid penalties. “The Portuguese started well and then we got into our game by extra time,” said French defender Bixente Lizarazu. “By then we were dominating and they only played on the counterattack.” “I think it was a fair penalty,” the Bayern Munich player added. “We spoke to people who saw it on TV and they said it was a penalty.” Desailly already knows who he wants to face in Sunday's final. “I would like to play Italy. We have already played the Netherlands and many of our players have played in Italy so we would like to face them,” he said. Whoever it faces, France remains supremely confident about becoming the first World Cup winner to go on and win the European Championship. “Our objective as not to be in the final. It is to win the final,” said Zidane. “It will be even tougher Sunday.”
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