|
 |   |
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Portugal's pain Portuguese stunned by controversial Euro 2000 exit
Posted: Friday June 30, 2000 02:46 PM
LISBON, Portugal (AP) -- Sorrow mingled with anger Thursday as the Portuguese digested their team's controversial semifinal exit from the Euro 2000 championship. A string of impressive performances punctuated with dazzling skills raised high hopes that Portugal would reach the final of a European championship for the first time. Streets were mostly empty Wednesday evening as people gathered in anticipation of a memorable win over world champion France. But the ecstasy of the opening Portuguese goal turned to agony when France was awarded a contested penalty in the final minutes of play and scored to win 2-1. The talk was all of whether defender Abel Xavier deliberately handled the ball or whether it was unintentional. The unanimous feeling was that the penalty was wrongly awarded. “Injustice,” announced the front-page headline of weekly Visao which added: “Portugal, the great revelation of Euro 2000, eliminated by France by a dubious penalty decision.” Daily 24 Horas chimed in with the front-page headline: “This is not fair.” Sports paper O Jogo, which headlined its front page with the single word “Anger,” quoted former star Eusebio as saying Portugal was “penalized for being a small country with little international influence but with talent that it's hard to quantify.” Eusebio's anger focused on the linesman who recommended a penalty be awarded. “What happened yesterday is inadmissable and inexcusable, as Portugal was eliminated by an assistant referee who was scared of France, scared of the world champion,” he said. Even so, many commentators stressed the positive. They highlighted the impression Portuguese soccer made in the tournament and the groundswell of popular support at home, even among people who aren't sports fans. “The fantastic way... the Portuguese people united around their team, feeling their joy and happiness, is one of those true moments of magic which are difficult to explain,” said sports paper A Bola. Daily Diario de Noticias commented: “Portugal leaves the competition with its head held high” after magnificent displays of soccer. Bitter end for Portugal's Euro 2000 adventureBRUSSELS, Belgium -- In the end, the beautiful game was not enough. A fiercely contested refereeing decision ended Portugal's dream Wednesday in the cruelest possible way, awarding a penalty golden goal to France to send home Luis Figo's “golden generation” just one step away from its first final. Portugal had no answer, no remedy, to the spot-kick ruling. It was too late for Figo's sklls, the grim determination of Fernando Couto, or Nuno Gomes' eye for the goal to make any difference. Austrian referee Guenter Benkoe awarded the penalty with seven minutes left in extra time after the ball ricocheted off the forearm of Abel Xavier. After consulting his linesman Igor Sramka, Benkoe pointed to the spot, ignoring the distraught protests of the Portuguese players who knew a goal would end the match and their championship hopes. Zinedine Zidane was clinical. He strode up to the spot and blasted his shot home, the game was over, 2-1 to France. Portugal had delighted Europe with its exuberant samba soccer. Now it was trailing home to the mournful beat of fado, the plaintive blues that haunts the narrow streets of Lisbon. The players erupted with fury. Benkoe and Sramka were hurried from the pitch under a barrage of Portuguese outrage. The normally good-natured Portuguese fans ripped up seats. They were convinced Portugal had been the victim of one of soccer's greatest ever injustices. Emerging after the game, the shell-shocked players lambasted the referee and hinted darkly about machinations to ensure Europe's biggest names made it to the final. “We are a small country that many people don't want to see in the final,” Figo told reporters after the match. “We've kept our dignity, but we're going home and the others are staying. UEFA must be very happy.” There was desperation in the Barcelona maestro's vice as he told how the incident had shaken his faith in the game his skills had done so much to brighten over the past weeks of Euro 2000. “Today there isn't much truth in soccer... when I think that this referee will go on to referee other games, it pains me,” Figo said. UEFA will surely have something to say about the way Portugal's players reacted to their dismissal. Fines and suspensions will likely be handed down after the officials were harangued and jostled. It was a dismal end to Portugal's great adventure. Even Zidane acknowledged they deserved better. Up until the semifinal, Figo, Rui Costa, Joao Pinto and the rest had dribbled and passed their way into the hearts of soccer lovers around the continent. German fans cheered as Sergio Conceicao's hattrick inflicted a 3-0 defeat on the reigning European champions. Before that the Portuguese had shimmied past England to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 win after Figo had fired them back into contention with a 30-meter (yard) shot that will remain one of Euro 2000's enduring memories. Then they battled Gheorghe Hagi's tough Romanians for 90 minutes before Figo's perfectly flighted free-kick allowed the little-known Costinha to head in a stoppage time winner. By now the Latin rhythms of Portugal's soccer had the soccer world abuzz. Humberto Coelho's team was hotter than an Algarve vacation and stories were flying of top clubs offering vast sums to snap up the new stars. Lazio was reportedly desperate to get Figo. Barcelona demanded a world-record smashing dlrs 120 million transfer fee. Chelsea, Fiorentina, Aston Villa and Sporting Lisbon were lining up for Joao Pinto. Naples wanted Vidigal, Real Madrid were after Costinha, the rumor mill was working flat out. The quarterfinal against Turkey was another Figo symphony of midfield control. Portugal won 2-0 at the Amsterdam Arena in the first European championship match to be played under cover. Then came France. It was billed as a classic of stylish, attacking teams, but it never developed into the hoped for fiesta of free-flowing soccer. Boh sides started nervously, and the world champions were just too good to allow the Portuguese to weave their elaborate midfield spells. France quickly gained the upper hand, but in the 19th minute Nuno Gomes took a pass from Sergio Conceicao, turned and rifled home a 16-meter (yard) shot past a flabbergasted Fabien Barthez. In King Baudouin stadium and around Portugal hopes were raised that the national team was headed for its first ever final. But in the second half France eased back into control. Zidane found oceans of space in midfield and his passes unleashed the French forwards to plunder the Portuguese defense. Six minutes after the interval, Nicolas Aneka got around the defense and found Thierry Henry who scored the equalizer. While Zidane was allowed to roam freely behind the French forwards, Figo was having the hardest of times at the other end. Patrick Vierra and Emannuel Petit gave him no breathing room. Portugal's creative spirit was bottled up. France dominated the second half, but last-ditch defending by Jorge Costa and Fernando Couto kept the score tied at 90 minutes and into extra time. Ironically, Portugal came within centimeters (inches) of winning just after the second period of extra time when Joao Pinto's angled shot sped agonizingly close to goal. Fans were thinking Portugal could still avoid a repetition of the classic 1984 semifinal, when it lost to a last-minute French goal. Then came the penalty and suddenly a defeat even more sour. It was too much for coach Coelho. He announced his resignation after the game.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
