COMEBACKS, car horns, heatwaves, Dutch penalties, Greek Gods, David Beckham, fado, Figo, fans parks, Rooneymania, bitter rivalries, death threats and stadia built like ships: all are assaulting the senses in these last few hours of Euro 2004, but what will remain when the dust has settled? As the Portuguese sun begins to set on another summer finals, how will they be remembered when the Stadium of Light is plunged into darkness? What, in the fullness of time, will be the lasting memory of a tour
It has been a championship full of surprises. What we liked most about Euro 2004 is not what we expected to like: from Milan Baros to Traianos Dellas, the host nation’s impeccable organisation and their team’s progress to the final after defeat in th
e opening match. There has been no Zizou zig-zagging his way across the tournament’s rich canvas, not a single glamorous side in the later stages, and almost no hooligans to give news reporters cause for delay in the Algarve. Had it not been for Wayne Rooney’s explosive impact before his team’s exit 10 days ago, the reflections would be on a summer dominated almost entirely by the underdog.
There is, however, one last chance for the old guard, one final opportunity for a household name to scrawl his signature across this tournament, but even that would come as something of a shock. However far they thought Portugal would go in this competition, few fancied Luis Figo’s chances of at last laying his hands on the international silverware that has eluded him all these years. Were the hosts’ ageing captain to lift the Henri Delaunay Trophy in Lisbon tonight, it would set the seal on a career that has somehow managed to be awash with medals and at the same time incomplete.
For his country, a defeat of Greece in the capital this evening would rank alongside almost any of the socio-political landmarks littering its troubled past. Having reached only the semi-finals of the 1966 World Cup and the last four of Euro 84 and Euro 2000, already they are gulping in the rarefied air of a level with which they are unfamiliar. They could become the first host nation to win the title since France in 1984, while their coach could become the first to win the World Cup and the European Championship with different teams. Luiz Felipe Scolari’s success in the Far East two years ago was the fifth on that stage for Brazil, but no-one has ever taken Portugal this far.
For Figo, though, it would be something else again. Although only 31, his wide-shouldered, shuffling gait does not wear well, and he is unlikely to be around if Portugal reach the 2006 World Cup, never mind the European Championship two years later. This, in fact, is expected to be his last appearance, his 110th since making a full debut against Luxembourg in 1991. Were he to bow out with a trophy from international competition, the only level at which success has eluded him in a feted career with Barcelona and Real Madrid, he would surely supplant Eusebio as the world’s most celebrated Portugueser.
It has been a long time coming, for both Portugal and Figo, who symbolises the depth of their need. He was only a child in 1989, when he was part of the under-16 side beaten by Scotland in a World Cup semi-final at Tynecastle. Two years later, when the World Youth Cup was held in his own country, he and Rui Costa were in the team who eclipsed Brazil on penalties in the final. The match was played in the old Luz Stadium, next door to the venue for tonight’s climax, and there was every reason to suppose that this co-called ‘golden generation’ would go on to succeed at senior level.
Figo, though, hit the big time only with his clubs. A £37m buy for Real Madrid in 2000, he has been World Player of the Year and European Footballer of the Year, but the national side have not taken advantage of his abilities. Paulo Sousa, Joao Pinto and Sergio Conceicao were among the other cherished talents of that age group, but the Brazilians of Europe needed discipline, and it wasn’t until Scolari came along that it emerged. The trouble is that most of the golden generation are gone, and in these finals he has dropped two of the three survivors, namely Rui Costa and Fernando Couto. Figo is the last man standing.
No wonder he wants it bad. When Portugal beat Russia in their second match, thereby recovering from that traumatic defeat by Greece on the opening day, Figo was a brooding, menacing presence in the press area afterwards, ignoring most requests for an interview and singling out one reporter for public humiliation. Likewise, when he was replaced in the quarter-final against England, he stayed in the dressing-room for what remained of the match. He was a disappointment at the 2002 World Cup, where he played with an injury, and it hurts him that he hasn’t been more influential here, when it matters even more.
In the semi-final, stung perhaps by his substitution in previous matches, Figo produced his best performance of Euro 2004, forcing his weary legs past full-backs and, on one memorable occasion, cutting inside to smack a curling left-foot shot against the far upright. He, Deco and Cristiano Ronaldo will have to be at their inventive best if they are to unlock the stubborn defence of a Greek side who have beaten them already, in the curtain-raiser, and also eliminated the holders, France.
It is the first time in the tournament’s history that an opening match has been repeated in the final. That, though, will be the least of its claims if Greece, 80-1 outsiders beforehand, and without a victory in any major finals, can match the achievement of Denmark in 1992 by winning the European Championship. It would be the ultimate in tactical triumphs for Otto Rehhagel, their plotting strategist, who has repeatedly made a mockery of the claim by patronising admirers that, while the Greeks deserve to be taken seriously, their next match will be a bridge too far.
His players will present a frustrating, clenched fist of a problem for Portugal, just the kind of crowd-silencing opponent the hosts could have done without. If Scolari’s most serious problem is the lack of a goalscorer, Rehhagel’s biggest strength is his team’s defence. Tonight, once again, they will squeeze the match with a deep-lying midfielder, and adopt a merciless system of man-marking at the back. Expect Mihalis Kapsis to pick up Portugal’s sole striker, be he Nuno Gomes or Pauleta, while Georgios Seitaridis and Panagiotis Fyssas will assume responsibility for Ronaldo and Figo.
Portugal’s hopes depend on the ability of unmonitored midfielders, such as Deco or Maniche, to exploit the space.
Energy will be on their side, having enjoyed a day’s more preparation than Greece, who travelled down from Porto after their exhausting extra-time semi-final against the Czech Republic. No team with the disadvantage of a day’s less rest has yet won at Euro 2004 and, after nearly a month in Portugal’s stifling heat, the issue becomes more important than ever. Scolari might also draw inspiration from the example of Holland in 1988, who lost to a defensive Soviet Union in their opening group match, but beat them in the final.
Portugal have behind them not only the support of their own people, but the good wishes of the world at large. The tournament has needed them in the latter stages, just as it has thrived on their fans throughout. Greece, it has to be said, are not good to watch, and if we cannot have a good final, it would be nice to have a good winner. For his achievements in the past if not the present, Figo would fall into the same category.
