Portugal V Greece: 1-0
e year of e underdog was taken 2 an incredible xtreme as Greece completed 1 of the biggest upsets in international football 2 lift e Euro 2004 trophy aft a 1-0 win over hosts Portugal...striker charisteas..e man wif e golden boots..headed home e 57th min winner as e nation of e golden generation suffered xtreme pain as deir team froze on e big stage..n so a team which had entered e competition as 80-1 outsiders..w/o a single victory in a major tournament b4..produced a truly heroic display 2 prevail in lisbon...it is not e fault of Greece's german coach otto rehhagel tt he has conjured a notably efficient team out of relatively meagre resources..n it is not his responsibility tt mediocrity seems 2 rule football rite now..wif e power of e team greater than tt of e individual...faced wif wad is..in truth..an average greek side hu were beaten in e grp stages by Russia af all..e supposed might of Portugal..Spain..France n e Czech Republic were found wanting..n none more so than Portugal in a desperately poor final display..4 dis was juz as much abt e way in which Portugal's supposed star players - figo..deco n ronaldo - all failed 2 deliver when it mattered moz...coach luiz felipe scolari may hav led Brazil 2 e World Cup 2 yrs earlier..bt dis time his team were a shadow of e side hu had previously overcome England n Holland...dis time round..wif giannakopoulos in 4 e suspended karagounis..dey repelled Portugal's early advances n den made dem sweat..wif katsouranis keeping a close eye on playmaker deco..e home nation were shorn of ideas as Greece's excellent full backs took control of e flanks..miguel's shot was tipped ard e post..while maniche also flashed a shot wide..bt Portugal's woes were summed up when miguel n pauleta collided in gg 4 e same cross...e home crowd desperately tried 2 lift deir lifeless team..bt wif no top class striker n figo strangely subdued..deco was twice left 2 desperately claim a penalty which nv came...finally Greece exacted full punishment..e attacking spark came frm e superb seitaridis..hu charged down e right flank as if his life depended on it to win a corner..frm basinas' deadball delivery..charisteas stole in unmarked 2 meet e ball n head powerfully past ricardo...however..e more Portugal huffed n puffed amid 5 mins of injury time..a figure which wld hav been less bt 4 a rogue pitch invader..e stronger e greek defense became...it was..admittedly an anti-climax 2 e tournament..bt e truth was tt Greece were..as in e opening game..quite simply e better side on e day...in fact..perhaps e greatest shock of all..when e life had drained out of a vapid portuguese side n e greeks had sunk 2 deir knees in triumph..was juz how little a surprise it actually felt @ all.
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vanna
11:50
