2004, Greece
The Euro 2004 was held in Portugal who hosted the tournament for the first time. Rival bids from Spain and Austria-Hungary were rejected. Portugal were the default qualifiers while 50 teams were divided into ten groups, with each team playing the others in their group twice, once at home and once away.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: May 21, 2012 06:10 PM IST
The Euro 2004 was held in Portugal who hosted the tournament for the first time. Rival bids from Spain and Austria-Hungary were rejected. Portugal were the default qualifiers while 50 teams were divided into ten groups, with each team playing the others in their group twice, once at home and once away. The top team in each group automatically qualified for Euro 2004, and the ten group runners-up were paired off against each other to determine another five places in the finals of the tournament.
It was France, Denmark, Czech Republic, Sweden, Germany, Greece, England, Bulgaria, Italy and Switzerland who were their group toppers. Netherlands, Croatia, Latvia, Russia and Spain joined in after the play-offs.
Greece, who were not given even the remotest of chance, opened the Group A proceedings with a shock 2-1 win over the hosts. Giorgos Karagounis put them ahead after only seven minutes and Angelos Basinas made it 2-0 from the penalty spot on 51 minutes. An injury time goal from Cristiano Ronaldo proved no more than a consolation for Portugal. Greece managed to finish second in their group, above Spain on goals scored. Portugal recovered from the early setback to finish atop Group A. In Group B, France and England managed to get through to the quarters after France survived a scare against England. A young Wayne Rooney's performances against Switzerland and Croatia were noteworthy. Group C was a three-way humdinger. Italy, Sweden and Denmark all drew against each other and all of them defeated Bulgaria. Eventually Italy bowed out on the number of goals as Sweden and Denmark drew 2-2. The Czech Republic and Netherlands went through from Group D. Czech Republic was the only team to record 3 victories in the group stages as they defeated Latvia, the Netherlands and Germany. Germany had another disappointing Euro, eliminated at the group stage.
England opened the scoring through Michael Owen in the first of the quarter finals. Portugal hit back in the 83rd minute after constant pressure. Helder Postiga scored for Portugal. A debatable decision saw Sol Campbell's goal disallowed. Both sides scored a goal each in extra time as the match went into penalties. Portugal's goalkeeper Ricardo saved a penalty from Darius Vassell and then scored the winning goal to send his side through. The Greeks meanwhile continued on their merry "defensive" run defeating France 1-0. The Dutch beat Sweden 5-4 on penalties after a goalless regular time. The last quarter-final saw the Czechs dispatch Denmark as a two-goal effort from Milan Baros helped seal a 3-0 win.
Portugal faced the Netherlands in the first of the semi-final. Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 26th minute from a Deco inswinger to give the hosts a well deserved lead. Oranje coach Dick Advocaat withdrew Marc Overmars at the break in favour of striker Roy Makaay, and another attacking player in Rafael van der Vaart was added in place of Wilfred Bouma soon afterwards. But the home side scored again through Maniche in the 58th minute to silence the Oranje fans. Jorge Andrade scored an own goal but that was not enough for the Dutch side to stage a comeback. Portugal became the first European Championship host nation since France in 1984 to qualify for the final.
In the second semi, the Czech Republic looked the obvious winner with Tomaš Rosický volleying against the woodwork inside two minutes. But Otto Rehhagel's dogged side dug in brilliantly as they had done through the tournament. When Vassilios Tsiartas swung in a corner, and Traianos Dellas steered in a header at the near post, the Greek fans broke into a frenzy. The extra time goal sent Greece into the final.
It had been 20 years since a host reached the finals and won it but Portugal's aim was to do precisely that. Luiz Felipe Scolari fielded an unchanged side from the semi-final victory over the Netherlands. Greece made just one change, Stelios Giannakopoulos replacing the suspended Georgios Karagounis in midfield. Against expectations, the game turned out to be lively with both sides playing attractive football. Portugal, though, took the honours with decent efforts from Deco, Ronaldo, Pauleta and Miguel. But a surging right-wing run from Giourkas Seitaridis won the Greeks a corner which was taken by Angelos Basinas. Angelos Charisteas climbed above Costinha to head in from close range. The stadium went dead silent as Portuguese fans were left heartbroken. Rui Costa, Deco, Luis Figo and Ronaldo tried hard but in vain.
During the opening ceremony, one of the tableaux depicted a ship, symbolising the voyages of the Portuguese explorers, sailing through a sea which gave way to the flags of all competing countries. The ship caught the imagination of the Greek media and public, and the Greek team was dubbed the "Pirate Ship" for the manner in which the unfancied team "stole" the title from under the noses of the established sides.