Celebrating Defeat?
The Euro 2004 is now over, and once again Portugal hasn't lived up to
the great expectations placed upon the so called "Golden Generation" of
Figo, Rui Costa, Joao Pinto, Couto and other great players, that
started their brilliant careers by bringing home 2 junior world cups.
But nobody can deny their value and the fact this was the best campaign ever for a Portuguese team. After all, we became Europe's vice-champions, second only to a team that showed that a strong defense can beat even the best at this game.
Greece, fair winner of the tournament, played the same strategy over and over, bringing to their knees the French, the Czech and finally the Portuguese, all defeated by the most solid defense and a simple, single goal born from a corner kick. Easy? so it seems...
Portugal is indeed a winner, and showed that by partying with the Greeks after the match, even throughout the world, with large demonstrations in Newark - US, Paris - France, or Sao Paulo - Brazil. This tournament was well organized, the stadiums built from scratch are great works of art, and never in recent years the people got so mobilized for a cause, behind a single flag. Football is often the cause of dispute in Portugal, with Benfica, Porto and Sporting's fans competing all over the year, extending this competition even to their social and professional lives.
This time however, the country stood behind one team, our team, and during the last three weeks we had numerous demonstrations of joy, pride and hope. Even after the final match, most people found reasons to celebrate in the streets, showing that we are proud of our team, that this team achieved a tremendous result, and this way Portugal is showing to the world that we have the skills, the people, the hospitality and the motivation to organize world-class events.
We feel pride in our team, and are confident that they will be ready to tackle the next challenge, the World Cup in 2006, with renewed strength and certainly Portugal will be a strong contender.
But nobody can deny their value and the fact this was the best campaign ever for a Portuguese team. After all, we became Europe's vice-champions, second only to a team that showed that a strong defense can beat even the best at this game.
Greece, fair winner of the tournament, played the same strategy over and over, bringing to their knees the French, the Czech and finally the Portuguese, all defeated by the most solid defense and a simple, single goal born from a corner kick. Easy? so it seems...
Portugal is indeed a winner, and showed that by partying with the Greeks after the match, even throughout the world, with large demonstrations in Newark - US, Paris - France, or Sao Paulo - Brazil. This tournament was well organized, the stadiums built from scratch are great works of art, and never in recent years the people got so mobilized for a cause, behind a single flag. Football is often the cause of dispute in Portugal, with Benfica, Porto and Sporting's fans competing all over the year, extending this competition even to their social and professional lives.
This time however, the country stood behind one team, our team, and during the last three weeks we had numerous demonstrations of joy, pride and hope. Even after the final match, most people found reasons to celebrate in the streets, showing that we are proud of our team, that this team achieved a tremendous result, and this way Portugal is showing to the world that we have the skills, the people, the hospitality and the motivation to organize world-class events.
We feel pride in our team, and are confident that they will be ready to tackle the next challenge, the World Cup in 2006, with renewed strength and certainly Portugal will be a strong contender.
