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| Wednesday, June 28, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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Portugal on threshold of history |
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Mixed reaction to ICC decision
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Portugal on threshold of history BRUSSELS, June 27 (AFP) — World champions France and Euro 2000 outsiders Portugal meet in the semifinal here tomorrow in a rematch of their famous 1984 last-four meeting in the same competition. Two of the most impressive midfields in the football world test themselves against each other on a biggest international stage since the 1998 World Cup. For Portugal it is a chance to reach their first major final in the senior game. Although currently European champions at under-16 and under-18 level, Portugal’s senior side, which reached the 1966 World Cup semifinals in England thanks to goals from Eusebio as well as the Euro 84 last four, have never reached a final in European or world competitions at senior level. France, of course, have reached two finals, winning both the 1984 Euro final and the 1998 World Cup final but nearly came unstuck in their Euro 2000 quarterfinal match with Spain. French keeper Fabien Barthez survived a last-gasp penalty in Bruges, Belgium on Sunday when Spain’s Raul hit the ball over the crossbar to keep the scoreline at 2-1 and book France’s last four berth. Portugal’s qualification was a little easier when Turkey were reduced to 10 men and keeper Vitor Baia made a spectacular penalty stop, both right at the end of the first half. A double score by youngster Nuno Gomes, who came of age as an international striker after previous lacklustre performances, earned the 2-0 victory at the Amsterdam Arena on Saturday. But now both teams can concentrate on the semifinals. Portugal left back Dimas said during yesterday’s post-training press conference that France had a superb midfield. “Zinedine Zidane is the best No 10 in the world,” Dimas said which was a high compliment and an indirect inference that he was better than Portugal playmaker and No 10 Rui Costa. “Zidane is a very good friend of mine and someone I respect as a player but outside football he also has a fantastic mentality,” Dimas said. “I can’t really say how the battle with him and Luis Figo will go because they have different styles. “Both of them are exceptional players but I think the match is going to be 11 versus 11 and not one against one.” Meanwhile Gomes said it would be a tough game for Portugal’s strikers. “It will be a tough game for us because they have beautiful defenders and they are the World Champions,” Gomes said. “But we must play this game like it was just one of the others.” The Benfica striker did not believe it was a revenge game for their 1984 clash which France won 3-2 with a goal by Michel Platini after Portugal led 2-1 in extra time. “I don’t think it’s a revenge match but we know supporters back home want to win this game because of the 1984 match. We want to win, not because of that game, but because of the chance to get into the final,” he added. Portugal are fully-fit following the training session in Ermelo in the centre of the Netherlands. One of the two assistant coaches Adelino Teixeira confirmed in a post-training conference: “All the players are fit and ready for the match. Against France we will play our strongest team.” Portugal travel to Waterloo, Belgium, before holding a press conference and training at the King Baudouin Stadium. Coach Humberto Coelho clearly has a variety of options, given that his second-string side still managed to beat Germany 3-0 last Tuesday in Rotterdam thanks to a Sergio Conceicao hat-trick. Portugal, however, have not really been tested by any of the serious favourites so far. In group A. Germany’s ageing squad, lacking talent, and England’s several good individuals unable to really gel as a team, are Portugal’s two most difficult opponents to date. Nevertheless this event is a chance for Portugal, who possess the talent of colonial offspring Brazil yet not the silverware to match, to finally end their championship-winning drought in the July 2 final in Rotterdam. French coach Roger Lemerre has all his experienced squad at his disposal and the tense finale to the Spain game will have tested their match nerves under the highest pressure. Of course they have the famous back four of Lilian Thuram, Laurant Blanc, Marcel Desailly and Bixente Lizarazu for Portugal to deal with. It’s beginning to look familiar. From the start of the tournament, the French first choice back four in front of Manchester United-bound goalkeeper Fabien Barthez have conceded just two goals - both from the penalty spot. Two years ago in France the same five completed the World Cup finals with just two goals against, one from the penalty spot. The French now turn to a
semifinal tie against Portugal and now just two matches
away from being the first side to win the World Cup and
then go on to win the European title. |
Semis promise rich fare ROTTERDAM, June 27 (Reuters) — Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo. Orange against Azzurri. After 28 matches and 79 goals, armchair fans can look forward to the promise of two of the most thrilling semifinals ever at a European Championship finals. World champions France against Portugal’s “golden generation’’ and co-hosts the Netherlands, playing at home in Amsterdam with their fans primed for a party to end all parties, against Italy are matches made in soccer heaven. Nobody — excepting those disappointed fans whose teams have long fallen by the wayside — could really have asked for more from a tournament that has for once rewarded the most adventurous and exciting sides. More goals? The Dutch scored a record six in their quarterfinal demolition of Yugoslavia. More thrills? Not after Spain, in a comeback classic, powered from 2-3 down to beat Yugoslavia 4-3 with two injury time goals and then lost 1-2 to France in Sunday’s quarterfinal after missing a last minute penalty. The last four all have that extra something that quickens the pulse and draws gasps of admiration. They draw on an evocative past, one of epic clashes on the world stage, and hint at a spectacular future. World champions France — who beat Brazil in the 1998 World Cup final — now face Portugal, popularly known as the Brazilians of Europe, in Brussels on Wednesday. That will be a re-run of one of the most thrilling championship matches of the past 20 years when Michael Platini’s France came from behind to beat Portugal 3-2 in the 1984 semifinal in Marseilles. Platini scored the winner a minute before the end of extra time and France went on to take the title. This time, Zidane has taken on Platini’s mantle as the French try to become the first reigning world champions to go on and win the European title as well. The balding Juventus midfielder was inspirational against Spain, scoring the first goal with a superb first half free kick and then orchestrating the play masterfully. Portugal’s Luis Figo has a similar mesmerising effect on defenders bewildered by his outrageous talents. The Barcelona midfielder’s fluid passing, as well as a wonder goal against England in their opening 3-2 victory, have been crucial in taking the Portuguese to their first major tournament semifinal since Euro ’84. The prospect of seeing Zidane and Figo battle for midfield mastery is a mouth-watering one indeed. “He is a great player... but it would not be Zidane v Figo,’’ insisted Figo “It would be 11 against 11.’’ Italy, three times world champions, have the power to silence street parties and cast a pall across an entire country for whom Orange is the only colour. That will happen if Dino Zoff’s rejuvenated “Azzurri’’, who arrived at Euro 2000 with plenty of doubts about their abilities, continue to surpass expectations and beat the Netherlands at the Amsterdam Arena on Thursday. The Italians —
along with Portugal and the Netherlands — have yet
to lose. |
Inzaghi holds the key for Italy BRUSSELS, June 27 (AFP) — Love him or loathe him, Filippo Inzaghi is the key figure in an Italian attack which has taken Dino Zoff’s men all the way to a place in the semifinals at Euro 2000. The tournament has probably seen the best and the worst of Juventus’ lanky centre-forward, who was widely accused of diving when he earned — and then converted — the penalty winner against Turkey. Inzaghi has a reputation in the Serie A as being tumble-prone and even he admitted after the Turkey match: “It was the kind of penalty that a referee could have given — but might not have done.” However, Inzaghi’s other speciality is the predator’s sense of being in the right place at the right time, and it is no coincidence that he is a self-confessed admirer of Gary Lineker. The man from Piacenza, dubbed “Super Pippo” by his fans, has poached an average of 25 goals in each of his three seasons for Juventus between league and Cup duty, and was the Serie A’s top scorer in 1996-97 for lowly Atalanta. Curiously, for one of the most prolific strikers in the world’s toughest league, Inzaghi can’t shoot the ball from any distance, he can’t dribble and his heading ability could be generously described as limited. However, he can do two things better than anyone else in Italian football — the blind side run to the edge of the six-yard box, where he scores most of his goals, and jumping the off-side trap by one centimetre. Inzaghi offered a rare insight into his game as he prepared for Juventus’ Champions League semifinal first leg against Manchester United in 1999. Asked about his fondness for living on the wafer-thin line between on- and off-side, he said. “It’s true, my presence keeps the linesmen extremely busy for the whole 90 minutes. But that’s the way I play. “I’m always at the very edge of the off-side line waiting for a defender to make a mistake, to lose me for a split-second or to stay one step behind his team-mates and keep me on-side. “For me, the important thing is not to get demoralised,” he said. “I might be caught off-side 10 times in a match. But in the end, something almost always goes my way. The thing is to wait for it and believe it will happen.” That belief is also shared here by Zoff, who has stuck by his No 9 despite a mixed time at Euro 2000. Inzaghi could easily have scored a hat-trick in open play against Turkey but fluffed every chance that came his way. It was little different in the 2-0 over Belgium with the 26-year-old missing two clear chances — offset though by working the one-two which enabled Stefano Fiore to hammer Italy’s second past Filip de Wilde. Zoff stuck by his man and although the Italy coach never discusses team tactics, he has evidently told Inzaghi to keep just on-side and instructed the midfielders to keep trying the long ball forward for him. AC Milan’s Demetrio Albertini managed it three times against Romania, with an encouraging result — one goal, one shot deflected onto the post by the goalkeeper and one shot rifled narrowly wide. Inzaghi had waited a year to score for the national side in open play and Zoff admitted yesterday: “I hope the goal helps him to move forward.” Hours earlier, Inzaghi had been basking in the glory of victory and trying to win over the hearts of Italians even further, deflecting his personal success onto the team, saying: “The important thing is that Italy won... The dream continues.” Inzaghi’s public image certainly needed a lift. Just four months
earlier, he was castigated in the national press for
having selfishly converted scoring chances that he could
have passed onto struggling team-mate Alessandro Del
Piero, who hadn’t scored in open play since October
1998. |
It’s curtains for Lothar Matthaus, Gheorghe Hagi ROTTERDAM, June 27 (AFP) — Euro 2000 has proved one tournament too far for some of the elder statesmen of European football. Germany’s Lothar Matthaus, Romania’s Gheorghe Hagi, Belgium’s Filip de Wilde and Denmark’s Peter Schmeichel have all had tournaments to forget with the Dane the only member of that quartet to escape a panning by the media and fans in his homeland. Schmeichel is also the only one who will carry on playing for his country after Euro 2000. Hagi and De Wilde are directly to blame for their country’s exits from the tournament while 39-year-old Matthaus was severely criticised to the extent that before the tournament some of his colleagues even suggested he should replace Erich Ribbeck as coach — so long as he quit playing. Matthaus revealed last night that some of his fellow German team-mates had plotted a coup against Ribbeck during a pre-tournament training camp in Majorca, Spain with the 39-year-old libero lined up as stand-in coach. “(Dietmar) Hamann, (Jens) Jeremies, (Markus) Babbel and several others came to see me during the Majorca camp and said to me ‘you should do it, you would do a lot better,’” Matthaus told German TV channel SF. The thinking behind the plot, according to Kicker magazine, was to kill two birds by one stone — get rid of Ribbeck and enforce Matthaus to renounce his playing role. Matthaus, presumably hurt by the implied slight on his playing ability, claims to have replied: “How can you imagine doing that? I have no experience. And I want to play myself which I could not do as coach. Anyway you can’t just ‘kill’ a coach like this just before euro.” Matthaus, captain of West Germany’s 1990 World Cup winning team and holder of a world record 150 caps, subsequently did little to justify Ribbeck’s faith in his playing ability during Euro 2000 which proved a disaster for the defending champions. If Matthaus bowed out in a disappointing fashion then Hagi departed the stage he had graced for the best part of two decades in disgrace. He earned four yellow cards and one red in the tournament. The first two yellows ensured he missed the match with England — the only game Romania won. Then in the quarterfinal he was lucky to escape with a caution for a horrendous tackle on Antonio Conte that ended the Italian’s tournament. Then with Romania trailing 0-2 the ‘Maradona of the Carpathians’ produced a blatant dive in the penalty area to earn a second yellow and an inevitable red. Hagi, 35 on Monday revealed he had been driven to tears by the criticism he had received in the Romanian press. “On June 5, 1999 (the Euro 2000 qualifier with Hungary) I felt the greatest joy in my career with the Romanian team. Today (Monday) a year after that great joy the newspapers and journalists have reduced me to tears.” Thirty-seven-year-old Schmeichel, meanwhile, shipped eight goals in dismal Denmark’s three group D matches but with the Danes failing to score a single goal the Sporting Lisbon keeper escaped the blame and is intent on featuring in his country’s qualification bid for the 2002 World Cup. His fellow goalkeeper De Wilde took the lion’s share of the blame for Red Devils exit at the group stages ensuring the Euro 2000 party went into the knock-out stages without one of its hosts. First he was the author of a monumental bungle against Sweden in the opening game of the tournament that allowed Sweden’s Johan Mjallby to score — fortunately Belgium won that match 2-1. But then 36-year-old De Wilde blundered again in the 0-2 defeat by Turkey that sealed Belgium’s fate, his fatal hesitation allowing Hakan Sukur to poach the first goal. He compounded that Clanger by then getting himself sent off after charging wildly out of his area and bringing down Arif Erdem. Other old timers — such as France’s Didier Deschamps — are also having indifferent tournaments although there is still time for redemption. Schmeichel lives to
fight another day but for Matthaus, Hagi and De Wilde,
Euro 2000 represents a sad final curtain on otherwise
illustrious careers. |
Zidane, Figo in titanic clash AMSTERDAM, June 27 (Reuters) — Wednesday’s Euro 2000 semifinal between France and Portugal will pit two of the best players in the world against each other. France’s playmaker Zinedine Zidane and versatile Portuguese midfielder Luis Figo will meet in Brussels in what promises to be another feast of exciting soccer. In the days of celebrity football, both players have managed to keep themselves to themselves despite enjoying their success in the tournament so far. Barcelona’s Figo, showing the short dribbles, bursts of speed and technique that have made him the spearhead of Portuguese attacks, was instrumental in the two goals Portugal scored against Turkey on Saturday, earning him the man-of-the-match award. His precision crossing helped Nuno Gomes score his first, while he battled through to deliver another easy ball for Nuno Gomes to knock in Portugal’s second. A veteran of Portugal’s “golden generation’’ side that twice lifted the World Youth Cup, Figo also showed his mettle against England in the opening game, helping Portugal grab a 3-2 victory after trailing 0-2. A quiet personality, he plays with a languid fluidity and is full of innovation. He recently shrugged off comments that some people thought him the best player in the world at the moment. “Who are these people?’’ he asked with characteristic Figo modesty. Former England manager Bobby Robson, who worked with the 27-year-old at sporting Lisbon and Barcelona described him as “every manager’s dream”. “He is hard working and has great individual talents. He is a marvellously unselfish player, a class act and nothing else.’’ But Zidane too is undoubtedly another class act. The balding Frenchman sparkled in the World Cup finals two years ago and has got better since. “I’m 28 and at the peak of my powers. I’m feeling really good. Let’s hope it will continue,’’ he said after France beat Spain 2-1 in their quarterfinal. The Juventus player was at the heart of Sunday’s game, scoring France’s first goal — his first of the tournament — and mastering much of the play for the rest of the match. Fellow players have nothing but compliments for the shy son of north African immigrants, who became a French national hero after scoring twice in the France ‘98 final. “He is really exceptional. Sometimes you want to stop playing just to watch him,’’ said friend and team-mate Christophe Dugarry. European footballer of the year in 1998, Zidane may well be on target to clinch the award again this year if France make it to the final. But if Wednesday’s
game goes Portugal’s way, then it could well be
Figo’s name on the trophy. |
Djorkaeff to revive Platini glories KNOKKE (Belgium), June 26 (Reuters) — Youri Djorkaeff was only 16 when Michel Platini, mixing swaggering midfield skills with a shoal of glorious goals, inspired France to win the European championship in 1984. Now, 16 years on at 32, he is one of the goalscoring stars in a team that, after winning the World Cup two years ago, is ready to emulate the feats of that Platini-led outfit and endorse its position as world champions. Today, however, only 12 hours after hitting the decisive French goal against Spain in Sunday’s quarter-final win, the Kaiserslautern forward was as happy to enjoy a moment of nostalgia as to bask in his own striking feats. “I remember the semifinal against Portugal in Marseille very clearly,’’ he said. “It was one of the great nights of my life because I was there in the crowd at the velodrome and saw the match. No one could ever forget it.” France were trailing 2-1 in extra-time with six minutes remaining when Jean-Francois Domergue levelled before Platini struck a dramatic winner with two minutes to go. For the young Djorkaeff, whose father Jean, of Armenian origins, was also a French international, it was one of the formative moments of his life and his career. “It was such a fantastic experience, wonderful, that everyone was happy and inspired,’’ he said. “Now, we hope to do something like it again because that match meant so much to French Football. It was a special day.’’ Djorkaeff, a skilful creative player who scores goals, may not be the modern French Platini, but he remains an important part of an attacking midfield formation in which Zinedine Zidane wears the playmaker’s number 10 jersey. And his two goals at Euro 2000, against the Czech Republic and Spain, have revitalised his career and enlarged his total of international goals to 26 in 66 appearances, an impressive return for a player who is not an out-and-out striker. “I am starting to feel in great shape again,’’ he said on Monday. “I feel in good form here, I feel imaginative and sharp and I feel I can score goals. “When I controlled
the ball yesterday I knew I was going to score, but I did
not know if I was going to shoot to the right or the left
side of the goal”. |
Davenport, Coetzer win LONDON, June 27 (AFP) — Reigning women’s champion Lindsay Davenport made a winning start here at Wimbledon today but not in circumstances she would have liked on centre court as fellow American and doubles partner Corina Morariu had to withdraw through injury in their first-round tie. Morariu, who partnered Davenport to the women’s doubles championship here 12 months ago, made a tearful exit after receiving prolonged treatment for what appeared to be a left shoulder injury having fallen early in the second set allowing Davenport to advance 6-3 1-0. Joining Davenport in the second round of the women’s singles was South African 12th seed Amanda Coetzer, who scored an impressive 6-4 6-2 win over Mashona Washington of the USA. Coetzer next tackles Lina Osterloh of the USA, who beat Italy’s Silvia Farina 6-3 5-7 6-3. In the men’s singles flag-waving Brazilians invaded the all England club as their hero, French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten, stormed into the second round. Fourth seed Kuerten, who captured his second Roland Garros crown earlier this month, dispatched Chris Woodruff of the USA 6-4 6-7 (5/7) 7-5 7-6 (7/5). Kuerten, dubbed the ‘king of clay’ for his brilliance on the surface which has landed him a full collection of titles at Roland Garros, Monte Carlo, Hamburg and Rome, showed he is no slouch on the turf even though his rival ran him close. The 23-year-old, who currently heads the ATP champions race, showed patches of delightful form despite some early problems volleying as he broke decisively for 4-3 in the opening set. He then did the same in the fifth game in the second but, after a line call went against him, he failed to serve out for the second set leading 5-4 and almost saw his challenge derailed. Sixth seed Monica Seles
struggled with a wayward serve today as shebeat Karina
Habsudova of Slovakia 3-6, 6-2 7-5 to reach the second
round. |
Mixed reaction to ICC decision LONDON, June 27 (PTI) — Former chief of London metropolitan police Sir Paul Condon, who has been named as International Cricket Council’s anti-corruption chief, has said his job would be to discover and, if possible, eradicate the links between bookmakers, gamblers and professional cricketers. Mr Condon told newsmen last night that he would set up an anti-corruption unit (ACU) comprising full-time experts on cricket, financial specialists and legal experts. While the appointment of Sir Paul has come in for praise, the other decision of the ICC to give Test status to Bangladesh and promote the country to the full membership of the game’s world governing body came in for cryptic comments in the media today. ‘‘Apart from one suspect World Cup victory over Pakistan last year, a match that is now to be officially investigated along with the super-six game at Old Trafford between India and Pakistan, Bangladesh’s cricketers themselves have not justified their elevation at all,’’ The Times daily said. ‘‘They have lost all but three of their 40 games since being granted the right to play official one-day internationals and, on a tour of New Zealand in 1997-98, they lost each of their three games against state sides, never bowling the opposition out for fewer than 300 runs.’’ ‘‘Their promotion has more to do, therefore, with potential than with their standing as players,’’ the London newspaper said. Nevertheless, the news of Bangladesh’s Test status was celebrated by thousands of people singing and dancing in the streets of Dhaka. Former India captain
Sunil Gavaskar now takes over as the chairman of Cricket
Development Committee, a post hitherto held by Sir Clyde
Walcott of the West Indies. |
Pak hockey crisis deepens KARACHI, June 27 (PTI) — Pakistan’s Olympic aspirations received yet another blow as the national assistant coach Shahid Ali Khan resigned, leaving its hockey team in tatters. Olympian Shahid became the second official to quit in just over a week’s time. Shahid, who was in charge of the team’s goal-keeping department, said he was quitting in protest over the dismissal of Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) President Arif Abbasi by the Pakistan Sports Board. Abbasi was sacked by the PSB earlier this month on the charges of mismanagement. “I was personally asked by him (Abbasi) to take up this assignment. But since he’s no more a part of the set-up and everything is so uncertain, it’ll be difficult for me to carry on,” Shahid said. Shahid, one of the best
goal-keepers produced by Pakistan, also alleged
mistreatment by the PHF in 1998-99 season when Abbasi was
not in the charge. |
Delhi, Punjab wrestling champions BANGALORE, June 27 (PTI) — Delhi boys dominated Greco-Roman style and were adjudged champions with 77 points while Punjab with 65 points topped in freestyle section here in the 21st Junior National Wrestling Championship today. Delhi were six points short to engrave their name in the freestyle too. Former champions Haryana were pushed to third spot with 54 and Maharastra ended up with 64 in the freestyle. Sandeep Rathi of Delhi hogged the lime-light in the freestyle 97 kg category. The Asian silver medallist at Kazakhstan in 1998 snatched the gold in the interesting bout. Rathi was trailing 1-3 in the third minute against Naveen of Haryana but fought back with neat grips and equalled the score at full time. He wrapped up the bout grounding his rival with the match going in favour of the Delhi wrestler by a fall. There was much of cheer among the handful crowd when local wrestler Nagraj in 63 kg took over Ajit Singh of Himachal Pradesh in Greco-Roman style. Though the bout was equally poised, the hosts were let down with the HP lad walking away with the gold 6-3. The result of all the
four final bouts( 54, 63, 76 and 97 kg) was decided by
fall while there were three walkovers for the third
place. |
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