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Lingering golden dreams of ‘golden goal’ |
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July 4, 2000
ROTTERDAM (AP) - Two years later and France is celebrating again. In 1998, the French were on top of the world and now they are masters of Europe.
French players said at the start of Euro 2000 that winning the European Championship would be tougher than winning the World Cup. So it proved, with the side scraping through match after match on the way to the final.
Time seemed to be up for Roger Lemerre's team when it trailed Italy deep into injury time in Sunday's final in Rotterdam.
But an amazing come-from-behind 2-1 win in extra time means that France can claim a place among the all-time greats after becoming the first World Cup holder to win the European championship.
Tellingly, its golden goal win was as much down to guts and determination as the silky skills of Zinedine Zidane.
"The important thing is that France won," Zidane said after the match.
Most sides would have been dead and buried trailing three minutes into injury time against a superbly-organized Italian defense.
But France simply never gave up and there only looked like one winner once Sylvain Wiltord's injury time goal pushed the match into extra time.
"It is the willpower of the team which did it. The team wanted this trophy since the day it won the World Cup," French coach Roger Lemerre said.
The Italians looked like clinching their first European title since 1968 after Marco Delvecchio's 55th-minute goal.
Alessandro Del Piero missed two golden opportunities to put the match beyond reach but Lemerre threw on two strikers, Wiltord and David Trezeguet, and both scored.
"We had some really difficult moments. And it is true that if we hadn't had a 93rd minute and Sylvain hadn't struck we would have been eliminated and I don't think that would have been unjust," Zidane said.
"We really suffered but we wanted to be European champion," he said. "Judging the whole competition I think we deserved it."
France has kept its traditional flair and added steel that runs through its performances.
Almost its entire squad play in England, Italy and Spain, giving the French regular experience of top class soccer.
France simply refused to accept defeat.
"Everyone thought we were dead but we proved all through the competition that we had a strong mentality," said Thierry Henry.
Back in Paris, thousands poured onto the streets to celebrate the team's victory.
Once the hangovers have gone, the weight of France's achievement will sink in. The team has surpassed the much-loved Michel Platini-inspired outfit that reached the World Cup semis in 1982 and 1986 and won the European Championship in 1984.
The victory over Italy continues the dynasty that has its roots in Aime Jacquet's appointment as national coach seven years ago.
France has lost just two matches since its launched its successful World Cup campaign in June 1998, and only five matches since 1993.
It has never lost a match with its famed back four - Bixente Lizarazu, Lilian Thuram, Laurent Blanc and Marcel Desailly - in place.
With Blanc's retirement, that record, and France's place in history, will stand forever.
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