BOCHUM, Germany -- Portugal isn't exactly George Mason, though its soccer
pedigree isn't much stronger than what the Patriots brought to college
basketball's Final Four. Then again, surprise teams in the World Cup semifinals
are hardly a surprise.
Since 1982, the last time four European teams got this far -- West Germany,
Italy and France made it, along with, unexpectedly, Poland -- there was just one
tournament when a relative outsider didn't sneak into the semifinals.
Only in 1990, with Italy, Argentina, England and eventual champion West
Germany, did the status quo hold. Otherwise, there have been the likes of
Belgium (1986), Sweden and Bulgaria (1994), Croatia (1998), South Korea and
Turkey (2002).
Now, there are the Portuguese, who might finally be realizing the promise of
their "Golden Generation," even if nearly all those players have given way to
youngsters of the next generation. Luis Figo is the only remaining member of the
group that was expected to carry Portugal to greatness in the late 1990s and
early 2000s.
Instead, the Portuguese disappointed, with the lowlight a first-round
elimination from the 2002 World Cup, including losses to the Americans and
Koreans. So finding them in the final four after a rebuilding process is akin to
George Mason's Colonial Athletic Association team crashing the NCAA tournament's
big party.
"It's worth suffering for moments like this," said Eusebio, Portugal's
greatest player and the leader of the team that finished third in 1966 -- the
last time the nation had a significant impact on the World Cup.
"It's been more difficult to reach a semifinal with Portugal than the final
with Brazil, because there are only 10 million inhabitants in Portugal compared
to 180 million in Brazil," said Portugal coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, a Brazilian
who led his countrymen to the 2002 crown, Brazil's fifth overall. "Also, 50
percent of the players in Portugal are foreigners. Brazil's traditions make
certain games easier to win, too."
Not against France, of course, which is unbeaten in its last four games
against Brazil, starting with the 1998 World Cup final. Yet, seeing the French
in the semifinals is almost shocking considering the disarray on this team
entering the tournament.
Despite its tradition and wealth of talent -- Zinedine Zidane, Thierry Henry,
Patrick Vieira, Fabien Barthez -- France was within one half of another
first-round exit. Remember how the French couldn't score in the World Cup? How
they followed their humiliating goal-less tournament four years ago with five
lackluster halves in Germany before putting away Togo 2-0 and advancing.
Anyone who picked France to beat Spain and dominate Brazil in the knockout
rounds must have Les Bleus in the blood.
Or maybe the French were just building up to something special, the way the
Turks did in Japan and South Korea, or how the Bulgarians rode star Hristo
Stoitchkov in '94. France climbed on the shoulders of Zidane, who has gone from
average to extraordinary in the last two matches.
"We've been saying among ourselves here all along that France would get to
the semifinals, despite their bad start," Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo Pereira
said Sunday. "Some said France wasn't going to do anything, but it's not easy to
beat Brazil."
Generally, the surprise semifinalists wind up in the third-place match and
not playing for the trophy. Indeed, not since Czechoslovakia lost to Brazil in
1962 has an interloper even made it to the championship game.
"It is another team, another story we have to live," France coach Raymond
Domenech said. "In the end, comparisons are tiresome."
