BADEN-BADEN, Germany - A Portuguese-speaking team in the World Cup final four
is almost always a given. Just not this one.
When it comes to soccer, the daddy is not nearly as a famous as the son.
Brazil, a Portuguese colony until 1822, has five World Cup titles and famous
stars sprinkled throughout Europe's top clubs.
Portugal has never won the World Cup. It hasn't even won a European
Championship.
After beating England last weekend, Portugal meets 1998 champion France in
the quarterfinals Wednesday in Munich, with the winner going on to face host
Germany or Italy in Sunday's final. Brazil, meanwhile, is long gone after a 1-0
quarterfinals loss to France.
"It's a special moment for us and for all the Portuguese, and we don't want
to disappoint neither the people nor ourselves," defender Miguel said Monday.
"From the teams that are left, we always were the least favorites in the eyes of
the media and fans in general."
Portugal, which lost to England in its only previous semifinal appearance in
1966, was a dark horse pick by some at the tournament in South Korea and Japan
four years, led by a "Golden Generation" of stars. But it gave up three
first-half goals to the United States and lost its opener 3-2, then was
eliminated in its first-round finale when it gave up a 70th-minute goal,
finished two men short and was defeated 1-0 by South Korea.
Luiz Felipe Scolari — "Big Phil" — was hired as coach that November, fresh
off leading Brazil to its record fifth World Cup title. At the 2004 European
Championship, which Portugal hosted, he took his team to its first major final.
But the Portuguese were shocked 1-0 by Greece in one of the soccer's great
upsets.
"We have to lift our chins up and look to the future," a tearful Cristiano
Ronaldo said then. "This doesn't end here."
He was right.
Portugal came to this World Cup with a lower profile, and it beat Angola,
Iran and Mexico in its relatively weak first-round group, joining Germany,
Brazil and Spain as the only teams to go 3-0. Then the Portuguese outlasted the
Netherlands 1-0 in a second-round game notable mostly for its World Cup record
four red cards and record-tying 16 yellow cards. In its quarterfinal Saturday,
Portugal beat England on penalty kicks, the same way it did in the Euro
quarterfinals two years ago.
Scolari, who lists Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" as one of his favorite books,
is trying to become the first coach to win World Cup titles with two nations. He
had coached teams to a record 11 straight World Cup wins before the England
match, which goes down as a tie in FIFA's books.
Dubbed a Gene Hackman-lookalike by the London tabloids, Scolari implores his
teams from the sideline, yelling throughout matches and pumping arms. In April
he turned down an approach from England's Football Association to become
Sven-Goran Eriksson's successor later this summer.
"He's enriched us, increased our confidence," Portugal goalkeeper Ricardo
Pereira said. "Every ship has its captain, and he's ours."
Portugal does have some major stars: Ronaldo with Manchester United, Luis
Figo with Internazionale of Milan and Pedro Pauleta with Paris-Saint Germain.
And, with many Portuguese immigrants in the area, the team is getting a boost
from its supporters.
A large crowd welcomed the team when it arrived in Germany on June 4, and
about 12,000 fans attended an early workout.
"That gave us a real kick," winger Simao Sabrosa said.
On June 18, a day after Portugal beat Iran to earn a place in the second
round, 10,000 or so supporters filled the stadium in Guetersloh and celebrated
in the traditional Portuguese pregame manner — eating sardines and pork steaks.
Portugal is staying at a hotel adjoining a 12th-century Cistercian monastery
in Marienfeld, north of Gelsenkirchen, and there's even a training field on the
hotel grounds, which are encircled by trees. Helicopters from a British military
base fly overhead, and the day has an unusual start.
"The players are only woken up at 7:49 a.m. by the church bells ringing. We
hope we can still hear them ringing on July 8," Scolari said, referring to the
day before the final.
Unlike the other semifinalists, Portugal has a limited list of triumphs and
is making only its fourth World Cup appearance.
At the club level, FC Porto won the European Champions Cup and
Intercontinental Cup in 1987 and 2004, and Benfica won the Champions Cup in 1961
and 1962. Porto also won the lesser UEFA Cup in 2003 and Sporting Lisbon won the
Cup Winners Cup in 1964.
The team is led offensively by Pauleta, nicknamed the "Eagle of the Azores."
With 47 goals in 86 international appearances, he last year broke Eusebio's
previous Portuguese record of 41 goals.
"We have been together now for about three years," Pauleta said, "and we're
desperately keen to show our country that they can rely on us and we'll do
everything we can to ensure dignity for the national team."
