Euro 2016 - 'EPICO!' Portuguese and French papers react to Ronaldo's and Portugal's triumph
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ByEurosport
Updated 11/07/2016 at 09:15 GMT
French and Portuguese journalists reacted to pain and triumph in predictably different ways, here’s a selection from the two coutnries.
Portuguese and French papers
Image credit: Eurosport
L’Equipe, France’s premier sports paper, talked of the crushed destiny for the French side.
"Stricken" blared the headline, with the story lamenting a "feeling of waste" after the national side fluffed its lines.
"The story was written in advance. After Euro 1984 and the World Cup in 1998, the French team had to win their third trophy in France," the report reads. "All the conditions were set for the dream to be realised.
"But the fairy tale didn’t end well. Beaten by Portugal in extra time, by a powerful shot by Lille striker Eder. Despite the early injury to Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese side survived and brought home their first European Championship."
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O Jogo, one of Portugal’s biggest sports newspapers, was joyous.
"Eternos" declares the front page of a paper which comes with a free commemorative poster.
Inside, the paper's Jose Manuel Ribeiro praises goal hero Eder for his starring role: "The most under-appreciated player in the most under-appreciated team in Europe is a hero on Monday....
"There is a lesson in these surprises and I suspect that it is the most obvious: Portugal always wanted to be a concert violinist, but its true calling is as a farm labourer."
One of Portugal's other big papers put it more simply: 'EPICO!' blared Record, while Jornal de Noticias simply criet 'It's ours!'
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So Foot saw that Pogba had been built up by some as the new Zidane, to lead the side, but that he had been unable to impose himself on the game in the second half.
"[Pogba] never set himself free from the defensive work that he excelled at in the first half. If France had missed a touch of genius, of creativity and madness, it was because the Pickaxe [Pogba] was broken. The people had demanded him to be Zidane, but he was Alou [Diarra]."
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La déception de Paul Pogba
Image credit: AFP
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Correio de Manha went with the full splash with their side’s victory on their website - and declared 10th July a new national holiday, "Portugal Day."
Leaving aside the question of whether they have the authority to do that (***Spoiler alert***: they don't) you can't help but admire and envy their joy:
109 minutes into extra time millions of Portuguese exploded with joy, a cry of joy that echoed through the four corners of the world. Eder, the unloved the ugly duckling, donned the guise of national hero and blazed the way to the title that escaped us 12 years ago in the Greek tragedy at the Stadium of Light.
"The Lille forward withstood Koscielny's pressure, fought for a few metres and then struck a missile that beat Lloris and opened the gates of eternity.
"It was the culmination of a journey that began in shaky fashion, with three draws in the first stage of the competition and considerable criticism. But the weaknesses, in the hands of Fernando Santos, helped make them the force that led them to Paris."
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In France, of course, the reaction was rather different. Liberation noted the symmetry in France’s defeat to Portugal, in the same way that Greece had beaten Portugal over a decade ago:
"What irony! Portugal won their first title by ruining the hopes of the host nation, France. It’s exactly what happened to them in the final of Euro 2004, when Greece beat them at home to wide surprise. That defeat was a national drama - it’s now forgotten."
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Le 10 Sport could not hide the disappointment felt across France:
"Following the victory against France, the whole world saw France already as the champions of Europe. Unfortunately, against Portugal, the dream was ended in the worst manner possible.
"Despite dominating during the first 90 minutes, Didier Deschamps’ men finally cracked in extra time after a shot from Eder. It was a huge disappointment for this French team, who saw themselves lifting another trophy at home, as in 1984 and 1998."
That feeling of regret was echoed elsewhere, across the country:
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And finally Le Monde were magnanimous enough to focus on the transformation of Ronaldo’s sorrow to tears of happiness.
"On two occasions, two hours apart, he dissolved into tears. Spread out on the turf of the Stade de France, overcome with emotion. The same act for opposing feelings. On the 10th July, Cristiano Ronaldo’s sobs of distress, at the start of the match, were transformed into tears of joy at the final whistle."
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