Portuguese football legend Eusebio believes Luiz Felipe Scolari and his men will help Portugal right what he considers to be a historic wrong and win a first major trophy for the country in tonight's Euro 2004 final against Greece.
In 1966, Eusebio was part of the Portugal team that was beaten 2-1 by England in the semi-finals and he is still angry at the treatment of the team in that tournament. Now he believes Brazilian Scolari is on the verge of giving the Portuguese the Henri Delaunay trophy as compensation for the Jules Rimet Trophy that slipped through their fingers in 1966.
The legend said: "You have to remember we were playing against England who were the host nation and the semi-final was supposed to be in Liverpool at Goodison Park. We were told only on the day of the game that the match would be played at Wembley. I don't blame the English FA but I blame the Portuguese Football Federation because they agreed a financial compensation deal to switch the game. But the 1966 World Cup was still a good experience for me and I enjoyed it."
Now Eusebio believes that Scolari and his men can end the trophy drought against the Greeks.
He added: "What pleases me is that we have got better as the tournament has gone on. We lost the first game against Greece, then we beat Russia and then Spain to get to the quarter-finals. Against England we showed we were in very good condition and against Holland in the semi-finals it was our best performance yet. Now we have the first final in the history of Portuguese football but Greece are in the same situation. Portugal are at home and that is important. I hope for a good game."
Filed by Mark O'Neill-Cummins
