It is Portugal at last!
Last Sunday must go down as the day of mixture of tears and smiles in the French capital of Paris as the host nation of the EURO 2016 was agog with tears at the end of the whole exercise, while Portugal snatched the giant cup to send the home supporters gnashing their teeth.
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A month-long of football challenges had come to an end and the Portuguese jubilation was wild and endless. The giant cup went to Cristiano Ronaldo, and his nation had everything to be proud of.
I have never seen such a bizarre manner of presentation of a cup as the jubilant Portuguese team and their officials kept thumping and dancing wildly on the dais, preventing the UEFA President from making a formal presentation but was forced to pass the cup on from behind.
It was an interesting piece of history, but who could begrudge the Portuguese fighters in such a mood waiting for nothing but the cup which had eluded their predecessors for decades, a nation which produced such adventurers as Don Diego de Azanbuja, Christopher Columbus and others in the olden days.
And when the cup reached the hands of skipper Ronaldo who climbed the dais limping, he could not just control his emotions by raising it up, kissing it, carrying it on his head, and crying in ecstasy.
Yes, even when Portugal hosted the event in 2004, they lost the cup in the final, leaving their people to wonder when again? Of course, it was the greatest moment for the 40,000 fans that trooped to the Stade du France, and the over 10 million citizens back home and elsewhere.
That was exactly what the Portuguese were waiting for as it had never happened in their lives. This great nation had never won any major tournament in her history.
Interestingly, the whole European nation owes its latest success to a Guinea Bissau-born lad, Eder Vido Marcelo Anthonio Lopez, popularly known as "Eder", who was sent to Portugal by a godfather who took him from a caretaker home and trained him to become a football star.
His fantastic strike in the dying embers of the game after he had been introduced from the bench in extra time, when at best everyone was waiting for a possible penalty shootout, made the 25-year old striker an instant hero.
Ronaldo was injured in the first half, and the French took advantage of the absence of the danger man to probe for goals but lost the best of chances, with Antonio Griezmann, Sissoko, Rui Patrico and Andre Pierre Gignac being the worst culprits.
That 25-yarder strike which beat goalkeeper Hugo Lloris must be the envy of great stars such as Roberto Baggio of Italy, Zinedine Zidane of France, the great Pele of Brazil, Argentina's Maradona, Eusebio of Portugal and Bobby Charlton of England who rose up in the 60s and 70s.
The whole Portugal was ignited, and it was obvious C. Ronaldo's dream was manifest. The great skipper had told the world earlier on that his team would exorcise the ghost of 2004, hoping that at the end of the day, the joy would go to Portugal.
He said: "I have always said my dream was to win a trophy for Portugal" and when they beat Gareth Bale's Wales team 2-0 in the semi-finals, he added: "with a lot of hard work, humility and the spirit of sacrifice which I have always shown in my career, the dream would come true."
Is it any wonder that when he had a knee injury and could hardly stand on his feet, he nearly took up the job of their coach and worked assiduously on the touch-line to motivate his men to victory?
The French side had all the attention as the possible winners of the cup, and the bookmakers had tipped them for the title. Of course, it must not be forgotten that the Portuguese started poorly with a 1-1 draw against Iceland, a result which angered Ronaldo and prompted him to refuse to shakehands with the opposing team members.
That was followed by another goalless draw with Austria, before waking up from their slumber to beat Hungary and qualify for the knockout stage where they came face-to-face with Croatia, a team which had earlier beaten Turkey 2-1, Spain 2-1 and drawn 2-2 with Czech Republic.
Then came the quarter-finals where Ronaldo and his men fought a battle of their lives against Poland and ended 120 minutes goalless, but won on penalties. You could imagine what happened when they clashed with Gareth Bale's Wales in the semi-finals. They surely had to conjure all the magic to conquer stubborn Wales who had vowed to sail through to the grand finale.
Of course, the next day France also beat world champions, Germany, to set up a dream final with Portugal, and their top players such as Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet, Sagna, Sissoko, Mutiti and others knew what was ahead and, therefore, had to prepare well.
It is obvious that the recent European Championship gave the world food for thought about the danger of complacency which caused a side like England to suffer a knockout at the hands of unsung Iceland at the one-sixteenth stage.
England, with their famous and highly-competitive Premier League and football history just didn't expect that small Island to topple them on such a big platform as the Euro 2016. But after taking an early penalty lead, they found themselves in a fight which beat their imagination and eventually lost 1-2 to Iceland who were making their maiden apppearance in the European tournament.
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France too took things for granted after beating Germany and failed miserably at the tail end of the final when Portuguese stalwarts such as Pepe, Eder, Nani, Quaresma and others showed them how important it was to be full of stamina after regulation time, and pumped in more energy for victory.
On that score, I have cause to commend Iceland and Wales for their unforgettable tournament, especially their numerous fans who followed them to fill the various stands to the brim at every match.
And to Portugal whose president, His Excellency Marcello Roberto de Souza, made sure to make his presence felt at the grand finale to cheer his men on to that significant victory in enemy territory. I say kudos to Portugal for a good fight!
In reality what made some of the remarkable football nations like Denmark, Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, and Slovenia miss out on qualification still beats my mind. But certainly, a lot will be expected of these countries in the next tournament in 2020.
God bless!
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