France’s dramatic overtime victory over Italy in the Euro 2000 final will always be kept alive as a symbol of their inevitable victory under Roger Lemerre.
But while David Trezeguet’s golden goal in the final remains one of the most famous moments in French football history, it may actually be their semi-final win over Portugal that says the most about the greatness of the side.
On the way into the competition, only one team had ever won the World Cup and European Championships back to back, and while France remained one of the favorites, there were question marks over their references.
Mainly because Aime Jaquet, the boss who led them to glory at home, had stepped aside and left the job to his assistant Roger Lemerre.
As it turned out, he had one of the simplest jobs on the international stage. He inherited a group full of world-class winners who were out with a point to prove, as Zinedine Zidane presented a team that read more like a Classic XI from FIFA 08 than an individual nation started.
The French talisman was already well on his way to winning the player of the tournament prize, and his performances until the semi-finals were called Maradona-like. It was no exaggeration that Portugal soon found out.
For 120 minutes he danced through the Portuguese side and took central midfielders Costinha and Jose Luis Vidigal for a happy dance with his devastating close control.
????? When French legend Zinédine Zidane produced one of THE great EURO shows back in 2000? # EURO2020 | @FrenchTeam pic.twitter.com/7SGBSfst9e
– UEFA EURO 2020 (@ EURO2020) 30 November 2019
Zidane was a joy to watch, although the game itself was not very pretty.
France had controlled the possession and dominated the early part of the game, but it was Portugal who took the lead in Brussels. A fantastic strike by Nuno Gomes made the world champions’ noses bloody, who had to answer if they were to be the first side since West Germany in 1974 to win both the World Cup and the European Championships.
They got their answer during the second half of normal time, when Nicolas Anelka hit past the line and cut down to the clinical Thierry Henry. His exact finish, over Vitor Baia, inspired a monumental sigh of relief in the French ranks and finally took the game to extra time.
France players celebrate Henry’s equalizer / Shaun Botterill / Getty Images
This is where the real drama began when the short-lived Golden Goal raised its head. Fortunately for Lemerre, Zidane and France, it fell to their advantage.
With just three minutes of extra time to play, a desperate handball from Portuguese defender Abel Xavier Zidane gave the chance to cement his Golden Ball references from the penalty spot, and let’s be honest, he would never miss.
He made it seem as if the penalty in the 117th minute of the European Championship semi-finals was nothing, passed the ball coolly past Baia and rolled away to celebrate the moment it left the ankle on his right boot.
Zidane’s penalty hits the back of the net / Ben Radford / Getty Images
The victory convinced the world if it was not already convinced that France was here to make history.
And while Italy would give a huge test, the French had the stellar power, the winning mentality and the great character to take it all the way for a second tournament.
