Ruud gets two-match suspension
Lisbon: The Netherlands striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has been banned for two World Cup qualifying matches by Uefa after insulting Swedish referee Anders Frisk after the final whistle of their Euro 2004 semi-final against Portugal. Uefa said on Friday that the suspension applies to The Netherlands’ first two qualifiers for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. He will miss the matches at home to the Czech Republic on September 8 and in Macedonia on October 9. Van Nistelrooy, who has until midnight on Monday 5 July to appeal, was reported to have had a heated argument in the tunnel after the game which the Dutch lost 2-1 to hosts Portugal who progressed to face Greece in the final in Lisbon on Sunday.
Dramatic end to Collina career
Lisbon: Pierluigi Collina refereed the last international match of his career when he took control of the Euro 2004 semi-final between the Czech Republic and Greece. The Italian is 45 next February and so reaches the compulsory age for retirement at international level. However, his last international match on Thursday ended in suitably dramatic style as Traianos Dellas headed in a silver goal winner in the dying seconds of the first-half of extra-time.
Porto: Greece coach Otto Rehhagel rejected suggestions he could be next in line for the Germany manager’s job after Ottmar Hitzfeld turned the position down on Thursday. Moments after his team qualified for the Euro 2004 final, Rehhagel was again asked whether he had considered coaching his own national team. “My job is to deal with my boys and the team and prepare them for the final,” Rehhagel said.
Lisbon: His body torso graces newspaper front pages and magazine covers. His baby face is plastered over billboards and TV ads. Cristiano Ronaldo is Portugal’s pin-up and soccer’s new teen heartthrob. The golden boy caused heart flutters among his young female fans by stripping off his shirt to celebrate scoring goals, and then nonchalantly cocking his eyebrow when penalised for the offence. “Oh!!!” two young girls shopping at a mall in Lisbon swooned when asked about Ronaldo. “He’s very cool. He’s beautiful,” said 13-year-old Catarina Correia.
