There were tears near the beginning and more of them at the end. They rolled down the cheeks of Cristiano Ronaldo, first through frustration and then through joy, and coursed through the entire heartbroken nation of France.
Portugal’s triumph in the European Championship final was a marriage of fortune and resiliency, a union presided over by the enigmatic presence of Ronaldo, perhaps soccer’s greatest player and certainly its most divisive.
After being ruled out of the final by an eighth-minute injury that he could not shake off, the 31-year-old finally got his hands on a major international trophy to go with the vast collection he has accumulated at the club level.
It was not pretty, and some will argue it was not deserved. Substitute Eder scored the only goal of a lackluster final with 11 minutes remaining in extra time to give Portugal the win and its first international title.
By then Ronaldo had returned from the treatment room to the sideline, waving and screaming encouragement and orders to his teammates.
“It was tough because we lost our main man,” Portugal defender Pepe said. “The man who could at any moment score a goal and make the difference. We were warriors on the pitch and we said we would win it for him.”
There will be criticism of both Portugal’s methods and the structure of the tournament. Ronaldo and his pals were the ultimate beneficiaries of the expansion of the event’s field from 16 teams to 24.
It meant that third place in Group F was good enough to see them advance, despite three draws from three in the pool phase, and into the easier top half of the bracket no less.
From there it required extra-time to prevail three out of four times, and was dominated by France on Sunday night in every facet except for the scoresheet, which is, of course, the only one that truly matters.
Eder was an even more unlikely scorer than Portugal was a champion, having spent an inconsistent season failing to impress at Swansea in the English Premier League before being shipped off to Lille in France and faring a little better.
“I knew this would happen from Day One,” Eder said. “Cristiano told me during the break that I was going to score the only goal. He gave me a lot of strength.”
For France this will hurt long into the future, a classic spurned opportunity. Buoyed by nationalistic spirit and a semifinal victory over Germany, the hosts were counting on an emotional triumph at the Stade de France, just eight months after a terrorist attack near the same site.
Once Ronaldo went down early, it seemed there would only be one outcome. A strong challenge from France’s Dimitri Payet left him on the turf clutching his left knee with the game still in its infancy.
After receiving treatment the 31-year-old attempted to carry on several times. On 16 minutes he tumbled to the ground while standing alone at midfield. Again he tried to continue following attention from the trainer, before eventually being forced off due to the severity of the pain midway through the opening period.
It seemed Ronaldo’s luck at big tournaments was set to desert him once again, mirroring the international struggles of Lionel Messi with Argentina.
This time fate dealt him a different hand. After a flurry of missed opportunities for France, including a muffed header from its standout Antoine Griezmann, Portugal burst into life.
First Raphael Guerreiro crashed a free kick against the crossbar to get French nerves jangling, then Eder struck, a sideways dart and a long low drive into the bottom corner to clinch the trophy, and make Ronaldo teary once more.
Euro 2016 final: Portugal vs. France
