FOOTBALL: UEFA EURO 2004 @ PORTUGAL (VIVEO 2004!)

b4 i comment on anything, i like e logo design 4 e euro 2004, a golden football framed by a golden heart shape. it is a veli simple yet meaningful design. well, it is almost e end of e qualifying stage of e tournament which is e biggest in europe after e world cup. last time in 2000, we saw e rise of luis figo n portugal in upsetting many teams, including england but unfortunately, had 2 exit e campaign becoz of a late handball n then penalty. n e boredom of watching defensive italian football against e french in e final. spain crafted some memory in my mind becoz of dat incredible match against yugoslavia i think, so many cards shown in a game.

well, up 2 2day, France, Bulgaria, Sweden and the Czech Republic oredi qualified while some had confirmed their playoff places at least. e rising star 2 note has 2 b wayne rooney, he had scored e youngest international goal record dat michael owen held n he scored his second during e latest match. 2 me, he is exactly e guy 2gether perhaps with beattie, more worthy of partnering owen in attack than heskey. how can ericksson put heskey in e starting eleven when he had not scored for months at some period of time 4 liverpool last season? is england really out of forward choices?

surprisingly, karel poborsky is in e headlines again after quite some time. he played 4 man utd b4 n was also a star during (i think) euro 1996. my favourite footballer, raul gonzalez found e net twice 2 help spain win over ukraine. shevchenko, e dangerman i dun mind real madrid having over ronaldo is on target n almost single-handedly handed a draw 4 them. but casillas, young but veli experienced n talented showed some of his skills n spain hanged on. e focus will b on e tension of england vs. turkey match. somehow, many of e opponents dat england faced showed discontent or nor espect of them. i wonder why...n it is not turkey, but e last 2 opponents they played. well, santini is in e headline too from petit's complain dat threatened his retirement. echoed well with anelka's inability 2 cooperate with santini n had totally lost appeal 2 play 4 his country becoz of santini.

well, looking forward 2 e whole list of qualified teams 4 euro 2004 n hopefully it will bring back entertaining football from a letdown by many football giants during e korea/japan 2002 world cup. again, e french looks like e hot favourites but i will support raul n e spainiards all e way! it could b zidane's n figo's last euro campaign. all eyes will also b on e new sensation from portugal - another ronaldo, n whether he can make a bigger impact than e portugese golden generation led by figo n rui costa.

btw, HAPPY MOONCAKE FESTIVAL!!!......it is supposed 2 b romantic. eat those mooncakes, play lanterns n b merry! if e weather is good, e moon is suppose 2 b EXTRA round 2nite, so dun miss it!