Zinedine Zidane not sure

PARIS: France’s two-time world footballer of the year Zinedine Zidane said he hadn’t made up his mind as to whether he would retire from international football following his country’s disappointing defence of their European title. The 32-year-old told French TV station TF1 he would need more time but after another failed campaign to defend a title by France and with a new manager set to replace the departed Jacques Santini there would inevitably be changes to personnel — with immediate effect.

Get-well Rooney

LISBON: Jorge Andrade, the Portugal defender whose tackle left Wayne Rooney with a broken foot, said he wished the England striker a speedy recovery. “I was once injured like him and I want to wish him all the best,” Andrade said. Rooney’s spectacular tournament came to an end after 27 minutes of England’s quarter-final against Portugal when the forward limped off with what was later diagnosed as a broken metatarsal bone in his right foot.

From Yashin via Eusebio

LISBON: Portuguese soccer great Eusebio says the late Lev Yashin may have helped Portugal defeat England 6-5 in the penalty shootout in quarters. Writing in the O Jogo, Eusebio said he picked up a few tips from Yashin about saving penalties and passed them on to Portugal ‘keeper Ricardo. “I learned this secret from the great Yashin and fortunately it paid off. I quickly told Ricardo to guess which side the ball was going to go. If you guess right there is then a 70 per cent chance you will save it.

Bouncing back

PORTO: England’s Darius Vassell was stopped by Ricardo in the penalty shootout between England and Portugal. Ricardo took the next spot kick to give Portugal the win. Former England star Paul Gascoigne said Vassell should relax about it. “Vassell shouldn’t feel bad about what happened because great players have missed penalties for England before,” Gascoigne said. “He is just another one.”

Healthy tournament

LISBON: Jose Luis Arnault, the minister in charge of Euro 2004 for the Portuguese government, is listing Euro 2004 as a major success. Among his statistics: — Except for Lisbon and Algarve region, he said hotel occupancy had been 100 per cent in the host cities. — The medical staff treated 1,319 cases, mostly for falls, sunstroke, high blood pressure and excessive alcohol consumption. He said psychologists had also treated 82 cases of “stress and anxiety.”