Mourinho a Rooney fan

PORTO: Jose Mourinho, who led FC Porto to the Champions League title before moving to Chelsea, said on Saturday that teenage England striker Wayne Rooney had emerged as the biggest star of Euro 2004 after the first week of the championship. “Rooney for me is the biggest personality in the competition, an emerging talent who is guaranteed to be seen for many World Cups and European Championships to come,” the Chelsea coach wrote in Portuguese newspaper O Jogo. Mourinho also praised Danish winger Jesper Groenkjaer.

Scottish hero

PORTO: Croatian striker Dado Prso, who will join Glasgow Rangers next season, plans to become a big hero to Scottish soccer fans before then. How? Easy. By knocking England out of Euro 2004. Prso, who is moving to Rangers from French club Monaco, will face David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Co. in the final round of Group B games on Monday. He scored in Croatia’s 2-2 tie with France on Thursday. “I know if I score the winner against England I will be a hero in Scotland when I arrive at Rangers,” he said.

Cooler Czechs

Aviero: The Czech Republic’s team was breathing easier as clouds and cooler weather arrived on Saturday ahead of its Euro 2004 match with the Netherlands. Temperatures have dropped to a mild 25 degrees C after a week of 32 degrees C plus heat. Several team members suffered ill effects from the heat after Czech’s 2-1 win over Latvia. Pavel Ned-ved and Tomas Rosicky suffered headaches after the match. Jan Koller got dizzy and ended up on an intravenous drip.