European Press Review: Soccer Sensation

The Financial Times Deutschland described the European Soccer Championships as brilliant. "Compared to past finals, nobody lost this year. Portugal beat both England and Spain to reach the finals and plunge the generally depressed country into a soccer frenzy". The paper also celebrated the Hellenic soccer nobodies who beat favorites France and the Czech Republic to win the tournament and write sporting history.

Dutch paper de Volkskrant pointed out the justice of the victory. It is only fair that when rich clubs from big countries buy all the best footballers so they can scoop up all the prizes, that the smaller teams should win when the players return to their own countries in the summer, the paper wrote. Of all the teams in the tournament, Greece was at the bottom of the ladder, but they kicked the butts of smug soccer nations like England, France, Italy, Spain and Germany, to snatch the trophy for themselves.

"Small is beautiful!" declared Spain's El Pais. The paper added that small is also proud, dedicated and efficient. The Greek winners have accomplished their greatest sporting feat ever and will be hosting the Olympic Games this summer with renewed self-confidence, wrote the daily. Meanwhile, host and finalist, Portugal, can now look forward to an enhanced stature in the European landscape.

London's Daily Telegraph bemoaned a weekend of sporting failures for Britain. Hopes for a soccer victory faded long ago, but there were more poor results for Britian from Wimbeldon, the Formula One Grand Prix, and cricket. The paper commented on the temptation for Britain to seek solace in being a good loser, but also cited the actor Paul Newman who once said: "Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser."

Turning to the resignation of the Italian Economics Minister Giulio Tremonti, Milan's Corriere Della Sera asked whether Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will be seen as weak after giving in to the demands from his coalition to call for Tremenonti's resignation. The paper answered the question itself, stating that since taking over government, Berlusconi has behaved like a sovereign leader who inherited a state. "For Berlusconi it makes no difference whether he governs from his office in Rome or his private residence," the paper said.

Berlin's Die Welt argued that Berlusconi caved in under the pressure of his coalition partners, the National Alliance, because he couldn't a win an election on his own at this point in time. It added that rather than being the clown

his opponents claim him to be, he is in fact a trapeze artist, master of the greatest balancing act seen yet in Rome. The paper observes that Berlusconi has held a cabinet together longer than any other government in Italy since the

end of World War II.

Finally the scheduled start of the case for the defence of former Yugoslav leader Slobodan Milosevic at the International War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague

prompted the Serbian paper Danas to call for four other former military and police chiefs to be handed over to the court. The paper noted that demands from the Hague tribunal continue to take Serbian politicians by surprise. "It's not an easy decision to take but it's simple, the former generals must start packing their suitcases for a trip to the Hague," said the paper. "The stability of the country depends on it."