FourFourTwo

“We say it again – we won’t make a deal with Denmark. It’s about passion... dignity.”

- Above

Sweden co- coach Tommy Soderberg was unequivoca­l during the build- up to their final group game against neighbours Denmark in 2004. Both nations had beaten whipping boys Bulgaria already; Sweden 5- 0, Denmark 2- 0. Both had held Italy to draws, but Sweden had trumped Denmark’s goalless draw with a 1- 1. With the groups decided by head- to- head, it would all come down to Goals For in matches between the teams.

In short: 2- 2 would be enough to make sure both sides advanced at Italy’s expense.

Sweden and Denmark have not always been peaceful neighbours over time. The pair have remained keen rivals even in football – but it didn’t stop the two sets of players joking about a prospectiv­e scoreline mid- match.

For Italy, dubious tournament exits were all too fresh in the memory ( p43), but Denmark started with intent in Porto: Milan’s Jon Dahl Tomasson looped home a volley before half an hour was up, and they went in at half- time on top. Within minutes of the restart, though, Henrik Larsson equalised from the spot – as did Italy, toiling against Bulgaria. Tomasson had Denmark back ahead after 66 minutes, and the Swedes were at risk of heading out.

Or at least they were until Mattias Jonson popped up with an equaliser on 89 minutes. Italy’s injury- time winner was in vain.

“Congratula­tions Italy, you tipped correctly,” laughed cover the next morning. The Italians took it with good grace.

“Someone should be ashamed, and it’s not us,” hissed goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, while Italian FA president Franco Carraro said, “There is no doubt that the way the game developed shows the two teams were aiming for a draw. Of course, proof is hard to find.”

“We didn’t play well, but anyone who saw the game knows no one tried for that result,” rebutted Denmark coach Morten Olsen, who eye- rolled “ridiculous” claims otherwise.

In the end, however, justice may well have been served: Sweden and Denmark went out in the quarter- finals. Funny, though.

They’d have looked a bit daft if things had gone differentl­y

isn’t sure whether Spanish football’s gods were on the sauce when they thought up the 1999- 00 campaign – but it might go towards explaining how La Liga went to usher in the new millennium.

The title scrap concluded with Deportivo La Coruna – 6th the previous season – crowned champions ahead of Barcelona with a record low 69 points, earning winner’s medals for the likes of Roy Makaay, Pauleta, Djalminha and Slavisa Jokanovic.

Meanwhile, Real Zaragoza and Alaves – who came 9th and 16th in 1998- 99 respective­ly – both qualified for Europe with stingy defences, the latter boosted by Zamora Trophy- winning goalkeeper Martin Herrera ( spotted two years later as Fulham’s third- choice keeper).

Champions League conquerors Real Madrid limped home in 5th, having sacked manager John Toshack for a second time in November, only to suffer a 5- 1 hammering from Zaragoza at the Bernabeu a fortnight later.

And that was just at the top of the standings. Claudio Ranieri was a managerial casualty as cash- strapped city rivals Atletico Madrid were relegated alongside fellow former champions Sevilla and Real Betis, despite the firepower of Jimmy Floyd Hasselbain­k and his 24 league goals. Only Pichichi winner Salva scored more

– for 15th- placed Racing Santander – and he then joined Atleti that summer for their crack at the Segunda Division.

The Copa del Rey was no less peculiar, either. It was eventually won by also- rans Espanyol, who beat Atletico Madrid in the Mestalla final. The Rojiblanco­s themselves had made it there with a 6- 0 aggregate win over Barcelona in the semi- final, defeating them 3- 0 in the first leg before bagging the same result in the second – by default. A Barça side hit by internatio­nal absentees turned up in protest to a deserted Camp Nou with only 10 men, only for skipper Pep Guardiola – in full kit – to helpfully inform the referee that they wouldn’t be fulfilling their fixture after all.

As is often the way, such madness sparked a wave of change among Spain’s elite sides. By 2000, Barcelona had both a new president and coach in Joan Gaspart and Lorenzo Serra Ferrer, after the unpopular Louis van Gaal – who had clashed all season with 1999 Ballon d’or winner Rivaldo – exited with the parting statement, “Friends of the press, I am leaving. Congratula­tions.”

Real, meanwhile, ushered in their Galacticos era with the arrival of Florentino Perez as head honcho and a world- record splurge for Barça’s Luis Figo. Talk about La Liga Loca.

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