By Myles Palmer
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THIS GAME is in the Stadium of Light, Lisbon.
And many have said that England-France is Arsenal v Arsenal – Sol against Thierry, Ashley against Robbie.
But it’s really Eastenders against Hampstead because Henry and Vieira live in Hampstead.
Pires lives in Regents Park.
When did an England team last contain so many Londonders?
Frank, Becks, Ash, Sol and Ledley – five Londoners.
Beckham is from Leytonstone, Cole and King are from Stepney, Lampard is from Romford, Campbell is from Newham.
FIRST GAME of a tournament?
England never win the first game of a tournament. And they won’t start now.
But a draw may be possible.
Today I’ve been thinking about Michael Owen.
Again.
Is he good or great or over-rated?
Last night Jan rang my sister-in-law and she talked to Louise, and then she talked to Paddy, and then I talked to Paddy.
Without any prompting – and I am 100% certain we have never discussed this – my youngest brother said, “I wouldn’t play Owen, I’d play Vassell.”
I have said the same for a year or more.
So that is as far as I’ve got with my thinking on this game.
ZIDANE and VIEIRA are colossal – and motivated. They can win any game because they are so skilful and so powerful.
Zidane was very tired in 1996, scored the goals that won it in 1998, did well again in 2000 but didn’t get into the box enough off the ball against Italy, and was a cripple in 2002 when France flopped without scoring a goal in three games.
Last weekend against Ukraine, Zidane looked more irresistible than ever, stronger than ever, more deadly than ever, more creative than ever.
And so did Vieira.
If England score in Lisbon, it will be a set-piece or a rebound off Barthez.
We don’t have the craft to interpass through France.
Hope I’m wrong about that, but that’s how it looks.
I RECKON THERE ARE THREE VIEWS you can take of Owen.
1. He is great.
2. He is a problem.
3. He is limited, but he is the best striker we have, so you have to play him.
Your view probably falls into one of those categories.
WITH 24 HOURS to go before the first game, I have to say this: I don’t believe that Michael Owen will do it in this match or in this tournament.
He might. He has before.
He has good players round him, like Stevie G, who has been laying on goals for him for 12 years.
Owen and Gerrard have played together since they were 12 and they are 24 now.
But when it comes to the crunch, when friends ask, I just don’t believe in Owen.
LOTS OF STORIES about terrorists, hooligans and tabloids.
Of the three, the tabloids can do the most damage.
Terrorists like football. They are at home watching the games on TV.
Arabs idolise Zidane and want to see him play.
OK, he is a Berber, not an Arab, but let’s not be anoraky.
Hooligans won’t wreck the show this time.
The first chair or bottle will be thrown by a photographer or cameraman hungry for pictures.
Tabloids?
I hardly dare think about THOSE hooligans and what they might do this time.
LUIS FIGO is much chunkier now than when I saw him with his shirt off some years ago, training at Wembley that night when his practice shot from 25 yards hit the post so hard that it rattled the fillings in my back teeth.
Fitness coach Roger Spry had told me that the Portuguese players were so dedicated that they still rang him up to get new exercises.
They wanted to be that little bit fitter, that little bit stronger.
I told Paddy Barclay about Figo at the match the following night.
“You should see this guy’s physique – he’s got such broad shoulders, tapering down to a very narrow waist.”
Paddy grinned and said, “Did you get his phone number?”
TALKING ABOUT the golden generation, one night I was watching Croatia train at Wembley and I spoke to Slaven Bilic.
He said that Alen Boksic could remember playing against Fernando Couto in a youth tournament in Chile when they were both about 16.
Some of these guys have been playing football against each other for decades !
Couto is not young or fast.
But Jorge Andrade and Paulo Ferreira are.
If I was Greek, I would be worried this afternoon.
June 12th 2004.