Portugal cannot afford another bout of stage fright when they meet Greece for the second time in the tournament in Sunday’s Euro 2004 final.‘‘We know we’ll need to be on form and mentally strong to win this one,’’ midfielder Maniche told reporters on Friday. ‘‘It will take patience. We’ve all seen that Greece are a very compact side, who defend with discipline all the time, but if we stay calm I’m convinced we can win.’’Portugal will be overwhelming favourites at the Luz Stadium in Lisbon but Greece have made a mockery of pre-match predictions throughout the tournament and the hosts are determined not to underestimate their threat.With the hosts’ defence at sixes and sevens, Greece took an early lead in their group match, doubled their advantage and held on for a 2-1 victory that threatened to knock Portugal out of the tournament.Portugal recovered to beat Russia and Spain and reach the quarter-finals, and further victories over England and the Netherlands put them into the final.‘‘We are absolutely not the favourites,’’ Maniche said. ‘‘We have home advantage but England had more fans than us in our match and we still beat them. I hope we can win, I think we can win, but we’re not the favourites.’’To win a major tournament for the first time, Portugal need to beat the team that gave them such a traumatic start to the event. That would be a highly satisfying way to sign off but the match will not be about revenge. ‘‘Portugal is a friendly country and we wouldn’t think about getting revenge,’’ Maniche — one of the contenders for a Player of the Tournament award — said. ‘‘We respect Greece.’’ (Reuters)
