PARIS -- When the final whistle sounded in the moth-ridden Stade de France on Sunday, memories returned to another night in another silent and rapidly emptying stadium: the Stadium of Light in Lisbon in 2004. Then, too, the home team had lost the European Championship in the final. Portugal were the losers in 2004. The team's young winger Cristiano Ronaldo wept on the field. On both occasions, the only goal in a tedious match was scored by a journeyman striker: Angelos Charisteas for Greece in 2004; Eder for Portugal on Sunday.
The Portuguese players and fans in Paris carried the memory of 2004 in their heads.