2004: the year of football surprises
During 2004, the world of football experienced several surprises
During the year 2004, the world of football experienced a special season, or rather, a surprising one. That year, amazing results were produced that shocked millions of fans around the world. Due to the large investments by private companies, we will hardly witness so many surprises in a single year.
Greece: UEFA Euro 2004
Possibly the most remembered title of 2004. Greece had qualified for its second UEFA Euro, after its previous participation in 1980. If Greece were eliminated in the first round, no one would have been surprised. Above all, considering that they shared a group with Portugal and Spain. They beat Portugal, drew with Spain and then lost to Russia. They qualified in second place and in the Quarterfinals, they beat France (the defending champion) and the Czech Republic in the semifinals. Finally, in the final, they defeated Portugal (host team) 1-0 with a legendary goal from Charisteas.
Porto: UEFA Champions League 2003/2004
Although Porto coached by the young José Mourinho was the last UEFA Cup champion, no one expected it to be the next champion of the highest European tournament. In the group stage, the team finished in second place, below Real Madrid. In the round of 16, they beat Alex Ferguson's Manchester United and weeks later, they eliminated Olympique de Lyon in the quarterfinals. In the semi-finals, they beat surprise team Deportivo La Coruña and later thrashed Monaco 3-0 in the final. The team made up almost entirely of Portuguese, led by Deco and by the strong defense of Vítor Baía and Ricardo Carvalho, obtained maximum glory in Europe.
Porto won the UEFA Champions League in the 2003/2004 season
Once Caldas: Copa Libertadores 2004
Once Caldas is a Colombian team, champion in their country only 4 times in its history. This is an insignificant number if we compare it with other teams such as Atlético Nacional (17 times champion), Millonarios (15 times champion) and América de Cali (15 times champion). Also, before 2004 the team only had 2 titles. However, this team achieved something considered an epic by Colombian teams, obtaining the Copa Libertadores. Historically, only Atlético Nacional had managed to obtain it in 1989, so the Once Caldas title was a world surprise. They beat teams like Vélez Sarsfield, Barcelona from Ecuador, Santos and San Pablo (Brazil) and in the final, they beat the top favorite of the tournament, Boca Juniors.
Once Caldas defeated Boca Juniors and won the 2004 Copa Libertadores
Werder Bremen: 2003-04 Bundesliga
At the beginning of the 21st century, the results in Germany were not very different from now. Bayern Munich was the team that won almost every league in Germany and was always the main favorite for the title. However, Werder Bremen had possibly the best season in their history. Thanks to the 28 goals of Aílton, the Brazilian striker, the team from Bremen won the Bundesliga for the 4th and last time. In addition, to crown the season, also the consequent double, after beating A. Aachen, in the final of the DFB Pokal. Due to the vast superiority of Bayern Munich in the German League, the Die Werderaner team will hardly achieve such a feat again.
Werder Bremen won the Bundesliga and the German Cup in 2004
San Marino: First victory
In 2004, San Marino obtained its first win in its history against Liechtenstein in a friendly. The meeting was played in the town of Serravalle. The miracle goal was scored by the best player of the modern era of the San Marino national team, the eternal Andy Selva. The victory was celebrated in the country as sporting success. Today, that triumph is still the only one in the entire history of San Marino.
In 2004, San Marino won the first and only match in their history
Continue reading: The most unusual match in football history
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