25/06/2004
Real-ity check for Real Madrid's Four Musketeers

Any hopes England, France, Spain and Portugal had that Real Madrid's form slump would not be reflected by their star turns at Euro 2004 has been brutally shattered during the tournament.

The Four Musketeers' motto was 'one for all and all for one' and that still stands for the Real Madrid version as Raul, Zinedine Zidane and David Beckham will all be sitting at home cheering on their last teammate standing - Luis Figo.

However he too could be sitting watching from the subs' bench as Portugal aim to set aside years of under-achievement by landing the trophy in their own backyard.

While Figo did a modern-day version of Achilles sulking in the dressing room after being substituted, Beckham was missing the first of the penalties in the shootout defeat to Portugal that was to prove to be another false dawn for English trophy hopes.

How Beckham must have wished for a miracle to be worked by the 'Our Lady of Fatima' icon that Figo was holding at that very moment, representing the shrine in Portugal where the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to three shepherd children in 1917.

Spain captain Raul departed even earlier as his shooting powers drew blanks and coach Inaki Saez lost his job, partly because he couldn't bring himself to drop the Real Madrid great.

Neither will Beckham face such a humiliation as was visited on Figo on Thursday - at least as long as Sven-Goran Eriksson is in charge.

"Yes" said the Swede without a moment's hesitation when asked if Beckham would remain captain.

Whether Figo gets another chance under Luiz Felipe Scolari after his fit of Dutch-style petulance is open to question.

Allied to Figo's comment that Brazilian-born Deco shouldn't play for Portugal because he wouldn't have the same level of commitment - which must have gone down well with 'Big Phil' who is himself Brazilian - he, like previous captain Fernando Couto, may have to watch from the sidelines.

As for Zidane his peerless gifts were largely absent throughout the tournament, apart from the two minutes of hell he imposed on England in the opening match when he showed Beckham how to take a penalty successfully after the England skipper had seen his brilliantly saved by Fabien Barthez.

A peripheral figure throughout the 1-0 defeat by Greece, 32-year-old Zidane may at last be showing the effects of long years of service to club and country at the highest level.

Raul blamed his lack of goals on 'fate', Beckham his penalty miss on a dodgy clump of earth that adorned the penalty spot, and Figo his removal on a sense of injustice. Zidane simply said that the team didn't get out of first gear.

"Is this the end of an era? We'll have to see," was Zidane's response when asked whether the glorious core of the French team would soon be a thing of the past.

To the majority of viewers and spectators it must have seemed that the end is nigh for four players who are footballing icons in their respective countries.

LISBON, Portugal (AP)