Strategiebereich » Kirchhoff, Jason Denayer, Adnan Januzaj, Fabio B

SAINT-DENIS, France -- Portugals players frantically tended to Cristiano Ronaldos left knee but their tearful captain couldnt withstand the pain any longer.The Portuguese had to win their first major trophy the hard way, stunning host France in the European Championship final after playing without Ronaldo from the 25th minute through extra time on Sunday.Two hours after being carried off injured with the 1-0 victory secured by his battling teammates, the three-time world player of the year returned a champion for the first time with his country.I had bad luck because I had a small injury in the beginning of the game, but my colleagues did their part -- they run, they fight, said Ronaldo, who has already won every major club honor. Nobody believed in Portugal but we won.An unlikely scorer secured the pre-tournament outsiders a title at last.It could be an uncomfortable few months ahead for Eder, the unheralded striker who will return shortly to French club Lille after breaking French hearts with his 109th-minute goal.The ugly duckling became beautiful, Portugal coach Fernando Santos said.A second-half substitute, Eder scored only his fourth goal in 29 appearances for Portugal with a low shot from 25 meters (yards) past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.Cristiano told me I would be scoring the winning goal, Eder said. He gave me strength and positive energy.In doing so, Portugal denied the French a third final victory on home soil to add to Euro 84 and the 1998 World Cup.Football can be very cruel, said Lloris, Frances captain. The overriding emotion is a lot of sadness.Twelve years after losing to Greece on home soil in their last appearance in the final, it was Portugals turn to spoil the host nations party. And they achieved it after winning only one of their seven games at Euro 2016 inside 90 minutes, and after losing the inspirational Ronaldo midway through the first half.It was tough because we lost our main man and we had all our hopes pinned on him because hes a player who can score a goal at any minute, Portugal defender Pepe said. When he said he couldnt go on, I tried to tell my teammates that we have to win it for him. That we were going to fight for him.It was a mostly dull and stodgy final but the record books will only show that Portugal went from third-place in its group to champion, and with little help from Ronaldo in its last match.The championships first 24-team tournament became a reality over the last month, but the quality of football deteriorated. Such a sterile showpiece -- the first European Championship final to be scoreless after 90 minutes -- seemed a fitting climax.We werent clinical enough, said France coach Didier Deschamps who lifted the World Cup in the stadium as a player in 1998. We werent cool-headed enough.Even France forward Antoine Griezmann, the tournaments leading scorer, couldnt rise to the big occasion. There was no seventh goal of Euro 2016 from the Atletico Madrid forward, who also lost out in the Champions League final six weeks ago to Ronaldos Real Madrid.Griezmann was the first player to find the target, but his header was tipped over by Rui Patricio, who was formidable in the Portugal goal. When an inviting cross from Kingsley Coman was delivered in the 66th, Griezmann missed with a free header.Only once was Patricio beaten, when Andre-Pierre Gignacs shot hit the inside of the post but it came back out.Luck was on Portugals side, and Eder was able to strike the decisive blow.It didnt seem to be going Portugals way in the ninth minute when Dimitri Payets right knee clattered into Ronaldos standing left leg.Ronaldo went down in agony -- writhing, grimacing and screaming. He was able to return, but this was one injury he could not run off.Ronaldo fell to the turf again in the 17th. One of the moths infesting the national stadium fluttered over Ronaldos tearful right eye. Teammates tried to help in vain to help, with Nani tending to the knee.Ronaldo watched the game forlornly on the touchline as strapping was attached before dragging himself back onto the field.But Ronaldos mobility was restricted. Battling through the pain, regularly reaching down to check on the injury, Ronaldo realized there would be no miracle recovery.The clock hit 23 minutes and Ronaldo ripped off his captains armband and tossed it on the turf. Slumping to the ground again, Ronaldo was consoled by Nani, who embraced his former Manchester United teammate as the armband was transferred.The stretcher came on and in the 25th minute Ronaldo became a spectator. But thanks to Patricios array of saves and dogged defending, Ronaldo left a champion.Unlike his great rival Lionel Messi, the Argentina and Barcelona forward, the 31-year-old Ronaldo has now filled the medal void on the major international stage. Its a rapid turnaround for a national team that exited the 2014 World Cup in the group stage.Its something unbelievable in my career, Ronaldo said. Something I deserve.---Rob Harris can be followed at www.twitter.com/RobHarris and www.facebook.com/RobHarrisReports Jack Lambert Youth Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Rod Woodson Womens Jersey . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Jack-Lambert-Elite-Jersey/ . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Carnell Lake Youth Jersey . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. Louis Lipps Womens Jersey . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. The bottom two clubs in the Premier League meet on Saturday in a clash that already has the hallmark of a game that could define the season.Stoke City (0-3-4) and Sunderland (0-2-5) are both winless and separated by just a point at the foot of the table, while no other clubs in the English top-flight are yet to record a victory this season.And although its too early to describe any game in the division as a relegation tussle, the performances shown by both the Potters and the Black Cats in the opening two months of the campaign suggest that defeat in this game would leave either side with a lot of soul-searching to do before being able to find enough form to pull clear of danger.However, despite the pressure on the result, Stoke City boss Mark Hughes is arriving into Saturdays encounter with a surprisingly high level of confidence, with the coach looking to project as many positives as possible from his teams draw with Manchester United last time outWere the home side and if we play as well as weve done in recent weeks then we should (win), Hughes told reporters in his Thursday media conference. I think weve seen good signs in recent weeks -- we played really, really well at Old Trafford and deservedly got the point.Everybody can see weve been working hard and were trying to get that first win on the board. When we do I think that everybody believes that were going to go on from that point. It needs to happen at the weekend and Im fully confident that well be in good shape to look to make it happen.Sunderland also picked up a positive result last timme out, drawing 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion to double their points tally from the previous six matches.ddddddddddddowever, manager David Moyes has yet to settle on an effective starting lineup since taking over at the club in the summer, and he hasnt been helped by a growing injury list.Jan Kirchhoff, Jason Denayer, Adnan Januzaj, Fabio Borini and Vito Mannone are all absent, while Victor Anichebe, Lee Cattermole and Steven Pienaar are also doubts for this contest.The pile up of fitness concerns is particularly damaging given the lack of depth in the Black Cats squad, and midfielder Sebastien Larsson -- who remains out with a long-term ligament injury -- says that lack of wins from the team makes being stuck on the treatment table doubly frustrating.The start to the season weve had makes it worse, the Swede said. Its hard enough being on the sidelines and getting your head around that, going to the games and supporting the boys when you know you arent going to be involved for a while.When weve scored Ive been jumping up and down… as best I could!I am fully focused on my recovery and my rehab, but at the same time I try to get myself as much involved as I can with the lads and help out and push them on and use my experience.Stoke arent short of their own injury problems, with Jack Butland, Stephen Ireland and Ibrahim Afellay all out and Glen Johnson and Joe Allen both doubts after picking up knocks on international duty. ' ' '