Spain gives football heroes ecstatic welcome home (Reuters)
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Chelsea sign Portugal's Deco (AFP)
Portugal midfielder Deco has signed for Chelsea, the English Premiership club said on Monday, for eight million pounds (10.1 million euros).
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Triumphant Spanish team returns to victory parade (AFP)
Hundreds of thousands of ecstatic flag-waving fans cheered Spain's Euro 2008 players as they were feted in a parade in an open-top bus through Madrid to celebrate the country's first major football trophy in 44 years.
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Corruption case dropped against FC Porto president (AFP)
Portuguese judicial authorities announced Monday they were dropping the case against FC Porto president Jorge Pinto da Costa, relating to alleged match-fixing of a first division game during the 2003/2004 season.
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With heart and flair, Spanish soccer rules Europe (AP)
Soccer’s new European champions speak Spanish. The victorious Spain team also speaks a different language on the field, and the rest of Europe better start learning it quickly. Spain beat three-time champion Germany 1-0 in Vienna on Sunday, but a score like 3-0 would have been more accurate. The team coached by 69-year-old Luis Aragones showed how the game should be played.
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Spain paints the town red for Euro champs (AP)
Hoisting their coach in the air and singing “We Are the Champions,” Spain’s victorious soccer players returned home Monday to hundreds of thousands of joyous fans ready to celebrate the European title. The players emerged from an open-top bus to form a conga line toward a stage at Colon Square. After tossing 69-year-old coach Luis Aragones several times, they gathered around captain Iker Casillas…
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Euro final gets 3.1 overnight rating on ABC (AP)
Spain’s 1-0 victory over Germany in the European Championship final got a 3.1 overnight rating on ABC. Sunday’s match was the first Euro final televised on U.S. network television. The overnight was based on 56 markets; national ratings will be available later in the week. Italy’s penalty-kicks victory over France in the 2006 World Cup final received an 8.6 overnight rating on ABC and a 7.0 national…
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Steaua admitted to Champions League despite bribe charges (Reuters)
Romanian club Steaua Bucharesthave been admitted to next season’s Champions League competitiondespite allegations of bribery against them, UEFA said.
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Xavi voted Euro 2008 top player (AP)
Xavi Hernandez was voted player of the tournament after Spain’s 1-0 victory over Germany in the European Championship final and UEFA selected nine of the Spanish players on the 23-member team of Euro 2008. There was no place on the squad for Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portuguese star who scored 43 goals for Manchester United last season and is a leading candidate for FIFA player of the year, after he…
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Xavi named player of Euro 2008 (AFP)
Spanish midfielder Xavi was named player of Euro 2008 by UEFA on Monday.
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