2005: Europe extend Meridian domination
Thursday 1 January 2009
e-mail
Print
Digg
Save
The four captains of the European teams receive the 2005 Meridian Cup from UEFA's Jim Boyce and Baba Sakho of CAF (©UEFA)
The fifth version of the UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup was held in Turkey in February 2005 with Spain, Portugal, France and the hosts taking on Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in the round-robin event, the format for the preceding two editions of the competition.
Winning starts
The European sides were in impressive form from the start, all four recording victories on the opening day of competition with Jérémy Menez scoring three goals and Karim Benzema two as France overwhelmed Cameroon 7-0 in Odemis. Mario Súarez was among the goals as Spain started with a 3-0 defeat of Sierra Leone while Portugal overcame Nigeria 1-0 and hosts Turkey were 3-2 winners against Egypt. There was something for the African sides to cheer two days later, however, as Egypt held out for a scoreless draw against Portugal, although elsewhere Europe continued to dominate. Real Madrid CF's Javi García scored Spain's second goal in a 4-0 victory against Cameroon, France defeated Sierra Leone 2-1 and Turkey brushed aside Nigeria 4-0.
Narrow victories
The third round of matches also produced four European victories, although the closer scorelines suggested their African counterparts were coming to terms with the challenge. Nevertheless, Spain continued to sweep all before them with a 1-0 win against Egypt, while Menez and Benzema were again on target as France overcame Nigeria 2-0. Turkey needed a solitary goal from Ergin Keleş to finally see off a stubborn Sierra Leone, although Matchday 3's biggest winners were Portugal, for whom captain Bruno Gama struck in a 3-1 success against Cameroon.
Perfect records
Portugal's tournament would end in more frustration, however, as they were held to a second scoreless stalemate in their fourth and final game, Sierra Leone's disciplined defending yielding tangible reward in Aydin. Carlos Dinis' side were the only European team to drop a point as their three counterparts all collected their fourth wins, Spain seeing off Nigeria 1-0 and Ergin Keleş adding two more goals to his tally in Turkey's 3-1 win against Cameroon. France finished with a flourish despite falling behind against Egypt in Soke, Menez on target yet again and Benzema also scoring twice.
Scoring prize
That meant that Menez, Benzema and Ergin Keleş finished level on five goals, with Egypt captain Sherif Ashraf Okily Africa's top scorer, having struck twice. Hosts Turkey picked up the Fair Play prize with the best disciplinary record of the eight teams, before the captains of the four European teams – Menez of France, Spain's García, Ugur Uçar of Turkey and the Portugal skipper Bruno Gama – were presented with the Meridian Cup trophy at a ceremony at the Akadule Hotel in Kusadasi to bring the curtain down on another entertaining tournament.
©uefa.com 1998-2009. All rights reserved.
