End of the road for Bulgaria

Travelling north from Lisbon is a stark reminder of what an adventure UEFA EURO 2004™ is.

Heading north
The Estádio Municipal de Braga is a four-hour drive from Lisbon, separated from the capital by endless expanses of sun-baked pine forest and farmland. And while we head for the northernmost of all of the tournament's host cities, our path criss-crosses with hundreds of others.

Southbound Greeks
Queuing for motorway snacks at a service station near Coimbra are carloads of excitable Greeks, beginning their journey from Porto – the scene of their 1-1 draw with Spain – to Faro-Loulé where a game against Russia will decide their tournament destiny.

Fellow travellers
On the motorway, Swedes honk their car horns to greet each other as they negotiate the final leg of their trip to the Estádio do Dragão for their Group C game against Italy, while elsewhere Czech, German, French and English fans pursue their own personal odysseys in the gap days before their next matches.

Playing parallels
Like the travelling supporters, the players at the Estádio Municipal de Braga are desperate to prolong their Portuguese adventure for as long as possible. Plamen Markov's Bulgaria have come a long way, but with little in the way of big tournament experience, have felt the culture shock more than most.

Big on passion
Their game here, as it was in their unduly harsh 5-0 defeat against Sweden, is big on passion but occasionally ill-disciplined. By contrast, Denmark have the cold blood that marks them out as seasoned European travellers.

Architectural curiosity
Nonetheless, even the wily Danes have seen nothing like the Estádio Municipal de Braga on their many adventures. Sunk into a disused quarry, high on a hillside, it is an architectural curiosity.

Rock face
Fans are banked up at either side of the pitch, with the areas behind the goals completely open. Misplaced shots at one end of the pitch crash straight into a sheer rock face. Misguided balls at the other can flip over a grass bank into the adjacent valley, and presumably roll ever downhill until they meet the Atlantic Ocean.

Bold statement
The stadium is an appropriately bold statement for a city which boasts the youngest population in Portugal. For while the eleventh-century cathedral is, as they say in these parts, "as old as the Sé of Braga", the city around it is willingly embracing modernity, EURO 2004™ and Europe.

Cosmopolitan spirit
A similar cosmopolitan spirit exists among the supporters. The red, white and green sea of Bulgarian supporters - including former Miss Bulgaria Magdalena Vulchanova, complete with sash - stand for the Danish national anthem and the red horde of Danes return the compliment.

Nervous finishing
However, such niceties go out the window once the game begins, although Morten Olsen's side are afflicted with the wastefulness in front of goal which also characterised Bulgaria's display against Sweden - until Jon Dahl Tomasson gratefully rolls in their opener after 44 minutes.

Locked out
The Bulgarians battle in the second period, but find the Danish defence as unforgiving as the cliff-face behind Zdravko Zdravkov’s goal. Stilian Petrov's dismissal after 83 minutes is an emblem of their frustration and cheers have dipped to anguished growls by the time Jesper Grønkjær doubles Denmark's lead in added time.

Final destination
And for Bulgaria, that is it. Two defeats means the road to the quarter-finals is closed. Their final destination in the tournament will not have been the one they wanted, but the journey they took in reaching Portugal will still have been an adventure none involved will forget.