Rivals start with stalemate

The locals never miss an opportunity to tell you that Guimarães is the place where Portugal was born, a reference to the first king of Portugal who was born in the castle which now overlooks the stadium at the beginning of the 12th century. 'Portugal nasceu aqui' they say, 'Portugal was born here' - and at the Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, both Italy and Denmark hoped the inspired setting of this historic town would mark the beginning of a successful campaign at UEFA EURO 2004™.

Prolonged stay
From early afternoon both sets of supporters had gathered in the streets around the stadium, the Danes noticeably more prominent than their Azzurri counterparts. Indeed the rows of camper vans that lined the streets draped in red-and-white flags suggested the Danish fans intend to prolong their stay in Portugal well beyond the group stage.

Aristocrat Azzurri
The 30,000 capacity stadium is home to Vitória SC, the club established in the 1920s for the privileged sons of the local aristocracy and the business community. No prizes then for guessing who took up the role of the aristocrats in this fixture. Italy, boasting giants of the European game such as Alessandro Del Piero, Francesco Totti and Christian Vieri were the clear favourites.

Underdogs' delight
For their part Denmark, as ever revelling in the role of the underdog, set about their opponents with a surprising degree of confidence and Thomas Helveg stung the palms of Gianluigi Buffon on 18 minutes when he fired in a left-foot shot from the edge of the box.

'Side by side'
The tuba was now struck up as the Danes sensed a goal might be in the offing and it almost arrived on 33 minutes when Jon Dahl Tomasson just failed to connect with an inviting free-kick sent in by Niclas Jensen. Immediately the Danish crowd broke in a rendition of the chant first heard at the 1986 FIFA World Cup: "We are red, we are white, we stand and together side by side."

Totti chance
The atmosphere was somewhat more subdued in the blue corner and even at this early stage it looked as though Italy might be settling for a draw, but just before half-time Francesco Totti almost broke the deadlock only for Thomas Sørensen to deny his effort with a superb reflex save.

Fans on their feet
Into the second half and Tomasson continued to cause problems for his AC Milan colleague, Alessandro Nesta, and only a last-ditch tackle prevented the Dane from getting a shot on target immediately after the restart.

Zambrotta miss
The Italian fans were on their feet moments later when Totti split the Danish defence with a slide-rule pass, only for Gianluca Zambrotta to fluff his effort. But suddenly Italy appeared to be in the mood and Vieri was next up with a header that seemed destined for the roof of the net until Sørensen intervened to tip the ball over.

Nerves apparent
In the last quarter, an air of silence fell over both sets of fans reflecting the nervousness of both sides and their desperation not to concede a goal that would cost them a hard-earned point. Dennis Rommedahl almost scored the winner with 20 minutes left but Buffon scrambled back to his line to clear the danger and it remained honours even in the royal town of Guimarães.

Crown at stake
Italy are back in town for their last group game against Bulgaria on 22 June and while no doubt content with a point here, they know improvement is essential if they are to become kings of Europe in 2004.