France celebrate their dramatic victory (Allsport).
EURO GLORY FOR FABULOUS FRENCH
Click here for match details
Click here for match stats
Click here for full match report
Click here for more post-match reaction
Click here for minute-by-minute report
Click here for player ratings
Zinedine Zidane clockwatch
How the final was won and lost
Party time in Paris
PA Sport comment
David Trezeguet fired a sensational extra-time 'golden goal' as France came back from the dead to beat Italy 2-1 in a dramatic Euro 2000 final.
Roger Lemerre's team, having ridden their luck and been just a minute of normal time away from a tame defeat, completed a remarkable comeback to become the first reigning world champions to secure the European Championship trophy.
Italy looked to have the game wrapped up courtesy of a Marco Delvecchio goal in the 55th minute, backed up by a magnificent display of ultra-tight defending.
But just when looked as though the trophy was heading to Rome, the seemingingly impregnable Italian rearguard collapsed twice.
The Azzurri conceded a last-minute equaliser to Sylvain Wiltord, who had come on to
replace Christophe Dugarry.
And it then folded a second time 13 minutes into extra-time when Trezeguet, a 75th-minute replacement when the game was slipping away, smashed a
shot into the top corner from a cross by Robert Pires, the third French
replacement.
With the golden goal having secured their third major title from
three finals - and the first on foreign soil - the French embarked on
celebrations of relief as much as joy for a performance that showed Les Bleus have the tenacity and determination to match their undoubted skill.
Afterwards a delighted Lemerre paid tribute to his players' never-say-die attitude that helped turned probable defeat into an amazing victory.
"It's the desire of the team that permitted us to win," said the French coach.
"Winning the World Cup alongside Aime Jacquet was great because we were in
France.
"But I must say that the Belgian and Dutch people helped us a lot. Happiness,
that's what I feel today."
Arsenal striker Thierry Henry had a special word for fellow frontmen Wiltord
and Trezeguet who proved the goal heroes.
"Everyone though we were dead but we proved all through the competition that
we had a strong mentality," said Henry.
"You have to take your hat off to the whole team and to David (Trezeguet) and
Sylvain (Wiltord) who did their job perfectly.
"Even with 30 seconds left it is never the end for France. We have to also
thank Fabien Barthez for his saves."
While there was undiluted joy in the French camp, Italian coach Dino Zoff described the defeat as "one of the worst nights of my life."
``You are sure of victory and it runs away in the last minute," said Zoff. "This is very
serious.
``We had a lot of chances to score and lost in over-time but you can't say my
players didn't put up a fight."