Summary Hosts France want to give their nation a gift but standing in the way is Cristiano Ronaldo
PARIS, July 9, 2016 (AFP) - France want to write football "history" by winning the Euro 2016 final against Portugal on Sunday to bury team scandals and help the country recover from the Paris attacks, captain Hugo Lloris said.
Portugal s coach Fernando Santos insisted however that his side were also determined "to write a new chapter in our history" by winning a first major title.
The clash at the Stade de France between the hosts and Cristiano Ronaldo s Portugal has unleashed national fervour in both countries.
French national television carried live images Saturday of the team arriving at the Paris hotel where they will spend the night. Hundreds of fans waited outside.
The team are suddenly national heroes again after several years of scandal and disappointment.
Lloris told of the enormous effort made to redeem the team s name after a player revolt at the 2010 World Cup badly tainted the image of the millionaire stars.
"We have come through a crisis in French football," the Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper told a press conference.
"We have climbed back up the slope, we have done it step by step.
"But building a great team takes a lot of time. With the Germans and the Spanish, success was not created overnight. You cannot buy experience.
"Tomorrow we have the chance to go into French football history, it is a unique time in a player s career," said Lloris.
France won the World Cup on home territory in 1998, when coach Didier Deschamps captained the side. Deschamps was called upon to recreate the side in 2012 after the national team hit rock bottom with a player strike at the 2010 World Cup.
