A collective championship fever has taken over the Portuguese since last night and though I had imagined what it would be like if we became the champions I had honestly never thought the players would be welcomed in such an over enthusiastic way.
Because the flight from Paris would land around mid day and the players riding on an open decker bus along the street that runs parallel the Training Centre I work at the premises were unexpectedly "invaded" by a huge crowd.
Loud singing and flag fluttering were a constant feature throughout the waiting period ... and the more people seemed to wait the more excited they became. I just took my position at one of the upper floor classrooms and took pictures of the dense crowd and even some of my young students and colleagues.
I did identify some of the major Portuguese football players who made a difference in the championship such as Renato Sanches and Quaresma but I didn't sight the ones I would have liked to - Eder and Cristiano Ronaldo (they must have been on the other side of the double decker bus).
We were given the afternoon free but I didn't fortunately (or unfortunately) catch the fever ... and stayed at work doing what I would have had to do under pressure the following days, had I not taken the time to do them today.
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