Cristiano Ronaldo...

 is not just Sir Alex's bright hope for the future; he is also Portugal's. Four days after his Manchester United debut against Bolton in August, the extravagantly gifted winger collected his first international cap in a 1-0 friendly defeat of Kazakhstan. Since then, he has donned the red and green colours of his country against England, Italy and Sweden. The 19-year old may not begin Euro 2004 with an automatic place in Luiz Felipe Scolari's starting X1, but it is a testament to his remarkable progress over the past 12 months that for up to four weeks this summer he will act as deputy to the talismanic Luis Figo, the player he is being groomed to replace when the Real madrid star retires from international football...

"Im really excited about playing in my first international tournament.Of course i am; its the European Championship and its taking place in front of lots of Portuguese fans in my own backyard. It would be fantastic to win a trophy at a young age on home territory and there will be many of my family and friends cheering me on. Portugals ambition is to go as far as possible and the public will be happy if we reach atleast the last four,or better still, the final. I was back home at the end of April and the excitement was already beginning to kick in. Unfortunatley, some of the friendly results have been disappointing,but im sure that individually and collectively we can deliver the goods. 

"Our rivals in the group stage - Greece,Russia and Spain - are all top-quality sides andtensions will be high every time we step onto the pitch. We definitley have the potential to beat Russia and Greece while Spain are theoretically the most dangerous threat as they have great strength in depth. Anything can happen in a one-off match and each of the four sides could go through. Overall, I see France, Spain and England as the favourites to win the tournament.

"People might think United's bad experience at Porto's Dragao Stadium, our 2-1 loss in the Champions League first knockout will be on my mind in the inaugural game against Greece, but theyre wrong. Its in the past, and I'll go to the ground in a relaxed frame of mind. The fans will be geared up for the opening match of the tournament and determined to inspire us.

 

Sorry everyone this interview aint finished yet!! Still more to come so keep checkin back!