The tournament wasn't a classic to satisfy the soccer purist, but the hooligans and terrorists stayed away, and the logistical obstacles posed by hosting the finals both in Asia and in two countries for the first time were overcome smoothly enough for the most part.
The Republic are hoping their performance in these finals, and the spirit created by their fans, will help their claims to jointly host the 2008 European Championship finals.
Throw in a Falcons loss in their lone Super Bowl appearance (1999) and a pair of losses by the NBA Hawks in the Eastern Conference finals, and Atlanta rides neck-and-neck with Seattle on the disappointment meter.
"My fear is that we had genuinely identified a group of players in 1998 and 2000 that could go on and achieve success in 2006 by reaching the semi-finals and be serious final contenders in 2010, " he stated.
"Dave has enjoyed some great days at the club, and will always be remembered by the supporters for his vital contribution in winning the 2001 and 2004 Cup finals, " Andrew added.
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They lost to England in a two-legged play-off for the 2009 finals in Sweden and were denied a place in the 2011 finals in Denmark by Italy on goal difference, despite leading qualifying Group Five for most of the campaign.
But the Kiwi also extended his contract and seemed motivated by the rivalry with Phillips, helping his side to reach the Heineken Cup quarter-finals and to win the EDF Energy Cup in 2007-8.
Dobriskey is joined in the semi-finals by compatriots Hannah England and Steph Twell, and says that the performances of her team-mates have spurred her on to new heights.
In 2002 and 2006 England reached the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Brazil and Portugal.
The team, led by popular players Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter, made the NBA finals in 1990 and 1992.
Federer had lost each of the last three finals to Nadal and the Spaniard's shock defeat by Soderling in round four suggested another huge upset was possible.
The top two from each will progress to the Super 8s phase, which is followed by the semi-finals and final - to be played in Barbados on 28 April.
Caley Thistle reached last season's semi-finals before losing to Dundee and produced the surprise of this term's quarter-finals by defeating SPL outfit Motherwell away from home.
Taylor lost to Dake 3-2 in overtime in the championship finals of the Southern Scuffle Tournament on Jan. 2, and by a point in a November exhibition.
Fabiano caught the eye at the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, thriving alongside Robinho in Brazil's attack and finding the net three times before his country were eventually eliminated by the Netherlands in the quarter-finals.
The Lakers fell at the final hurdle last year when they were beaten 4-2 by the Boston Celtics in the finals, a loss which had an impact on all the players and provided inspiration for 2009's victorious run according to the 30-year-old shooting guard.
Northants reached the Twenty20 finals, finished fourth in the Pro40, and missed out on promotion in the County Championship by one point in 2009.
But they were out-fought by a hungrier Fermanagh in the provincial semi-finals and now have fallen at the first hurdle in the back-door system.
His 2010 squad, led by Steve Nash, went 54-28 and advanced to the Western Conference finals.
Djokovic had been beaten by the 26-year-old Nadal in the 2009 and 2012 finals in Monte Carlo.
Mike Breen will be the voice of The Finals on ABC, joined by analysts Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy and reporter Doris Burke.
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His 62 caps for England include appearances in two World Cup finals, the 2003 win over Australia and the 2007 defeat by South Africa.
Ireland will now probably have to score four tries and beat Argentina by more than seven points in their final match to reach the quarter-finals.
England are in a similar situation for their tour to South Africa, although much of that has been forced by the absence of Leicester, Wasps and Bath players because those clubs are in European finals.
Hunter became a crowd favourite by coming behind in three finals to win the Masters in 2001, 2002 and 2004.
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The victory avenged the Ospreys's 2007 final defeat by Leicester and was the perfect response after their disappointing loss to Saracens in the quarter-finals of the Heineken Cup last weekend.
Falcons last made it into the Heineken Cup in the 2004-05 season, where having topped a pool including Perpignan, Newport-Gwent Dragons and Edinburgh, Rob Andrew's side were outclassed by finalists Stade Francais in the quarter-finals at the Parc des Princes in Paris.
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There was huge criticism of the protracted 2007 World Cup in the Caribbean where group stages were followed by a round-robin Super Eight phase before the two semi-finals, and the tournament comprised 51 matches in total.
Howell lost by a yuko to Azerbaijan's Kifayat Gasimova in the women's -57kg quarter-finals, while Bryant and Gibbons were defeated by Japanese opposition.
After beating Cambridgeshire by one wicket, and Dorset by 32 runs, victory at Bracebridge Heath should be enough to see them into the quarter-finals.
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