Euro 2012: Greek Squad Hoping to Bottle the Magic Again

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: May 18, 2012

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Eight years ago, Greece shocked the world with their improbable championship run at Euro 2004 in Portugal.  Greece were 35th in the FIFA world rankings entering that tournament.  Managed by a relatively unknown German, Otto Rehhagel, players with an overabundance of vowels in their last names but short on footballing notoriety, were an afterthought and a presumed an early departing team.

So with another European championship mere weeks away, the success of 2004 resurfaces on the conscious of the footballing public and most deeply with those who wear and support the blue and white.  The sweet memories of '04 are especially poignant now to a population experiencing unprecedented economic woe and societal upheaval.  

The national team would be a welcome distraction if they could reverse their record in major tournaments since that summer in Portugal.

The Greeks failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, finishing fourth in a group that included the Ukraine, Turkey, Denmark, Albania, Georgia and Kazakhstan.  In their title defense at Euro 2008, the Ethniki lost all three of their group games, scoring a lone goal against the eventual champions, Spain.

Despite having Europe's leading scorer in qualifying for the 2010 World Cup, Fanis Gekas, the Greeks just slipped in by defeating the Ukraine 1-0 in the playoff round.  In the tournament, they defeated Nigeria but two losses to South Korea then Argentina doomed them to third place in Group B.  The 2-1 win over the Super Eagles was in fact Greece's only win in an international tournament since the '04 final against Portugal.

Greece have qualified impressively for Euro 2012, going undefeated and winning their group over Croatia.  They were drawn into Group A (generally regarded as the most wide open of the tournament) with Russia, co-hosts Poland and the Czech Republic.

Fernando Santos, another unheralded foreign manager, ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - International Football

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