European Championship History: Greece

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15/05/2008 19:59
European Championship History: Greece
As our build-up towards this summer's European Championships begins, Ewan Macdonald looks at Greece's history in the tournament...
»Comments Print This Story Send To A Friend Contact Us galleria zoom How Greece must have loved celebrating their 2004 European Championship victory. Few would even have tipped them for qualification a couple of years prior, and their appearance at the tournament proper was greeted with the kind of shrug reserved for a perennial also-ran. Coming through the group stages afforded them the tiniest nod of respect; overcoming France, though, saw jaws drop continent-wide. No sooner were mouths closed than they were agog once more as the Czechs fell in their wake, and then Portugal, the hosts, were drummed out in the final for a memorable victory, and one that nobody in the Hellenic country will forget.

Yet in the grand scale of things the Greeks are still very much an unknown quantity at international level. While they have sent a team to contest every single European Championship qualification round, only three times have they proven successful: 1980, 2004 and 2008. Their World Cup record makes for even grimmer reading, with just one qualification out of the 16 which they entered. Granted, in both competitions one of their campaigns ended in withdrawl, yet it remains not the most encouraging of statistics

Still, one could conclude that this merely makes their 2004 win all the more exciting and admirable. Indeed, prior to 2004 their pre-tournament record of mediocrity was matched only by their failure to step up to the competition proper. This was particularly true of the World Cup - to this day their record reads played 3, lost 3, scored 0, conceded 10 - but it's also the case in the European Championships, where they failed to impress until that remarkable victory in Portugal.

Clearly, then, 2004 was something of an anomaly.

Finding Their Feet

Greece first entered Europe's premier international competition back in 1960, its inaugural year. Their first ever qualification match ended in a 7-1 deeat to France, and while they managed a 1-1 draw in the return leg in Athens, this largely set the tone for what was to follow. A brief moment of pique aside - Greece withdrew for political reasons after being paired with Albania in the preliminary round in 1964- they muddled along without too much incident for the next two decades.

There was the occasional burst of excitement. In 1968 they celebrated their first qualifying win, against Finland, thanks to goals from Aris legend Alekos Alexiadis in one of merely two international appearances. 1972 saw Greece beat Malta, but no one else.

'76, though, was actually a near miss. The Greeks finished just two points behind West Germany in a tough qualification group also including Bulgaria - as well as Malta. Bizarrely enough, it was the Maltese that were to prove Greece's downfall: by losing 2-0 in Gzira, the Greeks undid all the good work of twice drawing with Germany and taking three points from a possible four against Bulgaria.

The Breakthrough

For all that heartache, though, it was clear that there was progress being made, and in 1980 it all paid off. Qualification, though, was bizarre: Greece kicked off with a laughable 3-0 loss in Helsinki to Finland before travelling to Yerevan to fall 2-0 to the Soviets. Yet from there they embarked on a four-game unbeaten run, crowned by an 8-1 revenge thrashing of the Finns and a 4-1 walloping of Hungary in Thessalonika. But what really helped their case was results elsewhere: the last two games went exactly as they needed them to, with Hungary beating Finland and then the Finns drawing with the USSR. With seven points - two more than the USSR and one more than the other two - Greece had finally arrived at the top of the qualification ladder.

It was a giddying moment, but it was one that was to be immediately followed by heartache. Coach Alketas Panagoulias, who had bossed the side almost uninterrupted since taking over from his mentor Billy Bingham in 1973, would surely have known about the rigours to come in Italy, and thus it was no surprise that he set his side up in somewhat cautious fashion to meet the Netherlands in the opening game.

Yet the crowd who'd come to the San Paolo to see a bloodbath were left sorely disappointed as the Dutch, themselves past their peak, were all too often left frustrated. In the end they succumbed only to a controversial penalty given by referee Adolf Prokop; Kist made no msitake as he stroked past Vasilios Konstandinou from the spot.

The second game brought little succour, but it was notable in that it did produce the Greeks' first ever goal in a major tournament. Still, they first let Czechoslovakia take the lead in the Eternal City of Rome after just six minutes. Hopes were raised when Mavros set up Nikos Anastopoulos for the equaliser, and when they held that tie heading into the break - for the second game in a row - the dream was still alive. However, the second half saw the Czechs rally and net a further two goals.

Salvaging Pride

Their third and final opponents, West Germany, were already through to the final after having won both their earlier games. Greece, for their part, were out, meaning that Panagoulias had room to experiment. This he did, with no fewer than eight changes from the side that met the Czechoslovakians. Only Spiros Livathinos, Thomas Mavros and Konstantinos Kouis remained - even Anastopoulous had been benched.

Controversial the selection may have been, but it paid off as West Germany - themselves fielding a rotated side, albeit one changed to a much lesser extent - were actually on the back foot for most of the encounter and were perhaps lucky to escape with a draw. In the end, though, Jupp Derwall's side went on to win the tournament, while the Greeks went home. Still, the tournament had given the likes of Anastopoulous - who remains the highest ever goalscorer in the blue and white - some vital exposure, and that draw against the eventual champions showed that Greece were now to be taken seriously. Indeed, they won several admirers during their brief jaunt across the Adriatic, and Europe now knew exactly who they had to deal with.

Normal service was resumed immediately afterwards, though, as Greece slumped back into mediocrity for the remainder of the 20th century, pausing only to undergo a dreadful campaign at USA '94.

From Tiny To Titan

With a record like this, few pundits - even within Greece - gave the blue and white side any chance of success whatsoever. Bookies' chalkboards Europe-wide focused on the major sides, while Greece were down near the bottom with Latvia and Switzerland as a sort of afterthought. Any lucky punter who saw the Greeks' potential, though, was due for a major payday.

In hindsight, some of the signs were already there. Otto Rehhagel, these days one of the longest-serving bosses at international level, steeled his men to recover from a poor start to qualification to seal first place in the group, largely thanks to a famous 1-0 win over Spain in Zaragoza. The German's tactical approach and rapport with the players was crucial.

The squad looked good, too. A healthy mix of home-based players and foreign imports, the Greeks had goals in the form of Angelos Charisteas, but it was their more rugged aspects for which they were better-known. Yourkas Seitardis had recently made the breakthrough and found himself as top dog at right-back; Panagiotis Fyssas eventually lined up on the other side. Angelos Basinas, the midfield general, kept things tight in the middle, but above all stood his partner, Theodoros Zagorakis. If one was to name a "Mr. Greece," Thodoris would surely be it. He racked up well over 100 appearances in the Greek colours over a remarkable 13 year international career, and Portugal 2004 was to prove his finest hour.

Thus the Greeks had arguably their best foundation ever - and they were about to show it.

Proving A Point

While everyone remembers the three knockout 1-0 results, what is mentioned less often is that the Hellenic side were actually quite free-scoring during the group stages. Game one saw "game on" immediately: Seven minutes in and Giorgos Karagounis had given his side the lead to stun the home fans - and all spectators - by opening the scoring against Portugal in the curtain-raiser. Angelos Basinas converted a penalty early in the second half to seal the win, but not before a certain Cristiano Ronaldo managed a consolation goal right at the death.

Moving on to face the other Iberian side present, Spain, the orthodox view might have been that Greece's luck was running out. While they started strongly - and very much in defence - the deadlock was broken by Nando Morientes thirty minutes in. But incredibly - and against the run of play - Greece punished Spain's complacency midway through the second period as Tsiartas' splendid long ball found Charisteas for the leveller.

Greece were to stumble by losing out to Russia in the final game, but nonetheless they were through as runners-up behind Portugal thanks to their Goals Scored record. That's right: goals scored. While Greece's "negative" play in the knockout round won them as many detractors as admirers, it was the fact that Zizis Vryzas was able to pull a goal back to make it 2-1 early in the second half that saw Greece through. They scored and conceded four, while Spain had two of each.

Final Countdown

Still, the knockout stages saw Rehhagel realise that there would be no coming back from 2-0 down against the likes of France. Nonetheless, Themistoklis Nikolaidis, a roving, attack-minded player, was in the lineup, and it was his presence that shook the French early on. Nonetheless, it was a diligent, structured showing that won the day, not least with the goal. A measured cross from Zagorakis found Charisteas, whose precise header beat Barthez. It was a masterstroke, and one that left France dazed with disbelief: they had been enjoying their finest spell of the game just before the goal.

Belief was well and truly beginning to show, but the mighty Czechs were next up. The Czech Republic, who had themselves carved out a reputation as admirable underdogs, were frustrated time and again in the semi-final, with either Greece's last-ditch defending and hard-tackling or their own inability to convert chances seeing not just 45, but 90 minutes end goalless. This was to be the kiss of death for the central Europeans as Traianos Dellas' "silver goal" just before the 105 minute mark sealed the tie. It was a simple, near-post header after yet another fine Tsiartas corner, and while the Czechs' sympathisers might have cried anti-football, Greece were on their way to the final.

There they would meet the side whom they'd so shocked in the first round: Portugal. It was a partisan crowd in Lisbon for the final, and while Greece had already proved their capabilities, many thought that the hosts had learned their lesson. In fact, Rehhagel's men got it spot on again. It was an entertaining start to the game as the two sides found their feet, but, as with the last two games, a gritty showing saw Portugal go in goalless and frustrated at half time. Shooting towards their own fans in the second period, Greece were able to conjure up that little bit of magic for the first and only goal of the game. Again it was a corner, but this time from Basinas. The midfielder crossed, Charisteas was there, and the ball was in the net. It was so simply, but so unpreventable: Greece were in the lead. From there, Portugal battled hard against ten men behind the ball, but the Greeks stood firm, and Rehhagel, Zagorakis and his men hoisted the trophy aloft to the disbelief of most but the joy of a nation.

Looking Ahead

Now we reach 2008, and Greece have strolled to qualification with consummate ease. The disappointment of their failure to reach the 2006 World Cup is now long since behind them, and Rehhagel has a mixture of young talent and old heads at his disposal.

But with so many other heavyweights set to travel to Austria and Switzerland in summer, the Greek footballing fraternity must ask themselves if lightning can really strike twice.

Ewan Macdonald, Goal.com