Euro 2008 Greece Team Guide
Welcome to the euro2008betting.com Greece Team Guide for Euro 2008. Here we preview the chances of Greece for Euro 2008 plus take a look back at their Euro 2008 qualifiying performance and previous appearances at the European Championships.
Coach: Otto Rehhagel
The Greek coach is Otto Rehhagel, a legend in German football who famously led the unfancied Greek team to success
at Euro 2004 in Portugal!
Euro 2008 Qualifying:
The European champions were winners of Group C, qualifying with two games to spare thanks to Ioannis Amanatidis’s strike in a 1-0 win against Turkey in Istanbul. They finished the campaign with 31 points – more than any other team in qualifying. Otto Rehhagel broke new ground as Greece's longest-serving coach, overseeing his 75th match in the final qualifier in Hungary. Greece’s great start – three wins without conceding a goal – came to a shocking end as they went down 4-1 to Turkey in Athens, despite taking a fifth-minute lead through Sotirios Kyrgiakos. "Although we got an early goal, we couldn't keep up with Turkey's tempo and they got better by the minute," said Rehhagel. Greek heads did not drop, however, and they duly won seven out of their next eight qualifiers, the only dropped points coming in the credit-worthy 2-2 draw in Norway, where Kyrgiakos scored twice. Kyrgiakos played in all 1,080 minutes of Greece’s 12-game qualifying campaign.
Past Euro Performance:
Proved to be the surprise package of the UEFA EURO 2004 finals in Portugal by ending the competition as winners. Qualified for the competition for the second time in their history by winning their group with six wins and two losses from their eight outings to finish ahead of Spain and Ukraine. Won their last six matches in the qualifying round by a total margin of eight goals scored and none conceded – the last four games all ending 1-0. Finished second behind Portugal in the group stage of the final tournament despite defeating the hosts 2-1 in the opening game. Continued to put faith in their defence as 1-0 results proved in the remainder of the competition. Greece overcame France at the quarter-final stage with Angelos Charisteas on target after 65 minutes. Then beat the Czech Republic in the semis thanks to Trianios Dellas’ silver goal after 105 minutes. Greece then defeated Portugal in the final at the Estádio da Luz with Charisteas’ 57th-minute goal separating the sides. Ended the competition without conceding a goal in their final 358 minutes of competitive play.
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