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Greek footballers earn respect with play
Congratulations to the Greeks for making it to the Euro 2004 final.
No one can deny that Greece surprised everyone by beating host Portugal, defending champion France and big-favorite Czech Republic. That the Greeks had never before won a game at a major championship makes it all the more remarkable. But their tactics didn't win many friends. German coach Otto Rehhagel, whose team plays Portugal again in Sunday's final, didn't have a lot of talent. So he employed a system in which his players sit back on defense, stifle the creative play of opponents and try to catch a lucky break. Look at Thursday's 1-0 semifinal victory over the free-scoring Czechs: After the Greeks had restricted them to a handful of chances, defender Traianos Dellas scored with seconds to go in the first period of overtime. It was the first "silver goal" of the championship, meaning the Czechs had to tie the score immediately or the game was over. They didn't even have time to restart. The result of Thursday's semifinal is that Greece now has a rematch with the Portuguese in Lisbon. And the Greeks beat the host 2-1 on opening day. Like the Greeks' other Euro 2004 victims, however, the Portuguese didn't know what to expect. Spain also was held to a 1-1 tie by Rehhagel's team, and the French were unable to impose their classy style in their quarterfinal and lost 1-0. Oddly, the only team to beat the Greeks at Euro 2004 was Russia, which already had been eliminated from reaching the next round. If the Greek journey to the final had been filled with top quality passing, shooting, dribbling and goals, no one would have doubted their performance. But they admit their game is nothing like that. "It's work, work, work," defender Mihalis Kapsis said. "We have 11 players with one only target: to help each other on the field. "We are used to each other. A lot of the players played on the same Greek teams together. We are always talking and know exactly what the other is going to do."
Big stars like France's Zinedine Zidane and Thierry Henry, England's David Beckham, Spain's Raul Gonzalez and Italy's Alessandro Del Piero performed poorly and even five-goal scorer Milan Baros of the Czech Republic couldn't find a way past the Greek defense. But if other underachieving nations adopt the same style of economy class soccer, the game is going to lose much of its appeal.
The theme running through Europe's media was respect for the Greeks rather than gushing praise. "The team stays in place," said the French sports daily L'Equipe. "It is, as usual, a tight block. For all those who thought the run of Greece was just an accident, the reality is there for all to see." The Italians papers, used to such tactics with their clubs and national teams, said the Greek style was nothing new. "Passing this soccer, at least 30 years old, off as something new is an undertaking. But maybe, after so much time, a few things have been forgotten about how to confront a team like Greece," La Repubblica said in an editorial. La Gazzetta dello Sport offered some respect. "Greece doesn't play a spectacular kind of soccer, but it has proven itself balanced and resistant like its German coach," said Italy's largest sports daily. British papers praised the Greeks for a remarkable effort in reaching the final. Only one paper, the Daily Express, criticized Rehhagel's tactics. "The right to play hosts Portugal in Lisbon on Sunday turned into a dour war of attrition," the paper said, "as defensive-minded Greece took football to Hellas and back. |
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