The Guy From The Sunny Place Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Greece qualified undefeated from Group F. The 2004 Winners are playing in Group A along with hosts Poland, Czech Republic and Russia. The team: 1 GK Kostas Chalkias 30 May 1974 (aged 38) 29 P.A.O.K. 2 DF Ioannis Maniatis 12 October 1986 (aged 25) 7 Olympiacos 3 DF Giorgos Tzavelas 26 November 1987 (aged 24) 5 Monaco 4 DF Stelios Malezas 11 March 1985 (aged 27) 1 P.A.O.K. 5 DF Kyriakos Papadopoulos 23 February 1992 (aged 20) 7 Schalke 04 6 MF Grigoris Makos 18 January 1987 (aged 25) 10 AEK Athens 7 FW Giorgos Samaras 21 February 1985 (aged 27) 52 Celtic 8 DF Avraam Papadopoulos 3 December 1984 (aged 27) 31 Olympiacos 9 FW Nikos Lyberopoulos 4 August 1975 (aged 36) 74 AEK Athens 10 MF Giorgos Karagounis © 6 March 1977 (aged 35) 115 Panathinaikos 11 FW Kostas Mitroglou 12 March 1988 (aged 24) 11 Atromitos 12 GK Alexandros Tzorvas 12 August 1982 (aged 29) 16 Palermo 13 GK Michalis Sifakis 9 September 1984 (aged 27) 11 Aris Thessaloniki 14 FW Dimitris Salpigidis 18 August 1981 (aged 30) 55 P.A.O.K 15 DF Vasilis Torosidis 10 June 1985 (aged 26) 43 Olympiacos 16 MF Giorgos Fotakis 29 October 1981 (aged 30) 9 P.A.O.K 17 FW Theofanis Gekas 23 May 1980 (aged 32) 56 Samsunspor 18 MF Sotiris Ninis 3 April 1990 (aged 22) 18 Panathinaikos 19 DF Sokratis Papastathopoulos 9 June 1988 (aged 23) 26 Werder Bremen 20 DF José Holebas 27 June 1984 (aged 27) 2 Olympiacos 21 MF Kostas Katsouranis 21 June 1979 (aged 32) 89 Panathinaikos 22 MF Kostas Fortounis 16 October 1992 (aged 19) 1 Kaiserslautern 23 MF Giannis Fetfatzidis 21 December 1990 (aged 21) 12 Olympiacos There are some parallels with 2004, the Group contains the hosts, a neighboring country, Russia and Greece. Greece will once again play in the opening match. TO WATCH: Giannis Fetfatzidis, Sotiris Ninis & Kyriakos Papadopoulos. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gizmo7 Posted May 31, 2012 Share Posted May 31, 2012 Always an interesting team for the radio Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
av3ry Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 http://www.theanfieldwrap.com/2012/05/a-greek-riddle/ Dellas' lines Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
SI Staff Jeroen Thijssen Posted June 1, 2012 SI Staff Share Posted June 1, 2012 Greece will do it's duty and repay some of its debt by losing all 3 games Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ville Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 I would live to see the reaction all over europe if Greece won. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraveSirRobin Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 Would be fun if we played Germany in the QF Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris79 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 There are some parallels with 2004, the Group contains the hosts, a neighboring country, Russia and Greece. Greece will once again play in the opening match. So you're saying we'll meet again in the final? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 1, 2012 Share Posted June 1, 2012 It's going to be a matter of either doing really well, or doing really bad. I think the opening match will tell all, but Fernando Santos has had a good reign in charge and I'm confident of good results. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Bookmakers make Greece the least likely team to win the tournament. I mean, come on...Ahead of Croatia, unbeaten in the Groups deserves some respect. . I'd expect to be in the bottom 5 but not last fgs. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris79 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 Bearing in mind that this is football and such speculation often looks funny after a few days I'd say us and you are the weakest teams in the group. Normally I'd expect Greece to beat us at a major tournament mostly because of the experience in your team, but we're the hosts which can change a lot. A draw on Friday and it will be very hard for both of us to qualify. Do you know if there are a lot of Greek supporters coming to Wroclaw for the game vs Czech Republic? Especially people who got the tickets via a draw or bought them online in the ticket portal? I assume that since Greece play 2 games in Warsaw, most people would be staying there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 6, 2012 Share Posted June 6, 2012 ^ The problem with Greece is that the team is either going to play really well or really bad. I've seen the team put up performances that are really impressive, and then seen the team simply collapse against much weaker opponents. The reason I think it's unfair to make Greece the worst team in the whole competition is that we went unbeaten in the qualifiers. I know, fairly easy group, but the only other teams to go unbeaten were England, Spain, Germany and Italy. It takes some level of talent to do that. I would put us above ROI and Denmark, but below everyone else. The Greek defence is actually pretty good by anyone's standards. Both central defenders are young and have had great seasons in Germany, the right back is one of the best players in the domestic league, although left back is a bit weak. The weakness really is midfield, in which players are either too old, too young, or too crap. If we play someone who plays 4-5-1 we're going to get screwed. I want Greece & Poland to go through, but Russia will be obvious favourites. We drew 1-1 with Russia late last year in a friendly, I know it's only a friendly, but I think that's a good indicator of how we can play them. Might as well be optimistic . Yeah I think more people are going to be in Warsaw. I'm not sure what the turnout of Greek fans will be, however. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 Poland 1-1 Greece, FT. Referee was shockingly bad. Our sending off was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen, and there's no excuse. After that, I said I would have taken a 1-1, but after our good performance in the second half it's a shame we didn't win (and that Kara didn't score that penalty). Credit to the Polish fans for the good atmosphere as well . That being said, if Salpingidis starts next game against the Czech's I'm confident! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romanista. Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 do greece really have no one else to start in place of samaras? i dont know what this guy is doing in euro12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 do greece really have no one else to start in place of samaras? i dont know what this guy is doing in euro12 Yes, all other strikers taken and probably half the midfielders would be better. I don't know why Samaras was picked, he got dropped for a while but then scored a crucial goal against Croatia, which seemed to put him back in contention. I hope he's dropped next game...He has a phobia of the ball. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pl-fikander Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 What do Greeks think 'bout Chalkias as first GK? Polish commentators seemed to suggest few times that he's past his best times and prone to mistakes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris79 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 As I said in the other threads, well done to you for the performance, tbh you deserved to win this one. Exactly what I expected from a team like that, taking control of the game and trying to score from set pieces, the experience being visible in the details an ability to adjust and change tactics when needed. Everything that our overhyped team lacks. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris79 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 What do Greeks think 'bout Chalkias as first GK? Polish commentators seemed to suggest few times that he's past his best times and prone to mistakes. I don't know what Gmoch and rest were suggesting but it is not a matter of opinion, it is a fact: he gifted us the goal, just like the overrated Wojciech, son of eloquent overrated Maciej gifted them a goal. He made more of similar mistakes that our 'best in 20 years' team couldn't take advantage of. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 8, 2012 Share Posted June 8, 2012 What do Greeks think 'bout Chalkias as first GK? Polish commentators seemed to suggest few times that he's past his best times and prone to mistakes. He is past his best by far. The problem is the usual number one, Tzorvas, has had a poor season at Palermo and the other guy, Sifakis, doesn't have much international experience. There is a teen Greek GK called Stefanos Kapinos, he is exceptional and starting for Panathinaikos but he's too young for the tournament. As I said in the other threads, well done to you for the performance, tbh you deserved to win this one. Exactly what I expected from a team like that, taking control of the game and trying to score from set pieces, the experience being visible in the details an ability to adjust and change tactics when needed. Everything that our overhyped team lacks. Thank you . It's a shame (for us) the penalty was not scored because it would have put us in a strong position. I wish Salpingidis would have taken it. Credit to the Polish fans for the great atmosphere though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 11, 2012 Share Posted June 11, 2012 My preferred Greek side: GK: Sifakis DR: Maniatis DC: Sokratis DC: K. Paps DL: Toro DM: Makos CM: Katsouranis CM: Karagounis AMR/FWR: Fortounis ST: Gekas AML/FWL: Salpingidis Chalkias, Cholebas and Samaras are NO GOOD. But they will probably all start tomorrow. Sokratis out cause of that imbecile Spanish ref, A.Paps & Fotakis are injured. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Guy From The Sunny Place Posted June 11, 2012 Author Share Posted June 11, 2012 Potentially Greece's 2nd to last game in Euro and in Eurozone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 What went wrong? A number of unfortunate, unlucky things. First of all, Sokratis harsh red in the opener really hurt us today. He's one of the best Greek defensive players, and because Avraam Papadopoulos got injured, we were forced to play a our Holding Midfielder in defence. With Sokratis in defence and Katsouranis in midfield I don't see us getting destroyed in the first few minutes. Secondly, I am convinced had Sifakis, Tzorvas or just about any other starting Greek goalkeeper in the world been in goal, one of the Czech goals would have been saved. It's pretty obvious that Chalkias faked injured because he knew he was not up to the challenge. Third, another disallowed goal. What more can I say? Lastly, and most importantly , Greece get made fun of for being crap. But the fact is, Greece is decent. The team just has NO confidence. We always do well in qualifying and friendlies, good team or no good team. November 2011, we drew 1-1 with Russia in a game which we dominated the second half. Both teams were full strength It was a good performance. Now watch us get thrashed by them in the Euros. Why? Because we have NO confidence in proper tournaments. It's almost like England, the team is actually decent but the mental approach/confidence is not there. Funnily enough, our fate is still mostly in our own hands, and we could technically still make it, but not with this **** poor masochistic we are no good attitude. If we take that attitude versus Russia it's going to be 4-0/5-0 to the Russians with ease. If I see Samaras in a Greece shirt one more time I'm going to suffer a mental breakdown. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraveSirRobin Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Nice rant. It's true though. Even with the Czechs, we played 2 friendlies against them the last few years, didn't lose, and now this. Actually the last time we lost a game, was at the 2010 WC. At least we've improved, from unknown minors we turned to big competition bottlers, thanks to that Euro win. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 12, 2012 Share Posted June 12, 2012 Nice rant.It's true though. Even with the Czechs, we played 2 friendlies against them the last few years, didn't lose, and now this. Actually the last time we lost a game, was at the 2010 WC. At least we've improved, from unknown minors we turned to big competition bottlers, thanks to that Euro win. I was thinking today, is it better we make competitions and get destroyed or not make competitions at all? The sad thing is, we could have evolved into a 'decent' respected National side like Sweden if we got rid of this pathetic 'woe is me' attitude. There's a reason why good Greek players don't get signed by good foreign teams, because Greece has a bad reputation...and Euro 2008, WC 2010 and this Euro are proving why. We're not as crap as made out, just mentally weak. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 If we play 4-3-3, Chalkias, Samaras or Katsouranis today we've lost. Cholevas could be added to that list too. If this happens, place your bets on Russia, there's no way we'll win. I personally favour this: ------------------Sifakis-------------------- Torosidis---Sokratis---K.Paps---Maniatis -------------Makos---Ninis----------------- Salpingidis-----Fortounis--------Fetfatzidis ---------------Gekas------------------------- OR: ------------------Sifakis-------------------- Torosidis---Sokratis---K.Paps---Cholevas (I know) -------------Makos---Maniatis--------------- -------------------Ninis----------------------- Salpingidis-------------------------Fortounis ------------------Gekas----------------------- This has a FAT chance of happening though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraveSirRobin Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Most likely squad according to the media: Sifakis Torosidis-Sokratis-K.Pap-Tzavellas Katsouranis Karagounis-Maniatis Samaras-Gekas-Salpiggidis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Most likely squad according to the media:Sifakis Torosidis-Sokratis-K.Pap-Tzavellas Katsouranis Karagounis-Maniatis Samaras-Gekas-Salpiggidis No Cholevas or Chalkias is a good start. But Samaras...WHY...WHY... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Same crap as last game...4-3-3 and Samaras. Can't believe it. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraveSirRobin Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 <3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 ^ This was taken 5 minutes ago, he's still upset Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Helarxe Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Samaras was bizarrely excellent until he got tired. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 I won't abuse Samaras for the next 3 days. He's earned it . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibra8 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Didn't think Greece could do it. Well done. Happy for Katso, Karagounis and Fernando. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 ^ Thanks. Most of us didn't either . Well, I thought it would either be 1-0 to us or we'd get smashed. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HTC Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Would be fun if we played Germany in the QF xoxoxoxo papastathopoulos - kyriakos papadopoulos one of the best cb pairs in the tournament again a big vindication for FM in which they are the best Greek players ... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris79 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Didn't seer your game today for obvious reasons, but congratulations! I am much happier seeing you progress than Russia. I am also happy for Karagounis, on Tuesday even though I supported Czech with all my heart I was feeling lucky I could watch him play live and so close from me:) Simply a legendary player in European football. Just like I enjoyed seeing Baros and my favourite Arsenal player for years. I am also happy for your fans that I met and saw in Wroclaw, there were not many of them, but they were very loud once we and the Czechs took a brake in shouting "Czesi!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 16, 2012 Share Posted June 16, 2012 Thanks! Wanted you to win the other game, it's unfortunate. Karagounis was so passionate it was amazing. Shame he won't be able to break the cap record int he QF cause of that silly referee. Oh well, we're through to the QF's and after how we started, it feels as good as winning the thing. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romanista. Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 I won't abuse Samaras for the next 3 days. He's earned it . lol. he was working his ass off today. glad greece qualified. i know they dont play nice football, but they always entertain me somehow and they have interesting players. also that schalke defender should come to roma. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 lol. he was working his ass off today. glad greece qualified. i know they dont play nice football, but they always entertain me somehow and they have interesting players. also that schalke defender should come to roma. Kyriakos Papadopoulos has been great in all 3 games now. He's only 20, and he's had a great season for Schalke too I hear. I think he's destined for great things. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 I also think making the Quarter Finals was especially important this time round. Since 2004, we've been really poor in International competitions despite a good qualifying record. WC 2006 we plain didn't qualify, Euro 2008 we qualified but didn't get a single point, and WC2010 we won a game but looked really lacklustre...going out in 2012 with 1 point would have been pretty hard to take. After 2004, we should have been trying to establish ourselves as a 'respectable' National Side but we failed in doing that. It made 2004 look especially like a fluke, and made the team look pretty embarrassing. Part of the reason, I believe, is that some of the spirit from 2004 died out. The team would play well in qualifying but collapse in the real tournament. Weak mental attitude. Hopefully, the fact we made the QF's in Euro 2012 will boost the confident and spirit of the players, so they start to feel like they can take on big games without mentally collapsing. The Greek National Team is not as bad as it is sometimes made out, the players just don't have the right attitude. Hopefully, confidence will continue so we can qualify for WC2014 and have a good group showing, maybe making it into the First Round. This will, 1) Make the team look more respectable, and 2) Remove the typical Greek player attitude of 'we're not good enough'... the absence of this attitude is what lead to 2004 and is what lead to the victory today. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 17, 2012 Share Posted June 17, 2012 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
5iver Posted June 20, 2012 Share Posted June 20, 2012 Hi all, haven't posted in a while, but would like to get my thoughts in as well... Agree with the comment on Kyriakos Papadopoulos and Sokratis Papastathopoulos as one of the best CB pairs in the tournament. In Euro 2004, we had Dellas - Kapsis, and though I really liked Kapsis, his career took a downturn after the Euro... When he signed for Olympiacos I was hoping for big things but he barely played due to injury... In all respects, the pairing is better than Euro 2004. Our midfield is our obvious weakest link, as everybody has pointed out. Would have been interesting if things had turned otherwise and Avraam wasn't injured, if Kyriakos could have been employed in midfield, to increase its work rate and quality. After an excellent season, I am glad Maniatis is playing well as well. He is tireless, steals the ball frequently, and is getting gradually better and better in his passing and offensive movement. Chalkias was a shocker, there was no way we could have qualified with him in goals. Sifakis was the right choice, he is a confident goalkeeper unlike Chalkias. Gekas quite poor for me. Samaras has been receiving a lot of criticism but he is one of the few players (maybe Karagounis as well, possibly Mitroglou if given a chance) who can hold up the ball in a really defensive Greek team. Even when he plays poorly, he is tightly marked and faces often 2 or 3 defenders. It is a harsh role, and he is performing greatly. Definitely has to improve his work rate and stamina.. His defensive contributions are getting better (albeit very little) with each game, but still needs to up the ante. Interesting to see Makos play against Germany.. He didn't seem to play too well against Russia, mainly covering space, rather than winning balls and challenges. But he is strong, which can only help. Would love to see Fotakis make an entry under the right circumstances. Santos has worked with him and am sure he wouldn't hesitate to do so, he should be our first tactical sub against Germany. Germany will come in strong and hard, just like Poland and Czech Republic.. the first minutes will be crucial.. if we can stabilise the rhythm after 15-20 minutes at 0-0, than we will stand a chance. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 We were Euro 2012 Quarter Finalists. I'm happy enough with that. We went out 4-2 to the favourites, so not bad. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BraveSirRobin Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 We hadn't conceded 4 goals in a match since 2004. And that was our second defeat in 14 games. Just goes to show you how we've improved. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 We hadn't conceded 4 goals in a match since 2004. And that was our second defeat in 14 games. Just goes to show you how we've improved. Exactly. I think we can qualify for WC2014, and hopefully we'll have improved more by then, especially with some of the young players coming through . Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebs Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 That was utter rubbish - and I do mean utter rubbish. Some very good players in Greece...but that didn't show you off as being anything other than canon fodder which is a shame. Hope you can come back and be more attacking...at least give people a game. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robokid87 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 That was utter rubbish - and I do mean utter rubbish. Some very good players in Greece...but that didn't show you off as being anything other than canon fodder which is a shame.Hope you can come back and be more attacking...at least give people a game. I have to disagree with that to be honest. In the first game Greece were outplayed for a while, were very unfortunate to have a man ridiculously sent off but dominated certainly the second half and should have won. I didn't catch all of the Czech Republic game but from what I understand they went 2-0 down early on but afterwards were fairly on top and could have got something out of the game. Then of course in the third game they became the only team to beat Russia, which was quite an achievement in itself. Of course had they played more openly in any of those games, letalone tonight's they may have been thumped. It frustrates me that people seem to think that teams should play a Barcelona/Spain type side when they don't have the personnel to do so and their strength lies elsewhere, I'm sure the Greek fans don't care how the team plays if it is doing well and making the country proud and the players should be out there playing how they do best rather than living up to the standards set by neutrals. Not a dig at you, but I find it very frustrating all this anti-football nonsense that gets spouted when teams play defensively against superior teams. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UTT Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Defence is as much of a part of football as attack. I wanted you guys to go through today, was cheering you on. Thought you may hold on at 1-1, but not to be. Should be proud, gave a good account of yourselves this tournament. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 In the last 8 years the Greek national team has made massive improvements. 4/5 competitions have been qualified for, including a win and a QF appearance. I'm very pleased with that. I don't care if we played 9-1-1 for every game. It's a respectable record for a nation of 11M people with no footballing history... It takes time to improve. In many ways, maybe Euro 2004 raised the bar too high too quickly. The team has slowly been getting better IMO and I think WC2014 we will see a more confident, technical Greece. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
UTT Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I like that Ninis chap, reckon he will do well in Parma? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candre168 Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 I like that Ninis chap, reckon he will do well in Parma? Think so. He's a good player and good on the ball, he's just had a spell of injuries. Too early to tell if he's just an 'injury prone player' or if it's bad luck. I think Parma will bring out the best in him though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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