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Author: mark
Date: 04-07-2004, 22:58

I'm sure that people will always complain about greece playing deffensive football but I'm not going to be one of them, because it takes great skill to play good deffenive football while creating more dengarous situations near the portugese goal then potogal had created near the greek goal. Very impresive football and a well deserved trophy.

It was sad for me to see portogal in the last 10 minutes of the game, they played with such a great passion which left me wonder were was all this passion in the first 80 minutes. I'm sure that if they played the same way for the entire 90 minutes they would have scored atleast one goal.

IMO, it is time to start thinking about changes to the footbal rules, to prevent a situation where the winning team did not score more then one goal per game. It is nice to see a good deffensive football from time to time but it is not very interesting to watch several of them in a row.

Re: Congratulation to Germany, oh sorry Greece ;)
Author: vakho Date: 04-07-2004, 23:53	Greece have broken my beleive in that you can't play ALL games the same way and manage to win - but they did ! They are really great to play so confident. Many players represent own league and this is good to see such a success.

Re: Congratulation to Germany, oh sorry Greece ;)
Author: anita Date: 05-07-2004, 00:12	Congratulations to all greeks. They changed a little, vakho. They had a little more man-to-man defence in their first match, I think. But anyway. Splendid dicipline and calmness and serious counter-attacking. WC2006-qualification group 2 with Turkey, Denmark, Greece and Ukraine will be something to follow. Puuuh!

Author: jpcccc
Date: 05-07-2004, 03:10

Greece wins without a single doubt. It defeated previous champion, the team with the best run (Czech Rep.) and finally the host country that already knew them from 20 days ago. From every angle you see a winning team. Congratulations !

Greece plays a type of "'catenaccio' meets the gym" football. Very strong physical condition. Very few tired players, because deffending like they do also preserves their energies. As ugly as this football looks, it is the most effective i've seen for many years now.

My question is: are they able to keep this type of play or it was only due to their top physical condition on this tournament ? Can this type of play work with not-so-fit players ?

As for Portugal, and being a portugese, i think they prepared a different strategy from first game with Greece, in which attacking the greek wall only produced a two goals lead to the greeks.

In the final, i think the strategy was to preserve energy for a final attack on a tired greek wall. I noticed they allowed Greece to take control of the game for large periods of time in the first half and even tried to call Greece into their side of the pitch. This could have worked if it was not for that corner in which Greece scored. Then, it was too late and anxiety was obvious. Only in the final minutes Portugal started pressing a lot. Then that idiot entering the pitch broke their impetus... and they kept on doing too late what they should have done before.

So, now the question is: how to beat a greek team that plays like that ? Ask the russians, but only when they have nothing to loose. Without fear to loose, it seems easier to beat the greeks... Tell that to Portugal.

As a final note: i admired Denmark in 92 - a good surprise win, with joyfull playing. Greece in 2004 is only a surprise win (a deserved one, no doubt).

Re: Congratulation to Germany, oh sorry Greece ;)
Author: jpcccc Date: 05-07-2004, 03:16	Oh, and to mark, about the topic i'm sure the Germans could switch shirts with the Greeks and it would take a while before anyone notice the difference. Rehagel found in Greece its ideal home team...

Author: Ricardo
Date: 05-07-2004, 08:46

Rehhagel will be a fine coach to get the real Germans up and running again.
Congratulations to Greece. Maybe it is not the most beautiful game they play, but very effective. And even a warned team like Portugal could not do anything about it. Even a goal out of a corner was done before. Incredible. Portugal was too tired maybe?

I am curious what the greek teams will do coming year in the CL and UC: will they pick somnthing up from this great achievement? Will any team try to copy it?

Author: maranton
Date: 05-07-2004, 17:22

Most of the Greek players that played in EURO 2004 play in teams outside Greece. Panathinaikos that will play in champions league only has Basinas and Papadopoulos(Chalkias and Gkoumas did not play) from yesterday's squad and Olympiakos that also plays in champions league will only have goalkeeper Nikopolides, if he decides to move there after his departure from Panathinaikos, and Venetides (Kafes and Georgiades did not play in euro 2004). PAOK that plays in the 3rd qualifying round of champions league did not have a player in the european champions and neither did Panionios and Egaleo that play in UEFA Cup. AEK Athens which will play in UEFA Cup has huge financial problems and I doubt if they can keep Zagorakis,Kapsis,Lakis,Katsouranis or Tsiartas who already appeal to be freed from his contract with AEK.
Seitarides is leaving Panathinaikos to join Porto in Portugal unless if Real Madrid pays more to Panathinaikos and take the player instead.

Author: porto-1978
Date: 05-07-2004, 20:03

Congratulations to all the greeks and also to one german, Rehagel. He made an excelent squad from some good players. Greek players have means to do so well as german players, and having a german coach is perfefct for them. We saw Greece playing as if they were German, but being Hellas, in fact. It as not a beutifull way of playing, but who cares, the winner is the winner and is there only one. Playing with caution is normal to those who win cups. And victories starts with good defense.
Hope never dies but sometimes became sadness.
Still knowing that defensive system is important, i?ve saw Brasil being better than Germany in 2002, Italy unable to resist to french pressure in 2000 and a lot other demonstrations of how defending is not all. But that was not the case...

Scolari Vs Rehagel.
Knowing about the quality of Greece, i think Portugal had team enough to win the final, but the game was won and lost by the coaches. He is extremely good in marketing and public relations, have shrinks working with him, have devotion and a lot of good humor and luck. All that is important but he have not what Rehagel have a lot: strategic spirit, or whatever. First of all he could not see before the first game with Greece who were the best players of his team. Second, after changes in the game with Russia he mado no changes untill the final except those that were really needed (Pauleta santion in game against Spain). He have some intuition: before the competition he said the most important games would be the first and the last games. But lost the "most important games". And i think he lost both games because he surprised nobody on them... Before the first game he said to press when asked about the team for the game "you know wich is my team" and gave it to Rehagel. The german coach played diferently than the way Scolari predicted he would play. And Rehagel knew entirely what to expect. This was a so clear mistake that before the game with Russia Scolari showed to admit it. To the usual question he answered "don?t excpect me to give you the starting eleven this time". And he kept doing so until the final, but as he played always the same way, he made no surprise to press Rehagel. The only doubt of the press was Pauleta or Nuno Gomes and he said before the final that he chosed the first to play. So this way i think Scolary gave Rehagel all the chances and claimed few possibilities for his team.

Scolari is not so good (as i?d like to).
To play with Miguel last 3 games was never a good idea. If with Russia and Spain Portugal had so much to win that could play with a advanced defender as Miguel, from the quartes to the finals were very diferent games... He seems to be more ofensive option but is always requiring protection from Ricardo Carvalho (leaving Charisteas just with Jorge Andrade in the center) and from Costinha and Maniche (making all the team to go back to not create a lapse between defense and attack). It?s sad that just in the final he was substituted just because of injury. In the first half Greece attacked almost always by their left controling the game for large periods. Before and after Miguel injury. If i was Rehagel i also would say to my players to take advantage of a false right defender. [The best games i?ve saw from Miguel were when Camacho puted him again in his natural place as right winger. The same Camacho wants him in Real, but the same notice says that he preferes Seitaridis.>
Finally, Scolari made not so good substitutions as people say. Postiga with England was great but why to take off Figo instead of Cristiano Ronaldo? I don?t think the last havo resistance to play 120 or even 90 minutes. On the final, the same mistake of believing so much on a young talented player that don?t work to the team. For me he should be the perfect weapon for the second half. He played from begining and when i thought that Nuno Gomes would replace him, Pauleta did it! Not so ofensive for who have to win. Then Portugal finished the game with Cristiano playing in the area and loosing crutial chances that Pauleta had not before because the pressure over greek defense was less. To play in clear 4-4-2 (as with England) would be the best choice when loosing a so important game!
Viva Barça!
That "idiot" wasted some time almost in the end of the game to score with his own body on the greek net, after throwing in Figo?s face a Barça?s flag. That was so symbolic to Figo that he started to play really better, almost scoring a goal. It was a motivation to Figo but happened too late. Figo and Rui Costa don?t assume they sometimes play with anger (raiva) but in fact that?s a natural feeling in sport.

On the other side was a very efective team, that made less mistakes and so won. Greece is not so defensive, it?s a matter of caution, and that?s what made from german national teams in the past to won trophies. It?s the first for Greece, that is the team i wanted to win the trophy if Portugal failed, as done. And falied because Greece was better, twice and in our home. No doubts about the winner!
Still is a fact that Russia without pressure won to Greece, but is also true that Greece with some pressure lost to Russia. I mean it?s not easy to Greece to play as favourite, they fit better on out-sider?s profile. Will see if that changes on the next WC2006-Q. Hot group! GreeceVsUkraine will be a replay of last qualification.