Francais | English | Espanõl

Greece national football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Greece

Nickname

Το Πειρατικό
("The Pirate Ship")

Association

Hellenic Football Federation

Head coach

Image:Flag of Germany.svg Otto Rehhagel, 2001-

Captain

Antonis Nikopolidis

Most caps

Theodoros Zagorakis (119)

Top scorer

Nikos Anastopoulos (29)

FIFA code

GRE

FIFA ranking

Highest FIFA ranking

12 (April 2005)

Lowest FIFA ranking

66 (September 1998)

Elo ranking

Highest Elo ranking

7 (August 2004)





Home kit





Away kit

First international
Image:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg Greece 1 - 4 Italy Image:Flag of Italy (1861-1946).svg
(Athens, Greece; 7 April, 1929)

Largest win
Image:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg Greece 8 - 0 Syria Image:Syria-flag 1932-58 1961-63.svg
(Athens, Greece; 25 November, 1949)

Worst defeat
Image:Flag of Greece (1828-1978).svg Greece 1 - 11 Hungary Image:Flag of Hungary 1940.svg
(Budapest, Hungary; 25 March, 1938)

World Cup

Appearances

1 (First in 1994)

Best result

Round 1, 1994

European Championship

Appearances

2 (First in 1980)

Best result

Winners, 2004

The Greece national football team is the national football team of Greece and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation. They are the reigning European Champions.

Greece's first appearance in a major tournament was Euro 80, but their first win in a major tournament did not come until the first match of Euro 2004, a 2-1 win over the hosts Portugal. The Greeks went on to win the tournament, stunning defending champions France in the quarterfinals and the heavily favored Czech Republic in the semifinals before beating Portugal a second time, 1-0, in the final. Bookmakers were giving odds of about 80-1 to 150-1 for the Greeks before the tournament.

On 3 July 2006, FIFA suspended all institutions connected with the Hellenic Football Federation, including the Greek national team, from international football with immediate effect, citing the federation for not being sufficiently independent from the Greek government. [1] [2] FIFA overturned the suspension after Greece's parliament voted in favour of an amendment to the offending laws.

1 History
2 Stadium
3 World Cup record
4 European Championship record
5 Squad
6 Past Coaches
7 Noted Players
8 External links

[edit] History

[edit] 1980 European Football Championship

Greece made its first appearance in a major tournament at the 1980 European Football Championship in Italy. In the competition, Greece were drawn into group A with West Germany, the Netherlands, and Czechoslovakia. In their first game with the Netherlands, Greece held the Dutch 0-0 until halftime, however the Dutch eventually triumphed after winning the game 1-0. Three days later Greece played Czechoslovakia in Rome. After keeping the Czechoslovakians to a 1-1 draw in the first half, Greece eventually lost 3-1. In their last game, Greece earned a 0-0 draw against West Germany, after the latter had already qualified. Greece were therefore eliminated with one point from three matches.

After appearing at Euro 80, Greece did not qualify for another major tournament for fourteen years.

[edit] World Cup 1994

Greece qualified for 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA for the first time. They finished first in their qualifying group surpassing Russia. In the final tournament Greece were drawn into group D with Nigeria, Bulgaria, and Argentina. After having a successful qualifying campaign, Greece were determined to make an impact but failed to do so. In their first game against Argentina, Greece lost 4-0. Four days later Greece suffered another 4-0 blow from Bulgaria and in their final game lost to Nigeria 2-0. In the end, Greece were eliminated in the first round by losing all three games, scoring no goals and conceding 10, thus making one of the worst records in World Cup history.

[edit] 1994 to 2004

Greece failed to qualify for Euro 96. In their World Cup 1998 qualifying tournament Greece were only one point away from qualifying for the tournament in France just behind Croatia for second place. In their Euro 2000 qualifying group, Greece finished again in third, two points behind second place finishers Slovenia. In the 2002 World Cup qualifying Greece finished fourth in their group.

[edit] Euro 2004 triumph

Greece made it to Euro 2004 after surpassing Spain in their qualifying group.

In the final tournament Greece were drawn in to Group A with Spain, Portugal, and Russia. Greece was one of the lowest ranked teams in the tournament and were not expected to even make an impact.

In the opening match against Portugal, Greece achieved a surprise victory by beating the hosts 2-1. After this win, the team was nicknamed "the pirate ship" by Greek sportscaster George Helakis. The nickname was inspired by the opening ceremony, which was held just before the game, and involved a ship floating on the football field (a homage to Portugal's history of exploration). Greece were portrayed as the pirates who surprised the opponents and "stole" the win from their hands, a theme that would repeat itself throughout the tournament.

Four days later, Greece stunned Spain in front of a majority Spanish crowd to a 1-1 draw after being down 1-0 at the half. Angelos Charisteas scored a goal between the legs of the Spanish goalkeeper Casillas. In the last group game, Greece went down quickly 2-0 to Russia (who were already eliminated). Greece pulled one back on a goal by Vryzas which was set up by a Papadopoulos header. Without that goal, Greece would have been eliminated. Greece and Spain had a 0 goal differential, but Greece took second place in the group on goals scored (four for Greece, while only two for Spain).

In the quarterfinals Greece faced off with the reigning champions France. At 65', Greece took the lead when captain Zagorakis flicked the ball high in the air, defeated veteran french defender Bixente Lizarazu, retained possession and then sent a perfect cross to Charisteas for the header. Greece held on to win, knocking France out of the Euro 2004 and becoming the first team ever to defeat both the hosts and defending champions in the same tournament.

Greece reached the semifinals to face the Czech Republic, who were the only team to defeat all their opponents to this point, including a convincing 3-2 win over the Netherlands, a 2-1 win over Germany, and 3-0 win over Denmark in the quarterfinals. After 90 minutes the game ended 0-0, despite total domination by the Czechs and good chances that were mostly saved by the Greek goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis. In the first half of extra time, a close range silver goal header from Dellas off a corner ended the Czech campaign, putting Greece in the final of Euro 2004.

For the first time in history (a recurring theme in this tournament), the final was a repeat of the opening game with Greece and hosts Portugal facing off in a rematch. In the 57th minute, Charisteas gave Greece the lead with a header off of a corner by Basinas. Greece held on 1-0 to win the final of Euro 2004. Captain Zagorakis was named the man of the tournament.

[edit] Aftermath

Greece's victory shot them up in the FIFA World Rankings from 35th in June 2004 to 14th in July 2004. This is believed to be the largest upward move in a single month in the top echelon of the rankings.

The triumph of Greece at Euro 2004 is one of the biggest sporting achievements in the country's history for a team sport, along with the successes of the Greek basketball team in the European Championships of 1987 (1st), 1989 (2nd), 2005 (1st) and the World Championship of 2006 (2nd). The team has appeared on stamps and received medals from the President of Greece, the Archbishop of Athens, and an ecstatic ovation from the country's population which came out to see the team with the trophy from the Athens airport to the Panathinaiko Stadium where the Greek political and religious leadership was awaiting them.

The Euro 2004 winners were selected as World Team of the Year at the 2005 Laureus World Sports Awards.

As Euro 2004 winners, Greece qualified for the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany. Greece were drawn into group A with 2002 world champions Brazil, 2004 Asian Nations Cup champions Japan, and 2003 Gold cup champions Mexico. Greece lost 3-0 to Brazil and later 1-0 to Japan. After being already eliminated Greece avoided being the worst team in the history of the Confederations Cup by earning a 0-0 draw with Mexico. Greece ended the their campaign with a draw, two losses, and no goals.

[edit] World Cup 2006 qualifiers

After winning the Euro 2004, Greece were favorites to qualify in their group. Greece were drawn into Group 2 with Ukraine, Turkey, Denmark, Albania, Georgia, and Kazakhstan. In their first qualifier Greece lost to Albania 2-1. Greece later drew with Turkey, Ukraine, and defeated Kazakhstan. On Feb 9, 2005 Greece defeated Denmark 2-1 to take second place, and increasing chances of qualification. Later wins against Georgia and Albania and draw with Turkey also increased these chances. However on June 8, 2005 Greece lost to Ukraine 1-0 and took the third place in the group. Greece later defeated Kazakhstan 2-1 scoring their winning goal in the 94th minute. On October 8, 2005, Greece was defeated 1-0 by Denmark in Copenhagen and chances for a qualification through a playoff were minimal. In order to make the playoff spot Greece needed a win against Georgia and needed Albania to defeat Turkey and Kazakhstan to defeat Denmark. In their last game, Greece defeated Georgia but the other games did not go in their favor. As a result Greece failed to qualify for Germany 2006.

After the 2006 qualifiers, many football analysts wondered what happened to the team and why they failed to make the subsequent World Cup after becoming European Champions. Most analysts concluded the Greek team were out of form and were without defender Trianos Dellas, and forward Angelos Charisteas in the key games.

On 25 May 2006, less than a month before the opening of the FIFA World Cup 2006 in Germany, Greece lost 1-0 to Australia in a friendly in front of 95,000 people at the MCG.

After the 2006 World Cup, the Greek team fell in the World ranking from 20th in May to 32nd in July. This fall put them near the ranking they had before winning Euro 2004.

[edit] Euro 2008

Greece was the highest ranked seed in the 'pots' for qualification to 2008 European Football Championship in Switzerland and Austria. Greece was drawn with Turkey, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Moldova and Malta. This is the only group which does not have a team represented in the World Cup 2006.

Following consecutive victories over Moldova, Norway and Bosina-Herzegovina, Greece has moved up to 14th place in the October FIFA World Rankings, climbing eighteen places in two months.

[edit] Stadium

Greece have been using the Karaiskakis Stadium (Olympiacos' stadium) as their home ground since they became European Champions. They used that stadium for all the home games of the World Cup 2006 qualifying round.

In the past, Greece used several other stadiums including Kaftantzoglio, Athens Olympic Stadium, Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium, e.t.c.. For the Euro2004 qualifying round- in which Greece ended up winning the trophy- Greece used the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium (Panathinaikos' stadium) for all their home matches. During the 1990s, they mainly used the Athens Olympic Stadium. The Olympic Stadium was also used as Greece's home ground during the World Cup 2002 qualifiers.

[edit] World Cup record

1930 - Did not enter
1934 - Withdrew during qualifying
1938 - Did not qualify
1950 - Did not enter
1954 to 1990 - Did not qualify
1994 - Round 1
1998 to 2006 - Did not qualify

[edit] European Championship record

1960 - Did not qualify
1964 - Withdrew from qualifying
1968 to 1976 - Did not qualify
1980 - Round 1
1984 to 2000 - Did not qualify
2004 - Winners

[edit] Squad

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB/Age	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Antonios Nikopolidis	14 January 1971	76	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos
2	DF	Giourkas Seitaridis	4 June 1981	46	0	Image:Flag of Spain.svg Atlético Madrid
3	DF	Christos Patsatzoglou	19 March 1979	18	1	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos
4	FW	Georgios Samaras	21 February 1985	7	3	Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg Manchester City
5	DF	Traianos Dellas	31 January 1976	32	1	Image:Flag of Greece.svg AEK Athens
6	MF	Angelos Basinas	3 January 1976	74	4	Image:Flag of Spain.svg Mallorca
8	MF	Stelios Giannakopoulos	12 July 1974	64	12	Image:Flag of England (bordered).svg Bolton Wanderers
9	FW	Angelos Charisteas	9 February 1980	55	15	Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg Feyenoord Rotterdam
10	MF	Giorgos Karagounis	6 March 1977	58	4	Image:Flag of Portugal.svg Benfica
11	FW	Dimitrios Papadopoulos	20 October 1981	19	2	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Panathinaikos
12	GK	Konstantinos Chalkias	30 May 1974	5	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Aris
13	MF	Alexandros Tziolis	13 February 1985	2	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Panathinaikos
14	DF	Takis Fyssas	12 June 1973	58	4	Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Hearts
16	MF	Pantelis Kafes	24 June 1978	30	3	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos
17	MF	Theofanis Gekas	23 May 1980	11	0	Image:Flag of Germany.svg VfL Bochum
18	DF	Yannis Goumas	24 May 1975	39	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Panathinaikos
19	DF	Michalis Kapsis	18 October 1973	33	1	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Olympiacos
20	MF	Ioannis Amanatidis	3 December 1981	14	0	Image:Flag of Germany.svg Eintracht Frankfurt
21	MF	Kostas Katsouranis	21 June 1979	34	3	Image:Flag of Portugal.svg Benfica
22	FW	Dimitrios Salpigidis	10 August 1981	11	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Panathinaikos
24	DF	Loukas Vyntra	5 February 1981	10	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Panathinaikos
25	DF	Sotirios Kyrgiakos	23 July 1979	24	1	Image:Flag of Germany.svg Eintracht Frankfurt
29	MF	Panagiotis Lagos	18 July 1985	6	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg AEK Athens
32	DF	Georgios Anatolakis	16 March 1975	14	0	Image:Flag of Greece.svg Olympiakos
33	FW	Nikolaos Lyberopoulos	4 September 1975	48	10	Image:Flag of Greece.svg AEK Athens

[edit] Past Coaches

[edit] Noted Players

[edit] External links

International football

v • d • e</div>

Asia: AFC – Asian Cup

Africa: CAF – African Cup of Nations

North America: CONCACAF – Gold Cup

South America: CONMEBOL – Copa América

Oceania: OFC – Nations Cup

Europe: UEFA – European Championship

NF-Board: NFB – VIVA World Cup

Image:World Map FIFA2.png

National football teams of Europe (UEFA)

v • d • e</div>

Greek National Division - Super League 2006/07
AEK Athens \| Apollon Kalamarias \| Aris FC \| Atromitos \| Egaleo \| Ergotelis \| Ionikos \| Iraklis \| Kerkyra FC \| Larissa FC (AEL 1964) \| OFI Kreta \| Olympiacos \| Panathinaikos FC \| Panionios \| PAOK \| Skoda Xanthi
Greek football by seasons
1959-60 \| 1960-61 \| 1961-62 \| 1962-63 \| 1963-64 \| 1964-65 \| 1965-66 \| 1966-67 \| 1967-68 \| 1968-69 \| 1969-70 \| 1970-71 \| 1971-72 \| 1972-73 \| 1973-74 \| 1974-75 \| 1975-76 \| 1976-77 \| 1977-78 \| 1978-79 \| 1979-80 \| 1980-81 \| 1981-82 \| 1982-83 \| 1983-84 \| 1984-85 \| 1985-86 \| 1986-87 \| 1987-88 \| 1988-89 \| 1989-90 \| 1990-91 \| 1991-92 \| 1992-93 \| 1993-94 \| 1994-95 \| 1995-96 \| 1996-97 \| 1997-98 \| 1998-99 \| 1999-00 \| 2000-01 \| 2001-02 \| 2002-03 \| 2003-04 \| 2004-05 \| 2005-06 \| 2006-07 \|
Football in Greece
Greek Cup	Greek Super Cup	Greek League Cup	National teams
Greek Super League	Second Division	Third Division	Fourth Division
Fifth Division			Greek Amateur Cup