European Championships Countdown: Greece's Rise & Fall

Triumphant Greeks

"This is the biggest win of any Greek team." Coach Otto Rehhagel, after the opening win over Portugal "We have made Greece not just the talk of Europe but also of the world." Captain Theo Zagorakis, after qualifying for the knockout stages "This is the greatest moment in Greek football." Striker Angelos Charisteas, after beating France "The fairytale continues, it's unbelievable what they did. It's a true miracle." Rehhagel, after defeating the Czechs "We will never forget this, our country will remember this moment forever." Defender Nikos Dabizas, after winning the final

By Citizen Correspondent Sir Stephen

Date Posted: 06/05/08

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The year 2004 was always expected to be a big one for Greek sport. However, nobody expected their national football team to cause such a stir as to overshadow the return of the Olympics to its spiritual home in Athens. I look back at Greece's rise to winners of Euro 2004, their subsequent fall from grace and what this year holds for the current European champions...

THE GLORY OF GREECE
"The whole is more than the sum of its parts"
Aristotle (384-322 BC), Greek philosopher

Greece is regarded as the birthplace of democracy - a country that has helped shape the development of the world with its impact on philosophy and politics, literature and theatre, mathematics and physics. But it would take the combined minds of Aristotle and Archimedes, Plato and Pythagoras to work out how they went from no-hopers to all-conquering heroes at Euro 2004.

In sporting terms, Greece was the origin of the Olympics Games. But in international football the country was barely even a bit-part player before 2004. That journey can perhaps be traced back to 2001, when the German Otto Rehhagel was appointed as coach.

He took over a ragbag bunch, a team of individuals who were 61st in the Fifa world rankings for good reason. His first game in charge was an embarrassing 5-1 defeat by Finland. Domestically, Greek football was beset by financial problems, hooliganism and a national match-fixing scandal involving the country's referees.

But a month after that loss to Finland there were signs of what was to come as Greece were a desperation David Beckham free-kick away from victory over England at Old Trafford. The Greeks failed to make the 2002 World Cup but qualified for Euro 2004 above Spain after six wins in a row.

But when the shortlist of likely winners in Portugal was drawn up, Greece were at the back of the queue. "It was only the third time Greece had made a major tournament so to qualify for the finals was success in itself," said Greek journalist Panos Polyzoidis.