Almost twenty years have passed since the historic feat of the Greek selection at Euro 2004. Winner of Portugal in the final by the smallest of margins (1-0), the team carried by an Angelo Charisteas in the shape of his life and the legendary Theodoros Zagorakis voted player of the tournament put his name on the European charts. But since 2014, the Ethniki has been absent from all international competitions and is sinking into the soft underbelly of the Fifa ranking (52nd). Disturbed by its sports policy in crisis and the decline of its championship, Greece hopes to regain its superb against the Blues this Monday after encouraging recent months.
Nineteen years after its resounding exploit, Greece is seriously accusing the blow. Despite the satisfactions of a quarter-final at Euro 2012 and a round of 16 at the 2014 World Cup, no one has really taken up the torch of the golden generation of 2004 led by Giorgos Karagounis and directed by the German Otto Rehagel (from 2001 to 2010). Since this World Cup in Brazil, the country has been absent from international competitions. Without a real leader, the team that points to 52nd place in the Fifa rankings unsuccessfully stacks coaches (seven in less than ten years) and seeks to regain its singular game identity. As Karagounis, the most capped player in the history of the selection (139 games), rightly said: “It’s difficult to build, much easier to destroy”. Like its sports policy and internal power struggles, the selection of the Hellenic Republic is blocked in the long term without the prospect of a new competitive generation.
“In terms of talent, we have nothing to envy to the Italians, the Serbs or the Croats. But there is no collaboration between the different actors” regrets the 2004 European champion Kostas Katsouranis. At all levels, Hellas football finds itself mired in business and conflict. The presidents of local clubs favor money over sport and do not hesitate to use all their weight to influence the course of the game. In March 2018, PAOK FC strongman Ivan Savvidis entered the lawn, armed with a the belt, to threaten a referee. In April 2023, it was Olympiakos boss Evangelos Marinakis who burst onto the pitch to attack the officials. The country also inherits disruptive supporters who regularly provoke threats of exclusion from European competitions. The Federation hasn’t fared much better since 2004 leader Theodoros Zagorakis walked out in September 2021, less than six months after he was elected president. This toxic climate mixed with the lack of confidence granted to young Greek players in their championship results in a general disinterest in the round ball. With two solid victories for their first two games, the sky blue and white could show the way to renewal for their country by reaching international competition again.
Under the orders since 2022 of Uruguayan coach Gustavo Poyet, who passed through Bordeaux, the Ethniki is in good hands. Even if it does not have any big names, the 52nd nation in the world is led by a few confirmed players on the European scene. Starting with their goalkeeper, Odysseas Vlachodimos. Since his arrival from Benfica in 2018, the 29-year-old doorman has been a fixture in the selection. Solid on his line and good in the air, from the top of his 91 meter he has already played many matches in the Champions League and disgusted the Parisian Kylian Mbappé during their double confrontation last October. The lining of Andrew Robertson in Liverpool, Konstantinos Tsimikas is also one of the assets of the next opponent of the France team.
Decisive against Gibraltar with a great game forward and solid against Ireland, the Reds player and a centerpiece of the new defense of the Greeks. With 20 Premier League games on the clock this year, the 27-year-old left-back has the experience to contain the onslaught of the French on the right flank. On the offensive level, the two main dangers are the attacking midfielder Bakasetas, captain and metronome of the decisive Greeks in the last two games and Pavlidis, the serial scorer of AZ Alkmaar. But as always, Greece is above all eleven individuals at the service of a collective spared from penaltygates and discord around the captain’s armband.
Greece finally seems to be regaining some color in the wake of its Uruguayan coach Gustavo Poyet. With two great victories in as many games, the Greeks are good second in Group B behind France before going to Saint Denis on Monday. Vlachodimos’ teammates are coming off an almost perfect campaign in the Nations League with a first place in their group in league C and only 2 goals conceded in 6 games. As in their prime, Greece seem to be rediscovering some semblance of the game that earned them the nickname Piratiko – ’the pirate ship’ – in 2004 in reference to their impregnable defense and all-behind philosophy.
But Poyet’s team seems to have traded their unattractive game mode for a more nuanced style. In addition to his ability to concede very few chances, the Greeks are more forward and do not bet everything on lightning counter-attacks. As Didier Deschamps warned: “Greece have the qualities to get the ball out and create danger offensively. » With its 4-2-3-1 layout, the 2004 European champions can defend the iron while offering a coherent offensive animation. After having done the job against modest nations, Greece will have to use their good performances to put one of the best teams in the world in difficulty.
