Greeks keen to gatecrash Poles party

Greece opened their 2004 triumph with victory over hosts Portugal, and they will once again be looking to spoil the party, taking on the hosts in Warsaw tonight.

The Greeks have lost just one of 21 games under Fernando Santos and were unbeaten during their qualifying campaign.

Santos has injury concerns over defender Vassilis Torosidis, who has a knee problem, and Sotiris Ninis, who is set to overcome a shoulder ailment to feature.

Captain Giorgos Karagounis played a part in that surprise victory eight years ago, and the 35-year-old midfielder says it is vital they come out of their first match with at least a point.

He said: “If you cannot win then you must not lose because it is the first match.

“We know what we are capable of as a side and we will try and produce it on the pitch.

“Since there are so few games you cannot afford to make any mistakes.”

Meanwhile, Portugal’s preparations for their opener with Germany have been cost-effective and well-organised, said the federation yesterday as it replied to complaints of extravagance.

Critics have complained that the team’s base, a spa hotel in Opalenica near the Polish city of Poznan, is too expensive and there was also disquiet over some of the events in which the players took part in before leaving Portugal.

These included a parade around the town of Obidos in horse-drawn carriages and a visit to a private biomedical research foundation.

“We went by horse-drawn carriage, as in 2004, because it’s difficult to travel through the streets of Obidos by car or coach, and as we know the players are always asked for autographs,” federation vice-president Humberto Coelho told reporters.

“It was a farewell to the whole of Portugal.

“There were training sessions every day, except the day after matches when the players were given the day off,” he added after Portugal drew 0-0 against Macedonia and lost 3-1 to Turkey in warm-up games.

Coelho said Portugal’s participation at the tournament would be entirely financed by money allocated by UEFA to the 16 finalists.

“The accommodation costs are lower than at the last World Cup and the last European championship,” he said.

“All the money we are spending, including the bonus money for the players, will come from the money which UEFA allocated to us for qualifying. No Portuguese citizen will spend a centavo (on the national team),” he said, adding that taxes on prize money would be paid in Portugal, not Poland or Ukraine.

Former Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz and veteran coach Manuel Jose have been among the leading critics.

“After the game against Macedonia, we all saw the players leave for their day off in cars which cost €400,000 in a country which is in crisis,” said Manuel Jose.

“This just increases the responsibility and, afterwards, makes the public more aggressive.”

Goalkeeper Eduardo said the best response would be victory in the opening game against Germany tomorrow.

“This team is more united than ever against the criticism and it’s going to make us stronger,” he said.

“Many things have been published in the newspapers and magazines about cars and how much the players earn.

“It doesn’t make any sense. People see these stories and feel frustrated, but we are honest about what we do. If we beat Germany, we can put a stop to all this noise.”