Maniatis: This is about football, not politics

Greece’s Euro 2012 squad may have spent more time watching election results on Sunday than they did studying Germany’s victory over Denmark, but insist they wanted to keep politics out of their Euro 2012 quarter-final.

The Greeks, shock qualifiers ahead of Russia and Poland, face Germany on Friday in the Baltic coast city of Gdansk in a quarter-final that pits the euro zone’s most troubled nation against its rich paymaster.

“No, this will not have an impact, its football we’re talking about, its sport,” midfielder Giannis Maniatis insisted. “The most important thing for us is to give some happiness to the Greek people, to make them celebrate in the street, given everything going on.”