Greeks excelling under Rehhagel regime

Otto Rehhagel’s blend of German discipline and Greek character is what has taken his side to the brink of qualification for the Euro 2004 quarter-finals.

That is the view of Bolton midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos as Greece prepare for tomorrow night’s final Group A clash with Russia at the Estadio Algarve knowing that their destiny is in their own hands.

Last Saturday’s stunning 2-1 victory over hosts Portugal got Rehhagel’s side off to a start of which they could only have dreamt, and a more than creditable 1-1 draw with Spain means that a point against the dispirited Russians would be enough to hand them a place in the last eight.

Giannakopoulos will miss out against Georgi Yartsev’s men after damaging a calf muscle in the Spain game, but he has little doubt about the impact his country’s German coach has made.

“We Greeks are not disciplined, that is not in our nature, but Rehhagel has changed that,” he told the tournament’s official website, euro2004.com. “We have very good talent and technique, but all that is wasted if you don’t have discipline.

“Even a smaller team can beat you because you are not focused and it can lead to anarchy in the dressing room.

“But Mr Rehhagel has brought German discipline to the Greek character. It is a perfect mix.

“The fact that he has guided the national team back to the finals of the European Championship after 24 years and 10 years after our last World Cup shows his value. He is the A and the Z of this squad.”

Few gave the Greeks any chance at all of staging an upset in the opening game of the finals, but they did just that as goals from Georgios Karagounis and Angelis Basinas at Porto’s Estadio do Dragao clinched arguably the most famous victory in the history of Greek football.

They trailed 1-0 to the Spanish in midweek but hit back through Angelos Charisteas to snatch a point, and one more will be enough to ensure that their stay in Portugal is extended.

Giannakopoulos, however, will not be the only absentee with Karagounis also sidelined, in his case through suspension after picking up his second yellow card of the competition.

But spirits could hardly be higher in the Greek camp, and there is now a level of expectancy both here and back at home that they can upset the applecart further.

“There is harmony in the camp and that served us well in our qualifying campaign,” said Giannakopoulos. “I am very excited about what lies ahead.”

Themistoklis Nikolaidis and Vassilios Tsiartas could get their chance in place of Giannakopoulos and Karagounis, although experienced Leicester defender Nikos Dabizas may have to wait for a return to action despite shaking off a back injury.