Greek chief praises Bruckner

Greece coach Otto Rehhagel revealed he is a big fan of Czech Republic counterpart Karel Bruckner as his side prepares to tackle the new tournament favourites in tonight’s semi-final at the Estadio do Dragao.

Rehhagel and Bruckner have both enhanced their credentials during Euro 2004 but while Bruckner has been relatively unknown outside the Czech Republic and his native Slovakia, Rehhagel has long been one of the high achievers of European football, winning Bundesliga titles with Werder Bremen and Kaiserslautern.

Rehhagel said: “I think he (Bruckner) is a great coach – but the same goes for all the 16 coaches who have brought teams here.

“I especially like Mr (Portugal coach Luiz Felipe) Scolari who welcomed us at the draw and offered to give us any help we needed.”

But Rehhagel is not letting his admiration for Bruckner deflect him from his aim of leading Greece to a place in the Euro 2004 final on Sunday.

“The important thing is that we are all fit tomorrow to be able to kick out the Czech Republic,” said Rehhagel, who has been offered Greek citizenship in recognition of his achievements with a team that had never previously won a match in a major international tournament.

During yesterday’s press conference at the Estadio do Dragao, Rehhagel became involved in a heated exchange of words with one journalist who accused him of taking the limelight away from his players.

“Who said that?” asked the German angrily. “Tell me who has said that. This is absolutely unbelievable.”

He also side-stepped questions about the precarious financial state of AEK Athens, saying: “I deal only with matters I can influence, I only deal with the national team.”

Rehhagel kept his cards close to his chest when asked what kind of tactics he would adopt against the Czechs, who are the only team to have won all four games they have played since the tournament kicked off on June 12.

“I will never say how we will deal with the situation – that is the same for all sports, even for tennis,” he said.

He is expected to recall striker Zissis Vryzas who was suspended for the quarter-final victory over outgoing European champions France.

Vryzas should join the goalscorer in that match, Angelos Charisteas, who played as a lone striker against the French.

Demis Nikolaidis is expected to be left out of the team that beat the French - the Atletico Madrid man is a striker at club level but played as an attacking midfielder at the Estadio Jose Alvalade.

Another dilemma for Rehhagel is whether to bring the fit-again Stelios Giannakopoulos into his starting line-up.

If the German does decide to switch around his midfield the most likely player to step down is Kostas Katsouranis.

Giorgos Karagounis, who scored the opening goal of the tournament against Portugal at the Dragao, is fit after injuring his left foot against the French.

However, like skipper Theo Zagorakis he is walking a disciplinary tightrope in the knowledge that a yellow card from Italian referee Pierluigi Collina would rule him out of the final should the Greeks get there.

Whatever happens now the Greeks have had a fantastic tournament and have put the nation on the footballing map at long last.

Their last appearance on the big stage – the 1994 World Cup – was a disaster and before this year they had never won a match in a final phase of a major tournament.

Rehhagel said: “I am very glad we have been able to do this. The most important thing is that we are in the semi-finals and that is very important for Greek football and also very important for young people in Greece.”