Greeks salute Euro heroes

Hundreds of thousands of people turned out to give new European champions Greece a heroes’ reception on their return to Athens today.

Greece won Euro 2004 after a surprise 1-0 win over Portugal in the final in Lisbon last night.

The crowded streets became a sea of blue and white as the victorious squad made their way from the airport to the Panathenian stadium where another 100,000-plus more people were waiting to greet them.

Greece has become used to street parties over the last three weeks with the team continuing to progress through the tournament.

But they were nothing compared to today as flags were draped over buildings all over Athens and hundreds of fireworks were let off.

It is just the start of what could be a magnificent summer for Greek sport with the Olympic Games to follow next month.