Greece

4 Jun, 2010 Christian Internationals, Latest, World Cup

Appearances at World Cup finals: 1 (1994)

Best ever performance: Simply being there at USA 1994 was as good as it has gotten for Greece, making this upcoming 2010 a special occasion for it’s rarity.

Famous Moment in World Cup History: Nothing to write home about, but the moment in Greek football history was the Euro 2004 Final in which Greece beat Portugal on their home ground.

The Lowdown: Greece are managed by German Otto Rehhagel. Otto brought organisation and structure to the Greek national team when he joined in 2001. Normally an attacking coach, he adopted a very defensive and solid approach with Greece, which was a big part of the Euro 2004 victory. However, Otto has come under heavy criticism in recent times, often being called senile by Greek fans. For Otto, a good performance at the World Cup 2010 might restore some of his lost reputation.

The formation will either be 3-5-2 (more like 5-3-2) or 4-3-3. It all depends on whether Otto wants to try and make use of the more attacking players that Greece have now. In this formation, emphasis would be on keeping the score at 0-0 until Greece can break on the counter and try and score a goal. On the other hand, if Otto was to go for a surprise and play more attacking football, a 4-3-3 would make excellent use of speedy forwards like Dimitris Salpigidis or excellent playmakers like Sotiris Ninis. As mentioned before though, emphasis will be on counter attacks and through balls being fed to Fanis Gekas or Salpigidis by Giorgos Karagounis or Ninis.

Greek fans are happy to be in the World Cup, but there is certainly an expectation of making it out of the group. Most fans would settle for a good showing, but the fans won’t be completely satisfied unless Greece makes it out of the group. This will be hard, as South Korea, Nigeria and especially Argentina are not easy opponents. Most will pinpoint the first game against South Korea, as Greece’s must win game.

Qualification: Greece finished 2^nd in their group, but most of the fans blamed Otto for not finishing first. Questionable formations and squad selections hurt Greece, and they were forced to play Ukraine for World Cup qualifying through a playoff. Greece did the job against the Ukrainians though, as Salpigidis slotted away the winning goal sending the Greeks to the World Cup 1-0 on aggregate.

Top Scorer in Qualifying: Theofanis Gekas, 10 (Top scorer in UEFA)

All-Time leading World Cup scorer: N/A – Greece are yet to score at a World Cup finals.

Key Player: Sotirios Kyrgiakos. Maybe not the star player, but Greece need to keep the defence solid to have a chance, and the towering figure of Kyrgiakos will be responsible for this. His performances this season at Liverpool give every indication that he will do just that.

One to Watch: Sotiris Ninis. Absolutely amazing ability on the ball. If Otto is clever enough to start him, Ninis has the ability to single handedly win games.

One the Move: Ninis again, Real Madrid and especially Manchester United have been following the youngster, and Sir Alex Ferguson will likely be keeping an eye on the Greek star.