Euro 2012 Team Guide: Greece

Road to Euro 2012

The winners of this competition in 2004 are continually written off by people, and yet always seem to find a way to play well in qualifying tournaments. They thoroughly deserved to win their group, and the fact that they took four points off a Croatia side that one or two people fancy to go well shows that they mean business. It was, not entirely surprisingly, Greece's defensive strength which saw them through, and conceding only five goals in ten qualifying games gives you a good idea of the way that they approach games under Fernando Santos. He might be a different sort of character to his predecessor Otto Rehhhagel, but his style of football is similar, and that suits this squad. Greece's games averaged 1.9 goals during qualifying, and only three of their ten games featured over 2.5 goals. As I've already referred to in the preview of Russia, that match on the 16th June in Warsaw looks certain to see the "unders" punted off the boards.

The Manager

If he'd quit when he should have done then Otto Rehhagel would have been a hard act to follow, but Greece had become so tired under his post Euro 2004 management that Fernando Santos was able to take the job at a good time: and he has dealt with his task well. Greece have lost only once under his management, but the eight draws in those 19 games show the extent to which Greece under Santos isn't too dissimlilar to the Rehhagel version. Do the basics right, take no risks and then success will come. He has bags of experience, after being in charge of Porto, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica, and he knows exactly what his team needs to do to get past the group stage. He has experience of overachieving with smaller teams, having taken Estoril from the third tier of Portuguese football all the way to the top flight. He'll need all of that motivational nous here.

The Star

Sotiris Ninis didn't play a single game in qualifying because of injury, and has been short of action since, but his freshness could make him Greece's key man at Euro 2012. Ninis has attracted the attention of a number of Italian clubs, and has joined Parma for next season, as they look to deal with the near inevitable departure of Sebastian Giovinco. Ninis was born in Albania to Greek parents and became Greece's youngest ever goalscorer when he got a goal five minutes into his international debut against Cyprus. Injury means that his upward trajectory hasn't continued at the pace he would have liked, but make no bones about it, he is a serious talent. He needs to improve his goalscoring ratio, having only managed 10 in 88 for Panathanaikos and 2 in his 19 caps, but he'll be fresh for Euro 2012 and could make an impact.

The Rock

Twenty three-year-old Sokratis already plays at centre half with the rugged disposition of an older man. He and Avraam Papadopoulos look set to anchor the heart of the Greek defence, and that will be at the root of their challenge. Sokratis has had a terrific season on loan from Genoa for an inconsistent Werder Bremen side, and he will flourish in a more defensive minded set up. He made two appearances in the Group stages of the 2010 World Cup and that experience will serve him well: in my opinion, he's a better player than the Greek centre halves who have flourished in recent years. He's an interesting player to watch in the bookings markets. Greece are an ill disciplined side who picked up more cards than any of the 16 finalists in qualifying, and Sokratis was booked 13 times in his 31 appearances for Bremen last year, and sent off in the home qualifying win over Malta.

The Youngster

Giannis Fetfatzidis is a good example of a player who divides opinion: his coach at Olympiakos struggles to find a regular spot for the 21 year old, but Santos likes him and has made him a regular in the national squad. I don't think that he'll start too many games, but he's definitely capable of making an impact from the bench. He has that rare quality in the Greek squad of being able to beat a player, create a chance, and he scored twice in his seven qualifying appearances. He has already won two league titles and a Cup with Olympiakos, and the fact that he scored in his last two appearances of the season shows that he comes into Euro 2012 in decent form.

The Bet

Another Greek European Championship win is of course highly unlikely, but the interesting thing about their challenge here is that their draw gives them a chance. Greece showed good qualifying form, always show strength in adversity, and have every chance of a quarter final place. I think that people write them off because they perceive them as dull. They are, but plenty of dull teams have qualified from European Championship Groups which are far tougher than this, and Greece won Euro 2004 playing in that way. The eagerness to oppose them baffles me. Their luck is likely to run out, because however Groups A and B turn out in terms of final placings, Greece will almost certainly have to face Germany, the Netherlands or Portugal. I'd give them a chance against Portugal, but it's hard to make a case otherwise, and so I feel that their journey will end at the quarter final stage. They're 2.89/5 to qualify, and that's the bet.