SPORTS UPDATE: Euro Cup 2012: Know the participating Team, Team Profile: Greece

Jun 6, 2012

Euro Cup 2012: Know the participating Team, Team Profile: Greece

There is less than 48 hours for the beginning of the world’s one of the most exciting sporting event Euro 2012.Here we are providing the details about participating team of the tournaments.

Greece one of the dark hose of the tournament is playing under the guidance of the Portuguese coach Fernando Santos. Fernando Santos side have been selected in the tournament from relatively weaker qualifying group for Euro 2012 as Greece recovered from a disappointing 1-1 draw at home against Georgia in its opening game to remain unbeaten throughout the campaign and pip Croatia to top spot.

Having qualified for the European Championships just once prior to Euro 2004, Greece, who had already caused a major upset against France in the quarterfinal, stunned the world of football by beating host nation Portugal 1-0 in the final in Lisbon to pull off one of the biggest shocks in the history of the competition.

The success of 2004 remains the only time Greece has managed to progress past the group stage, though, with 2008’s campaign in Austria and Switzerland particularly forgettable. Otto Rehhagel’s men scored just one goal and failed to even pick up a point, losing to Sweden, Russia and Spain.

Coach: Fernando Santos

Despite being handed the tough task of replacing Euro 2004-winning boss Rehhagel after the German’s resignation at the end of the 2010 World Cup, Santos has enjoyed an impressive start to life in international football, remaining unbeaten in his first 17 matches in charge before a 3-1 friendly defeat to

Romania

.

Unlike predecessor Rehhagel, the experienced Portuguese, who dramatically transformed the fortunes of Greek club PAOK before taking the national team job, has shown he is not afraid to call upon younger players, even handing a debut to 17-year-old Panathinaikos goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino.

Captain :Giorgos Karagounis

he veteran midfielder - who has fond memories of the European Championships, scoring the opening goal of the tournament against Portugal in 2004 - will be one of the first names on the team sheet for Greece at Euro 2012, having featured in every one of his side’s matches in qualifying.

While regulars of the national team down the years have been unable to hold down their places since Rehhagel’s departure, such as Angelos Charisteas who did not make the Euro 2012 squad, Greece’s second-highest capped player remains a key figure under Santos, who he played for previously at Panathinaikos and Benfica.

Player to Watch for

Vasilis Torosidis has attracted the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs since establishing himself as a regular for both Olympiakos and Greece, with Roma, Liverpool and Bayern Munich all credited with an interest over the last few years.

Although a switch abroad is yet to come to fruition, the Olympiakos defender, who won the 2010 Greek Football Player of the Year award, has already made history for the national team, scoring the winning goal in his side’s 2-1 victory over Nigeria at the World Cup in South Africa - Greece’s first ever victory in the tournament.

How do they Qualify:

Greece's qualifiers
Result	Score	Opposition
D	1-1	Georgia (h)
D	0-0	Croatia (a)
W	1-0	Latvia (h)
W	2-1	Israel (h)
W	1-0	Malta (a)
W	3-1	Malta (h)
W	1-0	Israel (a)
D	1-1	Latvia (a)
W	2-0	Croatia (h)
W	2-1	Georgia (a)

Greece Jersy:

Greece Home and Away Jersy

Greece Squad for Euro 2012:
Goalkeepers: Costas Chalkias (PAOK), Michalis Sifakis (Aris), Alexandros Tzorvas (Palermo)

Defenders: Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiakos), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Werder Bremen), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiakos), Jose Holebas (Olympiakos), Stelios Malezas (PAOK), Giorgos Tzavelas (Monaco), Yiannis Maniatis (Olympiakos), Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Schalke)

Midfielders: Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Costas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos), Giorgos Fotakis (PAOK), Costas Fortounis (Kaiserslautern), Yiannis Fetfatzidis (Olympiakos), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Grigoris Makos (AEK Athens)

Forwards: Georgios Samaras (Celtic), Dimitris Salpigidis (PAOK), Costas Mitroglou (Atromitos), Nikos Lymberopoulos (AEK Athens), Fanis Gekas (Samsunspor)

Greece Latest Fixture and Result: