Renhagel revels in underdog tag
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel moved to increase the pressure on hosts Portugal ahead of the Euro 2004 final by revelling in his team’s status as underdogs.
Rehhagel steered clear of any bold vows to repeat Greece’s opening game victory against Portugal when they face the hosts again tomorrow night.
Instead, he declared: “Portugal are the favourites and are a great team. Perhaps they under-estimated us in the first match so they were surprised. Now they will be more careful.
“We will also have to contend with 50,000 Portuguese fans inside the stadium but we will do our very best.
“I can promise the Greek nation that the players will play with passion and motivation. We have nothing to lose.”
Greece’s success against Portugal in Porto on June 12 was their first victory in a major tournament in the country’s history.
Indeed, having entered the competition as 80-1 outsiders, perhaps only Denmark’s victory in 1992 would rank as a similar shock if the Greeks were to prevail tomorrow in Lisbon.
Rehhagel played down any comparisons with Denmark’s success, insisting that “these are new players, with different characters, in a different team”.
However, he bristled at suggestions that Greece may again adopt defensive tactics to try to stifle Portugal’s attacking threats.
In their semi-final victory against the Czech Republic, Greece frustrated the tournament’s in-form team, with Milan Baros being man-marked, before finally rousing themselves in extra-time.
Those safety-first tactics of containment were certainly effective, but they have raised fears that tomorrow’s final may not be a showpiece occasion of attacking football.
Rehhagel insisted: “Against Portugal, our penalty was won by a defender. What does that say about our team?
“We prepare for everything, we just try to find a way to confront the opposition.”
With midfielder Georgios Karagounis suspended after being booked against the Czechs, Bolton’s Stelios Giannakopoulos or Vassilios Tsiartas of AEK Athens appear set to replace him.
Greece have also had one day less in which to recover from being taken to extra-time in their semi-final.
It is certainly an uphill task for them, with Portugal also having grown in self-belief and resolve since their opening defeat.
Rehhagel cannot, however, be entirely discounted. He may be something of an eccentric, a maverick even, but taking Greece this far is already a considerable achievement.
“We are extremely glad to have made it to the final. These kind of moments do not come along very often in your career, so you have to enjoy them when they do,” he concluded.
“I was hired to create a better team. I have watched all the Greek players around Europe, all the Champions League games involving Greek teams and I have found the right men at the right time.”
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