Greece ready to erase EURO nightmares

The Greek National Team returns to action tomorrow night in Bratislava against Slovakia in an International Friendly. Thanks to miserable run at EURO 2008 by dropping all three games, Greece was eliminated in the group stage and never put up much of title defense. Now the Piratiko returns to action for the first time, and Otto Rehhagel’s men are keen to erase the nightmares from Austria and Switzerland.

The squad bolsters a new wave of talent, with many of Greece’s legends making way for the new generation of stars. The likes of Antonis Nikopolidis and Paraskevas Antzas submitted their international retirement shortly after EURO 2008. Unlike the recent retirees, Stelios Giannakopoulos has been omitted from the roster; likewise, Ioannis Goumas is also absent.

Its clear the focus is qualifying for the World Cup in South Africa and building a team for the future. The qualifying campaign — which starts next month — will be Greece’s experimental phase. Veterans on the national team will pave the way for the less experienced players, as the squad readies itself for a new a cycle.

Criticized for the fact he used the same squad (almost) from EURO 2004 for the most recent edition of the European Championships, the German tactician has responded ahead of Greece’s qualifying campaign kicks-off. In a group featuring Switzerland, Israel, Liechtenstein, Moldova and Latvia, Greece is favourite to emerge on top of the group — just like they did ahead of the EURO 2008 final tournament. With that being said, the task wont be easy nor will it if Greece reaches the promise land in two summers time. With an aging squad reaching the end of its prime, its time for Greece’s newest starlets to dawn the blue-and-white.

The new wave of talent features Panathinaikos starlet Sotiris Ninis in the midfield. The 18-year old has only one cap to his name – a friendly against Cyprus in May. Managing to crack the starting-11 for that game, the young midfielder also capitalized on an oppotunity to score in his international debut.

Former-AEK defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos. Now with Italian club Genoa, the 20-year old hopes to establish a spot on the National Team after just missing out on the EURO 2008 squad.

Avraam Papadopoulos will also look to crack a permanent spot on the squad, just months after moving from Aris Thessaloniki to Piraeus with the League Champions Olympiacos.

Greece (Otto Rehhagel):
Goalkeepers: Kostas Chalkias (PAOK), Alexandros Tzorvas (OFI Crete)

Defenders: Traianos Dellas (Anorthosis Famagusta), Sotiris Kyrgiakos (AEK), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiacos), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Genoa), Christos Patsatzoglou (Olympiacos), Giourkas Seitaridis (Atletico Madrid), Nikos Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos), Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiacos), Loukas Vyntra (Panathinaikos).

Midfielders: Angelos Basinas (AEK), Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos), Kostas Katsouranis (SL Benfica), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos), Alexandros Tziolis (Panathinaikos).

Forwards: Ioannis Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt), Angelos Charisteas (FC Nuremberg) Theofanis Gekas (Bayer Leverkusen), Nikos Liberopoulos (Eintracht Frankfurt), Dimitrios Salpingidis (Panathinaikos), Georgios Samaras (Celtic FC).