Yes, the manager of the Greek National Team is raw with his comments, and a recent featured article of FIFA.com exposed Rehhagel’s greatest, and most unique, moments behind the microphone. I’ll warn you now; some phrases are classics, while some will leave you scratching your head. I’m sure you all can tell the difference.

“Everyone’s free to say what I want.”
Rehhagel on his attitude to criticism

“Verbals haven’t won a game yet.”
Rehhagel on pre-match jibes issued by an opposing coach

“I told the lads: don’t be too afraid if Thierry Henry appears in your dreams at night.”
Rehhagel ahead of a quarter-final meeting with France at UEFA EURO 2004

“I want to know the aftershave used by every player in Europe.”
Rehhagel on getting his players to stick to their men

“Saving easy shots is easy. Saving difficult shots is always difficult.”
Rehhagel on goalkeeping

“Some you lose, and some are won by your opponents.”
Rehhagel after a bitter defeat

“If you finish first, you’re in the right. So I’m in the right. You can speak to me again when I finish fifth.”
Rehhagel to a reporter unconvinced by success

“We play our best football when there’s no opposition.”
Rehhagel asked how he would return a team to winning ways

“The truth is out there on the field.”
Rehhagel answering criticism of his defensive tactics

“Football is like maths, two plus two makes four. If you reckon two plus two makes five, you lose.”
Rehhagel attempting to explain football

“If I lose a couple of matches, the people who were throwing flowers at me suddenly throw the pots as well.”
Rehhagel asked what would happen if a losing streak continued

“In the past, they all did as they pleased. Now, they all do what they can.”
Rehhagel on the secret of his success with Greece

“I started thinking about the Swedes back in 1958, when Pele scored his first goal.”
Rehhagel on opening day opponents Sweden at UEFA EURO 2008

“I need players who are better with the ball than with a microphone.”
Rehhagel on media interest in his players

See the full article at fifa.com

Greece reached the finals last year, only to fall to La Furia Roja Jr. (aka Spain U-19) 1-0 — it was Spain’s second consecutive U-19 triumph. With that being said, Spain is definitely the team to beat; but for Greece, they’ll have to wait until the knockout stages to have a crack at the defending champions. For now the Greek focus will be on Group B, consisting of the hosts Czech Republic, England, and Italy. First up Italy, on Monday night. The Greeks are once again led by Panathinaikos starlet, Sotiris Ninis; the 18-year old was inspirational in the 2007 run to the finals , and look for him to be in the core for this tournament. Sokratis Papastathopoulos just missed out on making the senior squad for EURO 2008, but with his experience gained from his time at AEK he will definitely be a key figure in Greece’s defense for this tournament. Fellow AEK teammate, Michalis Pavlis, will partner up with Olympiacos’ Lefteris Matsoukas to form a tricky Greek attack. New Olympiacos signing, Giannis Papadopoulos will support Ninis in the midfield, while Kyriakos Papadopoulos will man the center of defense alongside. In goal, Dean Bouzanis of Liverpool FC, will need to give a solid performance. After injury problems plagued the starting goalie last year, Greek manager Alexi Alexiou will hope he can avoid injury problems this year.

Many of the players in this year’s lineup are a new wave of talent, but many faces from the 2007 campaign remain in the fold. The task will be tough, as the opponents will be new to the team. The Italians are expected to go far in this tournaments, while England prove to be a tough squad to play against. The Czech Republic are hosts, and we’ve all seen what home advantage can make teams do.

Greece’s first game is against Italy, followed by a tilt with the Czech Republic three days later. The last encounter comes against England, where it could potentially be a ‘win or go home’ kind of game. Last year’s tournament saw Greece involved in many intriguing encounters, here’s to hoping it’s more of the same this year.

1. Take a look back at the good times of EURO 2004

2. And to solve the “hater” issues arising in this blog’s comments.

EURO 2004 is with a doubt the most unexpected result of Greek footballing history, and for that there is the right to remember the matches of that tournament in Portugal. Surely those days cannot last forever as Spain are now European Champions, but the bashing of Greek soccer will not be tolerated. For fans who “hate” Greece, I ask you to please avoid posting or better yet avoid visiting this section of the World Cup Blog….we don’t need your dirty mouths.

If you don’t like our national team’sstyle of play, don’t watch nobody is forcing you. I am sure you could’ve watched many different games during Greece’s three EURO games. I would also like to add that comments will be monitored by me personally and will be deleted if not appropriate.

For the fans of Greece, I leave you all with a video helping us remember the summer of 2004…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDv75xF-FCI&eurl=http://sport24.gr/html/ent/533/ent.241533.asp

The game opened up with both sides exchanging rushes, which produces limited chances. An early yellow card was shown to Aggelos Charisteas, but eight minutes later he was able to find his way through the Swedish defenders; sadly his shot rolled into the arms of Isaksson. Moments later, Sweden’s Svensson sent a volley over the Greece goal. The limited chances continued to slowly pour in at either end.

The best chance of the half came when a cross was met by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a header was lobbed over Nikopolidis and eventually over the Greece net. At the there end, Angelos Basinas let a bouncing shot rip; but Isaksson pushed it aside. 0-0 at the half.

The second half started with Theofanis Gekas subbed out for Georgios Samaras. Despite the change, Greece made limited impact in the attacking zone; opting to play the cautious passing game in their own half. Georgios Karagounis has Greece’s best chance, after intercepting a Swedish pass; but his attempt at goal were blocked by the Swedish center backs. In Greece’s end, the Swedes were able to win a throw in; a sloppy defense was exposed, and a slick passing play allowed Ibrahimovic to capitalise. 1-0 for Sweden.

Moments later, Sweden was back at it again. Ljungberg was denied by a solid save by Nikopolidis, but the rebound made its way to Ibrahimovic who rocketed it up in the air. The ball bounced awkwardly in front of the goal, and a clutzy Petter Hansson slots the loose ball past Nikopolidis, with his knee.

The game ends 2-0, and a disappointing defeat for the Greek side. The defending champions will look to regroup against Russia — who lost 4-1 to Spain earlier in the day.

Squads:

Greece (5-4-1): Nikopolidis – Seitaridis, Kyrgiakos, Antzas, Dellas (Amanatidis 71‘), Torosidis – Charisteas, Basinas, Katsouranis, Karagounis – Gekas (Samaras 46′).

Subs not used: Chalkias, Tzorvas, Patsatzoglou, Spiropoulos, Vintra, Goumas, Giannakopoulos, Tziolis, Salpingidis, Liberopoulos.

Sweden (4-4-2): Issakson – Alexandersson (Stoor 74’), Mellberg, Hansson, Nilsson – Wilhelm son (Rosenberg 77’), Svensson, Ljungberg, Andersson – Ibrahimovic (Elmander 72’), Henrik Larsson.

Subs not used: Shabaan, Wiland, Majstorovic Granqvist, Dorsin, Linderoth, Kallstrom, Sebastian Larsson, Allback.

Scoring Summary:

Sweden 2:0 Greece

Ibrahimovic, 67’, Hansson, 71’

Cautions:

Greece: Charisteas, 1’, Seitaridis, 52’, Torosidis, 62’,

Sweden: none

Referee:

Massimo Busacca (Switzerland)

Greece returns to Europe’s biggest stage with more than defense this time. Their defensive core boasts more of an attacking flare with the likes of Vassilis Torosidis and Giourkas Seitairidis pushing up the wings. On set pieces, Traianos Dellas will look to repeat his glorious moment from EURO 2004, but his new partner in crime could rival that feat. Eintracht Frankfurt defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos will most likely partner up with Dellas, who will be two towers in the defense, and targets on set pieces.

Ahead of the defense will be Kostas Katsouranis, who is a versatile defensive midfielder. Accompanied in the midfield by Giorgos Karagounis, and Aggelos Basinas, it will be crucial to Greek success that these three players compliment each other with their play.

Up front, will be a new and improved attack. Greece’s golden boy, Aggelos Charisteas, will most likely return to the lineup, while breaout stars Theofanis Gekas and Ioannis Amanatidis. Gekas has excelled since transferring into the Bundeliga two years ago. Amanatidis has grown his game since arriving at Frankfurt. On the bench could be Greece’s saviour (if necessary) in Nikolaos Lyberopoulos. Scoring many clutch goals in qualifying — including two late game winners vs. Moldova in qualifying –  ‘Lybe’ could be the clutch striker to solve a tight defense the Greeks face.

Unlike many squads in this year’s European Championships, Greece are fortunate to not be battling any nagging injuries in their starting lineup. Greek fans held their breath last week as inspirational midfielder Giorgos Karagounis was forced out of Greece’s first few training session in Austria. Now, the man who missed the EURO 2004 final through suspension, is back and ready for Greece’s opener in Salzburg.

This will be the first competitive meeting between Greece and Sweden in any type of international final. For Sweden, Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of the tricky forwards to be aware of. While, veteran Henrik Larsson returns to add depth to the Swedish attack. The task of defending these two will be very difficult when factoring in Sweden’s supporting cast of Kim Kallstrom and Freddie Ljungberg. It is expected that Ibrahimovic will be marked by one of Greece’s defensive mid-fielders or fullbacks. The rest of the Swedish attack will be watched closely by the Greek back line.

Alongside Greece and Sweden, Group D features Spain and Russia — who meet in Innsbruck at 12pm EST. The task is a difficult one for Greece, but the Greek players insist they are taking each game in stride. “Who said anything about us being here to defend our title? The tournament hasn’t even started yet for us. First of all, it’s great to be here. We take one thing at a time. First match, then second match and so on,” said Greek striker Amanatidis.

Greeks fans will hope it is just a little slump the team is in, and will be back to top form when the defending champions set out to defend their title on June 10.

The squad has been named, but a few players have skipped practice due to cases of injuries and fatigue. Greek play-maker Giorgos Karagounis was absent from practice, thanks to inflammation of his left knee; instead the midfielder worked out in the team’s hotel gym.  Aggelos Charisteas and Vassilis Torosidis  limited their training to a light jog, after complaining about groin problems. While Alexandros Tziolis and Christos Patsatzolglou, also suffering from groin problems, were rested. All absentees are expected to be back and ready for training by the end of the week.

Greece squad
Goalkeepers: Antonios Nikopolidis (Olympiacos CFP), Konstantinos Chalkias (PAOK FC), Alexandros Tzorvas (OFI Crete FC).

Defenders: Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Eintracht Frankfurt), Giourkas Seitaridis (Club Atlético de Madrid), Traianos Dellas (AEK Athens FC), Loukas Vintra (Panathinaikos FC), Nikolaos Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos FC), Ioannis Goumas (Panathinaikos FC), Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiacos CFP), Christos Patsatzoglou (Olympiacos CFP), Paraskevas Antzas (Olympiacos CFP).

Midfielders: Angelos Basinas (RCD Mallorca), Stelios Giannakopoulos (No Club), Georgios Karagounis (Panathinaikos FC), Alexandros Tziolis (Panathinaikos FC), Konstantinos Katsouranis (SL Benfica).

Forwards: Dimitrios Salpingidis (Panathinaikos FC), Nikolaos Liberopoulos (AEK Athens FC), Theofanis Gekas (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Georgios Samaras (Celtic FC), Ioannis Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt), Angelos Charisteas (1. FC Nürnberg).

The game got off to a quick pace, with the Greeks taking the early initiative. Debutant, Sotiris Ninis, ran to a slick pass from Dimitris Salpigindis, and slotted the ball past a helpless Georgalidis. Greece continued to press and had plenty of other chances through Kostas Katsouranis who’s header hit the crossbar; Salpigindis himself hit the side netting; a pair of carobatic displays from Theofanis Gekas and Stelios Giannakopoulos — captain for tonight – sailed over the bar.

Cyprus had few chances in the first half, as the defensive pressure limited the like of Michalis Konstantinou and Yiasoumi from having their shot at goal. Their best chance came through a set piece, where a defensive header by Karagounis almost caught Kostas Chalkias off guard. Luckily, the Greek keeper was able to leap and push the ball over the bar.

The second half with Greece sporting many changes all over the pitch. Ninis was subbed off, along with the likes of Salpigindis. Cyprus made two changes as well; Augoustos replaced Georgalidis in goal, and Pavlou was subbed in for Charalambidis. Greece began with a few strides toward goal but their bad luck continued to deprive them of a second goal. A prime example came through two glorious chances for Gekas. First he stole the ball from the Cyprus defense, but couldn’t beat the keeper. Shortly after, Katsouranis’ long range cross found Gekas wide open, but the Leverkusen striker put his thunderous header over the bar. When Gekas scored a few moments later, the Scottish linesmen marked him as rightfully offside.

Finally, the breakthrough came on 53 minutes. Although it was questionable, the referee awarded Georgios Karagounis a penalty. Kostas Katsouranis stepped up and converted the penalty past a mistaken Augoustos.

With the score now 2-0, Greece coach Otto Rehagel began to experiment with new combinations of players. Ioannis Goumas replaced Traianos Dellas in the back line, while Giannakopoulos made way for youngster Lazaros Christodoulopoulos.

The changes led to the game to open up a bit more for the visiting Cypriots, who forced the best out of keeper Chalkias when Konstantinou broke free of the defense and had a long range shot on goal. Moments later Michail broke free of some tight marking, but his effort went wide of the post.

Greece looked to make it 3-0 on the night, but PAOK youngster Christodoulopoulos put his effort way over the bar. It was creative play starting from the wing and working its way to Gekas who cleverly set up the Greek prospect. It proved to be the last decent chance of the game, and the Greek fans at the Pampeloponnisiako Stadium in Patra went home happy.

Greece vs. Cyprus (All the Goals)

Stadium: Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, Patra, Greece

Referee: Douglas McDonald (Scotland)

Greece (Rehhagel): Chalkias, Dellas (Goumas 64′), Papastathopoulos, Spyropoulos, Vyntra (Melissis 71′), Ninis (Tziolis 46′), Karagounis (Makos 80′), Giannakopoulos (Christodoulopoulos 64′), Katsouranis, Salpingidis (Liberopoulos 46′), Gekas.

Cyprus (Anastasiadis): Georgalidis (Augoustos 46′), Okkaridis (Lamprou 63′), Christou, Elia, Nikolaou, Makridis (Christofi 72′), Michail, Charalampidis (Pavlou 46′), Garpozis, Konstantinou (Panagi 64′), Giasemi (Daskalakis 81′).

Yellow Cards: Okkaridis 25′ (Cyprus)

Red Cards: None

Greece’s next match comes this Saturday (May 24th) against Hungary in Budapest. It is expected that Greece will field a much stronger and more experienced contingent of players. There are only two matches for Greece ahead of their EURO 2008 opener vs. Sweden.

The scorer is none other then, the debutant Sotiris Ninis. His teammate at Panathinaikos, Dimitris Salpigindis, found him wide open on the wing, and the youngster took his chance as the ball bounce past the Cyprus keeper. Greece has had plenty of other chances through Kostas Katsouranis who’s header hit the crossbar; Salpigindis himself hit the side netting; a pair of arobatic displays from Theofanis Gekas and Stelios Giannakopoulos — captain for tonight — sailed over the bar.

At the other end, Greece goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias was tested once — by his own teammate, Georgios Karagounis. Chalkias leaped with his left hand, and pushed the ball over the crossbar.

The second half is about to start, I will recap the game and provide highlights after the remaining 45 minutes are complete.

ELLADARA…OMADARA!

Limited to only a handful of players, Rehagel’s squad includes many inexperienced players. Usual call ups, including Theofanis Gekas, Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Giourkas Seitairidis, and Aggelos Charisteas, were left out of the squad set to face the Cypriots in Patras, Greece. Additional absences include, Olympiacos quartet, Vassilis Torosidis, Antonis Nikopolidis, Paraskevas Antzas, and Christos Patsazoglou, whome will be active in the Greek Cup Final this Saturday. Aris has reached the finals as well but it is uncertain if Kostas Chalkias will get the start for the Thessaloniki club; no matter the case he is expected to be in Patras on Monday. The squad chosen is rather youthful compared to its usual core, but it fields many of Greece’s rising stars with many who have reached that success on this level already.

Goalkeepers: Konstantinos Chalkias (Aris Thessaloniki FC), Alexandros Tzorvas (OFI Crete FC).

Defenders: Nikolaos Spyropoulos (Panathinaikos FC), Loukas Vintra (Panathinaikos FC), Traianos Dellas (AEK Athens FC), Ioannis Goumas (Panathinaikos FC), Christos Melissis (PAOK FC), Socratis Papastathopoulos (AEK Athens FC).

Midfielders: Georgios Karagounis (Panathinaikos FC), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Bolton Wanderers FC), Alexandros Tziolis (Panathinaikos FC), Konstantinos Katsouranis (SL Benfica), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos FC), Grigorios Makos (Panionios GSS).

Forwards: Dimitrios Salpingidis (Panathinaikos FC), Nikolaos Lyberopoulos (AEK Athens FC), Lazaros Christodoulopoulos (PAOK FC).

Lets start off with the expected starter, Nikopolidis. The Olympiacos keeper has had a remarkable season with the Greek Champions. Strong performances in all of Greece’s domestic competitions, and Europe’s most prestigious tournament, has helped the man known as ‘Clooney’ prove he still has the magic. He featured in all but one Super League matches, backstopping the ‘Eruthroleuki’ to 21 wins and 12 clean sheets. In the Champions League, Nikopolidis continued his solid form. He featured in all of the clubs Champions League fixtures, and helped guide Olympiacos to a couple impressive road wins, and a much awaited progression from the group stages. His hard work earned him Man of the Match in many of Olympiacos’ close fixtures in the Champions League. Furthermore, he kept clean sheets in Greece against Real Madrid, Werder Bremen, and current Champions League semi-finalists Chelsea. In the Greek Cup he handed over the reigns to his back up in Piraeus, Michalis Sifakis (who could be a potential 3rd keeper candidate).

In Thessaloniki, Kostas Chalkias had a strong start to the Super League season, but faltered a few times along the way. He played in 22 of a possible 30 league matches; earning 12 clean sheets along the way. However his strong start was marred by a 3-0 thrashing against PAOK at Toumpa. Good news is on the way for Chalkias who will look to challenge for the top job between the posts. Aris finished the season in fourth spot, allowing the club to qualify for the playoffs and a chance of qualifying for a chance to pay in the 2nd qualifying round in the Champions League next season. Chalkias will have to be at this best as key dates against angered AEK, Panathinaikos, and a tricky Panionios side loom in the near future.

 Finally who will be the third man? There are many eligible candidates for the job which will be more for experience than a potential start. Olympiacos’ Michalis Sifakis is a proven keeper, having spent time in Greece’s youth system. Asteras Tripolis Giorgos Abaris was one of the best this year, helping the Peloponesian shock the Greek Football world with their top half finish. Atromitos FC’s Chrisostomos Michailidis could crack the squad but his chances could be nipped by his clubs bottom 3 finish and relegation to the Greek 2nd Division. Alexandros Tzorvas got a call up for Greece’s friendly with Portugal last month, but wasn’t able to hit the pitch due to the intensity of the match. A leading man for the spot works for AE Larissa, Stefanos Kotsolis could be King Otto’s third choice.

Nonetheless, the goalkeeping trio will have 2/3rds of its state which triumphed in 2004. The only one missing is recent Iraklis FC keeper Theofanis Katergiannakis (Greek fans are probably asking wtf happened to him?….long story, lol). Many players were rumoured to feature on the National team, even lottery winner Kleopas Giannou…yah right. With a handful of keepers not degraded by big clubs (yet), the future looks bright for Greek football.