Fighting for a Place: Greece’s finest jostle for roster spots

Out of all the positions on Greece’s National Team, the most secured falls in Greece’s last line of defence: goaltending. The defending champions will have EURO 2004 and Olympiacos CFP hero Antonis Nikopolidis, and Aris FC’s Kostas Chalkias are ’sure’ candidates for a EURO 2008 spot . That leaves one spot for another goalkeeper, which is wide open. One spot to fill, with many options for Otto Rehagel to choose from.

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.