Greece Team for 2010 World Cup

Sometimes the coach of a team deserves generous dollops of credit for the success of the team he manages. This is indeed the case with the Greece national football team as they continue to trek on the peak of Success under the able and watchful guidance of their coach Otto Rehhagel.

Greece started off their plough to South Africa by registering convincing and notable wins against Luxembourg, Moldova and Latvia. They managed to score eight goals against the three mentioned teams and let nothing go past their defense and goalkeeper. This is only their second appearance in the FIFA World Cup finals. Post their impressive start the team lost to Switzerland, but hit back hard with two home and away wins against Israel. This exhilarating accomplishment was again overshadowed by a humiliating 0-2 loss against Switzerland. The Greeks then went on to draw their match against Moldova, a draw that saw Switzerland in the driver’s seat. However, a well earned victory against Latvia did wonders for the campaign of the Greeks and a victory against Luxembourg in their last qualifying match saw them home. “The players have been rewarded for their incredible passion and competitive spirit. We said that before achieving success you need to have the Gods on your side,” said Otto Rehhagel. A well carved out statement indeed.

The Greeks will look to thrive on the performances of star defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos and former Inter Milan and Benfica midfielder Karagounis. Sotirios Kyrgiakos is a Greek legend who has ‘put in’ the most number of qualifying minutes in the Greek squad; a lot will be expected from him. Greece will also look to avenge their debacle at USA 1994, where there campaign was crushed by a rampaging Argentina (4-0), Bulgaria and Nigeria. Their degrading loss at the group stages matches in their first ever FIFA World Cup will look to be amended. The Greeks are raring to have a go at their competition, but their success will depend on the heroism they exhibit at South Africa; that is beyond doubt indeed.

The Pre-World Cup list of players for Greece is given below.