Euro 2004

[forre]

Maybe, but they prooved that they are strong enough to beat Czechs, so it's enough.

[crni]

Originally Posted by forre

so it's enough

my point exactly! it enough to have luck (along with the minimum necessary knowledge and will) to accomplish anything.

i rest my case now.

[forre]

Originally Posted by crni

my point exactly! it enough to have luck (along with the minimum necessary knowledge and will) to accomplish anything.

It's enough to be in a good form and a good spirit with some luck to beat Czechs. That was my point. Only luck is not enough. The form and spirit is a clear case while luck we can only speculate about. We have a fact too - Greece is in the final.

[transcend]

Spyretto must be thrilled....Who would have thought it? Maybe they'll go all the way.

[spyretto]

I just heard Peter Schmuck ( sorry I mean Schmeichel ) saying that "it's great now, cause Portugal will have the easiest final ever" ) I say, maybe

Just hoping Peter bets a lot of money on that game. Please bet all your money on Portugal! The more the better

That's it, forre! It's the spirit, the Greek spirit, ouzo, retsina and the like.

Seriously, those guys worked as a team for three years. Spirit and passion are important - they say Greek passion and pride is something special - and so it is hard work, You then need a person who can put all that together and have sharp thinking from the bench. That's what was missing from the Greek national side

Otto Rehhagel knows to recite the Greek national anthem by heart; that goes to show how he loves our nation, he's given his heart and soul for three years. He's worked with the same guys for three years and they're like a family. Greek footballers used to regard playing for the national team as a chore, now it's pure joy.


Lucky breaks are important too but every team has those. We don't have Brazilian or French abilites and of course we would be dominated by the better teams. It doesn't really matter. Denmark dominated the Czechs for half a game and they made them look like fools in the end.

Greece, the modern nation as we know it is less than a hundred years old. The legacy it carries goes back a long way. I just hope that this achievement can help us see we can get it together as a nation. We have a lot of problems and a lot of vices as a nation but the Greek national side has shown that anything is possible if we're united and work together.
Hope that will be a lesson for the generations to come.

(It's a bit like Tatu, you know, the girls were always talented but they needed Shapovalov with his masterplan to put it all together. Our Shapovalov is king Otto )

[spyretto]

Originally Posted by forre

It's enough to be in a good form and a good spirit with some luck to beat Czechs. That was my point. Only luck is not enough. The form and spirit is a clear case while luck we can only speculate about. We have a fact too - Greece is in the final.

So forre, why do you think Greece succeeded where the others failed? What was the special ingredient?

[spyretto]

Conspiracy theories, I can give you some possible explanations:

1) It was God. God wanted Greece to be in the finals.
2) It's the bookies. They fixed all the games with Greece's opponents so that Greece would reach the finals and then split the winning money between themselves. The only team that was playing for real was Greece
3) It was that baldie, Collina. His last ever game and he wanted Greece to win. He has gone soft.
4) It was me I was doing voodoo on all the opponents.
5) It was you, because you keep on saying it's a shame that Greece has made it through. Please go on like that and more shocks are at hand.
6) It was Bin Laden
7) It was Zeus
8) It was the other "olympians", the Olympic comitee. They wanted the coming Olympics to be successful.
9) It was the wind. It took the ball away from the Greek goalposts everytime the Czechs were striking for goal.
10) I know it's not funny so I'll stop

Who cares if Greece is in the final anyway. It's just a stupid game.
Portugal wins it, cause they're the host nation, Greece runners up so that the bookies get all your money. It doesn't take a genius to figure it out.

[transcend]

7) It was Zeus.

Who's full of it now then, spyretto? Well done though. I'm not buying your last comments either. Greece can win against Portugal in the final (they've already beaten them once, after all) and you know it as well as I do. You will live the wonderful/ terrible experience that I went through yesterday afternoon with Mauresmo of wanting somebody to win so much you're quivering with tension and even though you're loving the match (because this is what sport is all about) you just can't wait for it to end.

I will watch the Euro 2004 final with interest but no passion because I'm 100% neutral in this one - I just hope it's an exciting match.

[Unplugged]

Originally Posted by spyretto

Portugal wins it, cause they're the host nation

No comment, it's not even worth it.

Originally Posted by transcend

Who's full of it now then, spyretto?

Amen.

[teeny]

going to watch the final for sure.
I'm hoping for Portugal.. good looking player reason + I haven't seen Greece in action yet
Best luck to both teams though

[forre]

Originally Posted by spyretto

So forre, why do you think Greece succeeded where the others failed? What was the special ingredient?

From my absolutely unprofessional and not even knowing anything about football point of view, Greece chose a defensive tactic - flawless defence, I mean. To some extend, of course. And then to attack when the opportunities come and use the opponents mistakes. That was my impression.

[TaTu^HeRo]

:: amino sneeks into the thread:: Greece Greeeeeceee hip hip horaaaaayyy

[transcend]

Originally Posted by forre

From my absolutely unprofessional and not even knowing anything about football point of view, Greece chose a defensive tactic - flawless defence, I mean. To some extend, of course. And then to attack when the opportunities come and use the opponents mistakes. That was my impression.

It's called counter-attacking. (Don't you just love native English speaking, sport loving know-alls?
What do you mean - no? )

[forre]

Originally Posted by transcend

It's called counter-attacking. (Don't you just love native English speaking, sport loving know-alls?
What do you mean - no? )

Not enough. Counter-attacking was used by all teams but Greece made it that far and English native speakers had to go home. I gave my answer to spy with less generalisation.

[freddie]

OK so my money is on Portugal... not cause I think Greeks aren't capable of beating them (as they clearly showed in game 1), but cause Scolari just has that winning mentality that only certain lucky individulals have. And Figo played a better match in the last game then he did in the whole seasson with Real. As long as Nuno Gomes starts the game instead of Pauletta, they're bond for success. However I don't think that even they are fooling themselves now that they'll have it easy. Greece is not an outsider anymore. Not in this championship. They became a serious contender right after they beat them in game 1. And after that game with France I don't think anyone is underestimating them anymore. It just so happens that this current team is one of the best (and best prepared) in Europe. This is what the current conditions show. It doesn't matter if England, Spain, France, Germany or Italy have more tradition and prestige in the sport. That's all trivial. The way that it stands at this moment.. June/July 2004 Greece is one of the best teams in Europe. That's all there is to it. And tomorrow you can bet that we'll see a top match of two top European teams. For me there are no underdogs. I think Portugal will win simply cause of Scolari's genious, not cause they're actualy any better as a team. They have better individuals for sure (and more expensive ones as well), but football is a sport of collective spirit and this is where the Greeks excel. I can tell you this much... Ricardo won't be bored at all tomorrow.

[spyretto]

My money is on Portugal too, to win it in 90 minutes. I think ever since the expansion of betting, football is like a big stage play. This is the first time that Greece will be "favourites" as far the bets are concerned. That's my cynical view, and lets be honest: Lots of people are very annoyed that Greece went as far. Though essentially they didn't play as defensively as, say, England played against the better teams.

Why people dislike us so much, I never got to understand. Even the name itself, "Greek" is a derogatory to what the Turks used to call us during the Ottoman rule. It remained ever since...

Not that I really care, as everybody pretty much hates everybody else. What's happening in the world right now goes to prove just that.

Anyway...

The whole world will be against them this time. The crowd will be hostile, the referie will be against them, ( I'm absolutely certain about that ) and - most importantly - the bookies will be against them. If Greece pulls this one, it'll be nothing short of a miracle. It'll have to be the bravest performance ever - and against all the odds.

Miracles still happen though

PS. Because people think that I'm too biased about Greece - while obviously I'm not - I'll give you my prediction for tomorrow's game: Portugal 3 - Greece 0. There won't even be a decent fight, freddie.

I'm also gonna bet 100 pounds on Portugal In case that Greece shows any resistance the referie will just kill it off. But I think it'll be a walk in the park for Portugal. They will be very motivated for this game. Maybe not as much as the Greeks are, but they're a much better team, so...

[freddie]

God spyretto, you're a cynic to the end.

Seriously... I don't think people dislike The Greeks or the Greek team... well OK, maybe they dislike the greaks. . ... (joking . I think that many people are quite happy they broke the monotomy of big teams ruling the international sceene and can be quite the inspiration now for the smaller teams like us. Many smaller national teams will use you as a referance now for how to succed when you're not exactly a football super-power. At least that's how the reactions are that I've heard them... everybody's wondering if they'll repeat the Denmark miracke of 1992 agaist Germany.

[teeny]

Originally Posted by freddie

everybody's wondering if they'll repeat the Denmark miracke of 1992 agaist Germany

Hey that wasn't a miracle.. that was well played soccer Ok perhaps we were a tiny bit lucky that year.

[Unplugged]

Originally Posted by spyretto

the referie will be against them, ( I'm absolutely certain about that )

The referee is friends with Greek's german coach. This was confirmed by both during press conferences. Of course the referee said there is no pressure because of that... there better NOT be

Speaking of the Greeks ... Me, I never liked them or disliked them, and now I just think they're funny. Since their interviews on TV can be the funniest ever in what concerns generic football fans in this Euro 2004! Examples? More than 20 Greeks screaming "Portugal is going home!" Helloooo, we ARE already home! More? "-Who will win?" "Greece! Because the Gods are with us", "Greece doesn't have many good players, but they have a big heart, so we will win!", "We'll win because we're Greeks!", ... and so on and so forth And let me say that when I saw this on TV I got a feeling of "My Big Fat Greek Marriage" - Football version Even that funny accent they have is there, incredible! It was so funny I wouldn't be surprised if some guy said "You know Greeks invented football? We invented everything! So we will win!"
Anyway, I assume those were just stereotypes. As that black girl from Scary Movie says "Whaaaa! TV only choses the stupidest people to interview. If they want some information, they're gonna look for the dumbest, most average looking person they can find!"

[transcend]

Originally Posted by spyretto

My money is on Portugal too, to win it in 90 minutes. I think ever since the expansion of betting, football is like a big stage play. This is the first time that Greece will be "favourites" as far the bets are concerned. That's my cynical view, and lets be honest: Lots of people are very annoyed that Greece went as far.

Anyway...

The whole world will be against them this time. The crowd will be hostile, the referie will be against them, ( I'm absolutely certain about that ) and - most importantly - the bookies will be against them. If Greece pulls this one, it'll be nothing short of a miracle. It'll have to be the bravest performance ever - and against all the odds.



PS. Because people think that I'm too biased about Greece - while obviously I'm not - I'll give you my prediction for tomorrow's game: Portugal 3 - Greece 0. There won't even be a decent fight, freddie.

I'm also gonna bet 100 pounds on Portugal In case that Greece shows any resistance the referie will just kill it off. But I think it'll be a walk in the park for Portugal. They will be very motivated for this game. Maybe not as much as the Greeks are, but they're a much better team, so...

You're still full of it, spyretto. Admit it man, you want Greece to win so badly you'll throw away 100 pounds of your money as a kind of sacrifice...in fact (I'll say it again) I'm enjoying this so much after my own nervous-tension nightmare with Mauresmo on Friday. You'll be like a nervous wreck tonight, spyretto...sweat dripping from your brow, screaming at the television...yes, you will. I will remain honourably neutral - I'll be glad to see either team win: like Freddie said, it's nice to see a bit of a change.

Go Greece!
Go Portugal!
Allez Amelie!