European Football Cup 2008’s Weblog

Greece are gearing up for a last hurrah against Spain in Wednesday’s Group D finale, with Fanis Gekas saying: “We want to go home with our heads held high.”

‘Celebration of football’
A 2-0 defeat against Sweden and a 1-0 loss against Russia ended the reigning champions title defence, but they are determined to finish with a flourish against section leaders Spain at the Stadion Salzburg Wals-Siezenheim. “We haven’t performed well but we want to go home with our heads held high,” said Gekas who will miss the match because of a fractured cheekbone sustained in the defeat against Russia. “UEFA EURO 2008™ is over for us after the match against Spain, but I assure you we were glad to be participating in this celebration of football. I wish we had something more to show for it.” Nikos Liberopoulos agreed. “I hope we can perform well and finish on a high note,” he said.

‘We weren’t lucky’
Giannis Amatanidis expects a much-changed Spain from the side that trounced Russia 4-1 and then scraped a 2-1 win against Sweden. “Spain will field a different line-up, with many fringe players starting,” he said. “However they are a high quality team and we will need to be at our best to defeat them.” Reflecting on the tournament, he added: “In the match against Russia, we weren’t lucky. We played better than in our opening game and we deserved more. We were not satisfied with our performance. After the match against Sweden we had a conversation in the dressing room and changed our outlook in the next game. This is a top tournament and every team can beat you on any given day.”

Next generation
Some senior players are looking no further ahead than Wednesday’s game, but 26-year-old Liberopoulos was taking a long view. “The national team doesn’t belong just to the 23 people who are here, but to everybody and especially to the younger guys, our successors in the future. The main goal of this team should be to qualify for the finals of every major tournament.” Midfielder Alexandros Tziolis, 23, added: “Joy and sadness should be overcome quickly so we can move on. What we need now is to show our worth on the pitch, even if we are out. I am really glad to be part of this team. It was a great experience for me.”