How did Greece win EURO 2004?

VorZakone

What would Kenny G do?
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Even if playing defensively, we saw yesterday with Slovakia and Georgia that if better teams keep the pressure on, a defensive team can eventually collapse.

How did Greece do it game after game? Were they perhaps a better side than given credit for?
 
it’s the one and only international tournament southgate watched, so he thinks that’s the only way you can win one.
 
How did Austria win Euro 2024?
 
They were all on asthma medication ;)
Players simply out ran everyone else and rode their luck. Was an incredible achievement.
 
There was something in the water that season.

Porto CL winners, Arsenal unbeaten winners in the Premier League, Valencia La Liga winners, Werder Bremen Bundesliga winners.
 
Blame Portugal for their abject lack of high quality CFs at the time. Stacked with Figo, Deco, Ronaldo, Quaresma (think he was in that one)?, and the master Rui Costa (who had started losing his place to Deco at the time if I remember correctly), but scraping the barrel with CFs :annoyed:

They also had a lot of the Chelsea contingent in defence.
 
They were big and physical and super-organised. Then they'd nick a goal from a set piece. Awful team to watch, but brilliant achievement.
 
48 hours said:
Teams didn’t find their Achilles heel in time
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Herculean effort, that.


Momentum is how Greece won. Not enough credence is given to it in tournament football.

After the Euros, Greece deployed the same tactics and style of play, and failed to qualify for the next WC.

Did not have the wind in their sails.
 
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A perfect storm.

They were incredibly well drilled and rock solid in defence and Portugal notably couldnt figure it out.

2004 wasnt a great tournament for the "big teams" (even Portugal werent fancied to make the final) Germany, Spain and Italy all went out in the group stages and England fell apart after Rooneys injury in the knockouts. Remember the controversary over Italys elimination? France were pretty uninspiring and should have lost the opening game to England as well and other than a Henry miss late on never really troubled Greece in the QF.

The silver goal against Czech Rep was probably the moment to be honest that you knew they were going to win.
 
MourinhoBall was a feasible tactic back then and teams struggled to break it. Nowadays the best teams have no problem breaking down a parked bus.
 
VorZakone said:
Even if playing defensively, we saw yesterday with Slovakia and Georgia that if better teams keep the pressure on, a defensive team can eventually collapse.

How did Greece do it game after game? Were they perhaps a better side than given credit for?
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As you say, such teams can collapse. But Greece just didn't. It was a perfect run, Rehhagel's final masterclass setting up this team. They even used a classic sweeper (Dellas), a formation that was out of favour for years at the time and clearly surprised some players who had to face them. It didn't mean a revival of sweeper formations, but for those few games it was just a nice detail to break the rythm of attackers used to play against a four at the back system.

And as always, it is a highly risky approach. If you concede the first goal you totally lack the means to turn it around. But if you don't and nick a goal yourselves...
 
A bit of everything fell thier way. Well organised, very disciplined, very physical and a bit of luck. They barely made it out of their group. Tied on points with Spain and only doing so because they scored more goals. All the other big teams failing also helped. And then three 1-0 wins in a row won it for them.

Could be another upset his year. The Swiss and Austria aren't going to be push overs.
 
Glorio said:
Blame Portugal for their abject lack of high quality CFs at the time. Stacked with Figo, Deco, Ronaldo, Quaresma (think he was in that one)?, and the master Rui Costa (who had started losing his place to Deco at the time if I remember correctly), but scraping the barrel with CFs :annoyed:

They also had a lot of the Chelsea contingent in defence.
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They should've played Nuno Gomes more in those times, he scored the crucial winner v Spain in the groups but was reserve to Pauleta who tried hard but it never seemed to happen for him in major tournaments bar scoring a hat trick in a group game IIRC.

Not sure if Pauleta ever scored a tournament knock out goal for Portugal in a major tournament.
 
Iceland of 2016-2018 looked like Greece of 2004.

Super disciplined, defensive, tall, strong players, lots of set pieces, not brilliant players.
 
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Pexbo said:
MourinhoBall was a feasible tactic back then and teams struggled to break it. Nowadays the best teams have no problem breaking down a parked bus.
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Could you do a seminar on this and invite Ten Hag to attend, please?
 
World class striker Angelos Charisteas from later Ajax and Feyenoord fame of course.
 
al.gabiru said:
Iceland of 2016-2018 looked like Greece of 2004.

Super disciplined, defensive, tall, strong players, lots of set pieces, not brilliant players.
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Nah far from it. Iceland didn't park the bus and the attackers weren't big. No target man and no hoofing the ball. Iceland kept no clean sheet at the Euros. The worst players throughout Iceland's good tenure was the back 4. Iceland had good midfielders, quick wingers and clinical forwards. A midfield spine of a few PL players surrounded by low Championsip/League 1 level players.
 
Following the glorious mid to late 1990’s there was an era of defensive dirge from lesser sides being rewarded. Porto and Liverpool winning the CL, Greece the Euro.
 
They were always defensive, but usually managed to keep a counterattacking threat and avoid being entirely pinned back, plus they were great from set-pieces. Also got better and more confident after the group stage.

The game against Russia, who were already out and just playing for pride, was where they almost came undone. They opened up and really attacked in the first half, were 2-0 down within twenty minutes and couldn't get back into it. Were outclassed in the second-half and fortunate not go out in the group on goal difference.

It wasn't really a one-off in style either, they played that way for the entire decade and remained organised and tough to look good against, but the returns they got for it were more typical of their talent level.
 
VorZakone said:
Even if playing defensively, we saw yesterday with Slovakia and Georgia that if better teams keep the pressure on, a defensive team can eventually collapse.

How did Greece do it game after game? Were they perhaps a better side than given credit for?
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Slovakia were one minute away from beating England in a similar way that Greece won all their 3 matches in the knockouts. Imagine that game 3 times and it’s somewhere close. Slovakia also beat Belgium in the group stages too. Some luck, good defending, taking your chances. And teams they played underperforming. France had an unbelievable team in that tournament but never really got going at all.
 
Demyanenko_square_jaw said:
They were always defensive, but usually managed to keep a counterattacking threat and avoid being entirely pinned back, plus they were great from set-pieces. Also got better and more confident after the group stage.

The game against Russia, who were already out and just playing for pride, was where they almost came undone. They opened up and really attacked in the first half, were 2-0 down within twenty minutes and couldn't get back into it. Were outclassed in the second-half and fortunate not go out in the group on goal difference.

It wasn't really a one-off in style either, they played that way for the entire decade and remained organised and tough to look good against, but the returns they got for it were more typical of their talent level.
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"Controlled offensive" as Rehhagel called it. "Modern plays who wins" was another famous quote when he was criticised for that "outdated" style.
 
Their prize was substantially better than the time my niece went to Greece and only got me a lousy T-shirt.
 
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