Greece outlook for football World Cup in South Africa and Otto Rehhagel concerns
The Euro 2004 Champions, Greece qualified to the 2010 World Cup in a home and away playoff against Ukraine to come back to the World Cup after a 16 year absence since USA 94.Led by Angelos Chariteas (4 goals) and Theofanis Gekas (10 goals), both players scored two thirds of the 21 goals scored by Greece during the qualifications. Both players are finding it hard to have some playing time in their respective clubs in the Bundesliga. Both playing together at Bayer Leverkusen in 2008, they were both sent away. Charisteas went to Nuremberg where he is not a starter anymore and Gekas was loaned to Hertha Berlin, which has been relegated to Division 2.
The Greek central defense is also a paradox. The rock in the Greece defence with 11 games played out of 12 in the qualifications. Sotirios Kyrgiakos barely plays with Liverpool or only when a starter gets injured. His partner Evangelos Moras is another important component of Greece's defense but his current club form is also suspect. Usually a starter with Bologna in Serie A last season, competition caught up to him and his playing time in Serie A was cut in half. Another charismatic player is Angelo Basinas. The 34 year old defensive midfielder is not doing much at Portsmouth. One of the 2004 Euro heroes, Basinas is Greece's most capped player is victim of instability at Portsmouth. He only gets to play when injuries hit other midfielder players at Portsmouth (Boateng, Yebda).
To add more bad news to the Greek expatriates, Frankfort Striker Ionnis Amanatidos saw his season stop abruptly with his second knee operation in the same year. Giorgios Samaras, another striker in the Greek selection, is the only actually accumulating playing time. The ex-Manchester City striker accumulates many goals and playing minutes. But the Scottish Premier League is still considered a minor league, a league of lower standing than the Greek League. The performances of Scottish clubs in the Champions League compared to the Greek clubs is proof of the low standing of the SPL.
More than half of the 28 players used by manager Otto Rehhagel during the qualifications play in the Greek SuperLeague, the new Greek League since 2006. Panathinaikos is the biggest provider of players to the national selection including goalkeeper Tzorvas and midfield players Karagounis and Katsouranis. Panathinaikos is Greek champion for the first time since 2004.
Under Otto Rehhgal’s system, Greece plays a very defensive formation. Usually fielding a 5-4-1, with eleven men behind the ball the Greek defend at all costs. Devoid of creativity, they rely on counterattacks and set-pieces. It’s not romantic, but it’s effective and, given the talent in the squad, pragmatic. Greece begin their Group B campaign against South Korea on 12th June before taking on Nigeria five days later and then Argentina on 22nd June.
With the economical crisis putting a whole country close to the boiling point, the Greek national team will do its best to proudly represent their countrymen and flag.Not necessarily a solution to all problems, football always seemed to have a soothing effect as a whole country follows its team in the World Cup.
Recent World Cup News
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel recently named Liverpool defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Celtic striker Georgios Samaras among an initial group of nine players for a 30-man pre-FIFA World Cup training camp. He also named Bologna's Vangelis Moras, Genoa's Socrates Papastathopoulos, Siena's Alexandros Tziolis, Omonia's Christos Patsatzoglou, Hertha Berlin's Fanis Gekas, Nurnberg's Angelos Charisteas and Steaua Bucharest striker Pantelis Kapetanos in the group. The training camp is to take place later this month, before Rehhagel names his final 23-man squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup on June 1st.
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