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Greece (composition)
Greeks are heading for the Confederations Cup with the aim of proving that the sensational victory in the Euro 2004 tournament was not a coincidence. Otto Rehhagel's proteges shocked the football world a year ago and won the European champions title in Portugal, which means that this time Greece's team will not be the "dark horse", but on the contrary, the best team from the Old Continent is expected to have a dignified performance.
However, such a burden has been difficult for the Greeks recently. They started the 2006 World Cup qualifiers with a loss to Albania, later recovered a bit, but recently suffered a defeat at home to Ukraine and finished only third in Group 2 as the tournament came to an end.
But Greece will certainly not be a team that anyone can easily defeat. Their journey to the top of the European Championship was the result of three years of planned work by Rehhagel - the German coach managed to instill a solid defensive plan, disciplined team play, and total dedication to the team. Although Greece, unlike the French or Brazilians, does not have stars capable of snatching victory with their individual mastery, the team has a strong combination of players, coming together into a very effective group.
The national team still has Euro 2004 stars G.Seitaridis, A.Charisteas, T.Zagorakis, A.Nikopolidis, T.Dellas, and several young players have joined them, such as striker I.Amanatidis, who has opportunities to shine, especially since Z.Vryzas, who broke his hand on Sunday, will probably not be able to help the team in the tournament.
"This tournament is another important step in the development of my team. Even European champions have something to learn," said Rehhagel. "Of course, the toughest game will be against Brazil, but my players know that they will be watched by various clubs throughout the tournament and will be the center of attention as European champions. I know that my guys, during those three years that I have been working here, always tried their best until the end."
