Greece won the European Championship in one of the biggest upsets in soccer history, beating host Portugal 1-0 in the final Sunday on Angelos Charisteas’ 57th-minute header off a corner. The Greeks had never won a game at a major tournament before arriving at Euro 2004 but wound up twice beating the Portuguese, ousting defending champion France 1-0 in the quarterfinal and then beating hot favorite Czech Republic 1-0 in the semis. Some 15,000 Greek fans in the Stadium of Light erupted when German referee Markus Merk blew the final whistle. Some of the Greek players collapsed on the turf while others hugged their German coach Otto Rehhagel as he ran onto the pitch. "What happened here is that the Greek team wrote soccer history," Rehhagel said. "I hope this reverberates in Greece. I hope when we get into Athens on Monday, there will be incredible scenes."
EFL
Congratulations, Aris. I’m sure your country is celebrating their unexpected achievement in fine fashion. My Australian net buddies say that Melboure is lit up all over with Greek pride. Your country’s win was quite the Cinderella act and something worth noticing.
Best Wishes,
Zenster |